As you’ve probably noticed, I travel a lot. Like really a lot. Short trips and long trips. Remote and around the corner. From lavish, uber-luxurious Pacific island getaways to Spartan nights in traditional Japanese Ryokans. Unless you travel with a full-time sherpa, different kind of trips naturally require different approaches of packing and sometimes tough choices need to be made in terms of what to bring - and what not (mehh). One product I never compromise on, is dry shampoo. This lifesaver always comes in handy, whether you find yourself in need of a Quick Fix in The Ritz or a Thorough Touch up in a showerless Mongolian yurt you've been staying in for days. But which one to bring?
Besides dry shampoo, the ultimate solution for bad hair on holidays remains a hat, as shown at Potala Palace, Lhasa. Caring about your hair on holiday (or in general) doesn't really fit the Buddhist philosophy, but alas.
My most recent trip: 2 weeks of travelling through Tibet, arriving in Lhasa by train from Chengdu, a train ride of about 43 hours in itself already. Amazing trip, minimum comfort; apart from 2 nights in the St Regis in Lhasa, I would definitely label this trip as Spartan in terms of comfort and hygiene: run-down hotels in obscure rural towns (all those strange stains on the carpet!), lake side and base camp tent stays (all those communally used yak-woolen blankets!) and several days of not being able to shower. And did I mention I had to pack light?! The horror. As said, the one thing I won’t ever leave home because of packing restraints, is dry shampoo, even if it’s a full size product instead of a handy travel size. Apart from deodorant, a moisturizer and a face cleanser, dry shampoo is among my absolute bare essentials.
Why? Well, I don’t know what it is with trains and planes, but for some reason these modes of transportation leave even the most freshly washed hair looking dull and greasy. And whenever I find myself at dream destinations such as Tibet for a very limited amount of time, I prefer not to spend my precious time washing my hair (which for me includes not only washing but also conditioning, blow-drying and straightening etc etc). And then there’s the situations during a trip like this in which you just can’t possibly wash your hair, like when you spend a night in a tent at Mt Everest’s Base Camp instead of the St Regis.
So, which dry shampoo to pack?
So much to choose from...
If there’s any beauty product category I’ve witnessed emerging over the years, it’s dry shampoo. I remember using baby talc powder as a 15 year old to postpone washing my hair, as ‘dirty’ hair provided me with more grip - my freshly washed hair (I have a lot yet fine hair) would just slip out of hairpins and hair ties. But oh, how times have changed…practically every hair care brand offers at least one type of dry shampoo, from mass market brands like L'Oreal to Scandinavian 100% vegan niche brands. And many even offer more than one type; for dark versus blonde hair, or for shine versus volume.
Before I share my personal favorites, do have a look at this awesome guide by Reviews.com (find it here). Some amazing gals spent 45 hours digging into trusted beauty blogs, learning from industry experts, and hand-testing 17 products to find the best dry shampoo, i.e. the one that soaks up oil, adds volume, and leaves our hair smelling fresh - gosh, I love it when research is done thoroughly. In their selection, they already left out any dry shampoo leaving chalky white residue in the hair, the number one frustration with bad dry shampoos AND an ancient prejudice for some not to try modern day dry shampoos.
REVIEWS.COM loves:
Reviews.com's top picks (from left to right): Klorane, Oscar Blandi, Batiste, Amika & Moroccanoil
Luckily most of their top picks are available in Singapore too - I can't wait to test the ones that I haven't heard of before, like Amika and Oscar Blandi.
BEST DRY SHAMPOO:
Klorane - Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk
Price: 14,60 SGD (150ml)
Available at a.o. Guardian
RUNNER-UP:
Price: 38 SGD (142gr)
Available (sparsely!) at Sephora
BEST DRUGSTORE DRY SHAMPOO:
Batiste Dry Shampoo Original
Price: 12,90 SGD (200ml)
Available at a.o. Guardian & Watsons
BEST DRY SHAMPOO FOR OILY HAIR:
Price: 25 SGD (21gr)
Available through Amika Singapore's webshop
Supposedly there's a kiosk at Marina Bay Sands B2 since June 2019, but haven't visited this one myself yet..
BEST SALON QUALITY DRY SHAMPOO:
Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo
Price: between 25-40 SGD (205ml)
Not really available in Singapore; I have only been able to find it through some webshops I don't know, like Carethy (25 SGD for product + 10 SGD shipping costs). The official Moroccanoil website has an Australia webshop (39,95 AUD), which unfortunately doesn't ship to Singapore.
I WOULD LIKE TO ADD to this list:
Just these two? Yup - after trying many many different dry shampoos, these two are my absolute favorites: Percy & Reed's "No Fuss Fabulousness" Dry Shampoo and OUAI's Dry Shampoo. And both are available as Travel Size, for those moments you almost compromised a good 'do for more packing space...
PERSONAL FAVORITE 1
Percy & Reed - No Fuss Fabulousness Dry Shampoo
Price: 26 SGD (150ml)
Travel Size: 14 SGD (50ml)
Available at Sephora, in stores and online
Why I love it so much: the result is sooo light and airy and the fragrance is really pleasant.
I really really like that it's available as Travel Size too - this is the product I used in order to look somewhat presentable at the Mount Everest at 5.200 m. I had the worst dark circles (altitude apparently equals insomnia, so if I've I would've known this, I would have brought some concealer), but at least my 'do looked good, standing between the yaks.
PERSONAL FAVORITE 2
OUAI - Dry Shampoo
Price: 36 SGD (132ml)
Travel Size: 18 SGD (40gr)
Available at Sephora, in stores and online
Why I love it so much: Yes Yes Ouai Ouai! There's nothing not to love about this dry shampoo. Great product, great style, great sense of humor:
"OUAI MEANS YES, IN THAT CASUAL, PARISIAN WAY.
IT’S ABOUT SAYING YES TO REAL HAIR FOR REAL LIFE.
AND TO LOOKING CHIC, NO MATTER HOW MANY FOLLOWERS YOU HAVE.”
BOOM, no mare glam squad needed! I must confess that I even use this product when I don't really need it, just because of the mesmerizing scent - so clean, so chic, like the entire concept. According to the product description, this lovely scent is "Ouai No. 2 Fragrance", a refreshing cocktail of Italian lemon, amber, and white musk (note to self: must find out more about the other OUAI fragrances!!!). I predict that my bathroom will soon be full of nothin' but OUAI haircare products.
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