If you’re a beauty-holic, you probably would know the ‘rule’ about not washing your hair everyday in order to maintain the moisture in your tresses. But if you’re living in the tropics like we are, it is impossible not to shampoo your hair everyday due to perspiration. In fact, we tend to have the problem of having oily or limp hair towards the end of the day especially after battling the heat and smells of food centres if we went out of the office to get lunch.

That’s where dry shampoos come in. Dry shampoos are perfect to extend your wash by refreshing hair, adding volume, moisture, shine and defrizz. New mothers who believe in the tradition of not washing their hair during their ‘confinement’ period may also want to look to dry shampoos to keep their hair look more like a crowning glory than a flat mess.

With a lot of us working from home nowadays, dry shampoos are also a great product to use to refresh your hair just after rolling out of bed and getting ready for that morning Zoom meeting with colleagues. Oh…and did you know that dry shampoo is also great for prepping wigs or hairpieces?

However, with so many brands out there, how do you choose the one that suits your needs? We test out 5 bottles of dry shampoo and here’s the low-down.

The shampoos and review

Brand	Cost	The good	The not-so-good	Overall
Klorane (Dark hair) 150ml	S$14.90	Contains Oat milk, making it the most moisturising and gentlest dry shampoo – great for those who have oily scalps but dry ends Pleasant smell, which is not too strong Has a few colours (as well as colourless) which work well for those with thinning hair or have bald spots so that it gives a bit of coverage as well No residue Bottle is still small enough to put into your bag	Does not give the most volume The fragrance does not last very long Only one type of fragrance Was not that good at controlling oil overnight Most expensive (per ml)	8.5/10
Batiste (Divine dark) 200ml	S$12.90	Also comes in a smaller 50ml bottle (S$3.50) which is perfect to put into your bag Quite volumising Has a variety of fragrances Second cheapest (per ml)	Leaves a bit of residue which needs to be brushed out (but this is not that obvious with the coloured Divine Dark version)	7.5/10
TONI&GUY 250ml	S$15.90	The most volumising Absorbs oil very quickly, controlling the oil overnight The fragrance is very strong, which is great if you’ve just walked out from a smoky food centre No residue Cheapest (per ml)	The fragrance was a bit too strong for my liking (it lasted overnight until shampooed off) and it rubbed off onto my pillow as well	8/10
Marc Anthony True Professional® (Hydrating Fresh & Shine Citrus) 200ml	S$14.90	Free from sulphates, SLS, parabens and phthalates Contains Abyssinian oil, which helped to hydrate the hair while removing excess oil, removing frizz and dullness Quite volumising No residue The fragrances were quite pleasant and not too strong, but my preference was the Shine Citrus over the Hydrating Fresh in terms of smell Absorbs oil very quickly, controlling the oil overnight	Would be good if they came in smaller bottles Does not come with tints/colours	9.5/10

And the overall winner is…Marc Anthony True Professional® Invisible Dry Shampoo+!

Why is Marc Anthony True Professional® the winner?

It is quite hard to fault the series of Marc Anthony True Professional® Invisible Dry Shampoo+ as it delivers on all aspects of hydration, volume, fragrance, absence of harmful chemicals as well as not leaving behind any residue. Each dry shampoo is lightweight and contains zeolite, which are little molecules that act like empty cages that trap build up dirt, grime and grease. They even have one meant for those with textured and wavy hair – talk about diversity for hair kind! As such, it easily beat out the competition to be the overall winner. But may I suggest having a smaller size so that we can put it in our handbags?

All the dry shampoos featured can be purchased at Watsons except for TONI&GUY, which can be purchased online through marketplaces such as Lazada.

Images: Marc Anthony True Professional® and The Wellness Insider