I'll hold my hands up to this one, when I first went blonde I decided to skip gradually lightening my hair and instead went from dark to light in one sitting. Great idea, right? wrong! They say a change is always good when you have a broken heart and my hair was beautiful when I first had it done, I swished my new freshly blow-dried locks round like a new independent women. Don't get me wrong I love being blonde, light hair suits my complexion, my eye colour and my personality but just being blonde wasn't enough for me. Oh no, I wanted to be blonder. I'd somehow got it into my head that I wanted to be Daenerys from Game Of Thrones with white blonde hair (who wouldn't want to look like a beautiful dragon mother).
Sadly, I was not prepared for a couple of weeks down the blonde timeline when I realised how damaged my hair had become. I was left with a dry, broken disaster and I found myself crying over old Facebook pictures of my long healthy hair from a couple of months earlier (RIP). Hey, at least my heart was broken for a different reason now. Think back to that clip in Friends when Monica's hair had a mind of its own and couldn't handle the humidity and you can picture what I was looking at in the mirror, quite far from the Game Of Thrones look I'd originally planned.
Two years later and after a couple of months back on the dark side (my hairdresser refused to put anymore blonde on my poor hair) my hair is now back light. Don't worry, I'm not as blonde as I used to be, but I've definitely learnt my lesson about the importance of repairing and protecting your hair. After trying many different products on the market, below are my favourites. I am a huge lover of low cost products available on the high street and I believe many products are just as good as the high end but with a much lower price tag! So if you're fighting for the blonde dream like myself, this may be of interest to you.
Shampoo & Conditioner
OGX do some incredible shampoos and conditioners that are great for rehydrating thirsty hair and repairing damage. They're available at boots and other drugstores as well as the majority of supermarkets here in the UK. They're also normally on offer!
I personally like to alternate between the OGX anti-breakage Keratin Oil Shampoo & conditioner, the OGX coconut water shampoo and the OGX coconut milk conditioner.
(RRP £4.66 - Boots.com)
Considering decent Keratin Oil based products are usually on the expensive side, The OGX Keratin Oil Shampoo & Conditioner are an excellent bargain and do the same job as the high end products. They are specialised to target breakage and damaged hair whilst rebuilding thick and healthy locks. the consistency of the products is thick, and I often like to leave the conditioner on my hair which I shave my legs or lie in the bath just to give it that extra time to work on my damaged ends.
(RRP £4.66 - Boots.com)
The OGX Coconut water conditioner is incredible (!!). If there's one thing I could recommend from 2015 for damaged hair it would be this product. It offers ultimate hydration with a blend of oils that quench your thirsty hair and make it super shiny. You can actually feel this product working in your hair and it smell delicious. Sadly, I have tried and tested the Coconut water conditioner and I wasn't as impressed as I was with the shampoo… but not to worry, most drugstores that have the products on offer usually allow you to mix and match!
(RRP £4.66 - Boots.com)
This product does exactly what it says on the bottle. it's milky consistency adds strength and elasticity to the hair whilst providing it with ultimate hydration. after a deep clean of the hair with the coconut water shampoo, this conditioner is the perfect conditioner to follow with. Leave it on the hair for ten minutes and not only will you smell of the most incredible beach holiday, but your hair will thank you!
Hair Oils and Treatments
(RRP £31.85 - feelunique.com)
The original moroccan oil is the best in my opinion. Although slightly on the pricey side at £31.85, it is worth every penny and the 100ml bottle will last you a long time. A little goes a long way with the product. Towel dry your hair and work the product into the ends of your hair and use the heat from your hair dryer to lock in the moisture. Once your hair is dry, work the product into the hair to hydrate the ends and add shine. Moroccan oil can be used to add a little extra touch to any hair style, I use it every day to give my hair a hydrating boost in between washes.
(RRP £6.29 - Boots.com)
Currently on offer!
This John Frieda intense repair mask can rival that of it's high end competitors. I use this product once a week and after shampooing and conditioning my hair I leave the product on for a minimum of ten minutes. If i'm not leaving the house, I'll leave it on my hair wrapped in cling film for a couple of hours to really let it work in. I haven't tried any other products in the full repair range from John Frieda, however I shall try them soon and report back! There are plenty of hair masks available on the high street, and this is definitely my current favourite!
(RRP £9.99 - Boots.com)
Now, I have a love hate relationship with this product. I like products that are easy to use with no messing around. This product is the definition of messing around for me. In order to use the product the oil must be at a certain temperature before you're able to scoop it out and use. After reading many reviews on this, not many people mentioned this as an inconvenience so perhaps it's just me. On the plus side, the product is incredible value for money. I personally don't use it to cook with, however I do use it as a hair mask and on my skin and face. Lather it onto the ends of your hair and apply either cling film or a shower cap for half and hour before washing off. Only use a small amount of the product on your skin and face as you don't want it to go greasy, but this is an excellent product to apply on your dry patches the night before you intend to apply fake tan, it's the ultimate hydration your skin needs!
