Already the lockdown is taking its toll on our hair. All over tiktok there have been numerous trends of people giving themselves DIY haircuts and dye jobs. Sometimes at home salon treatments turn out beautifully, other times they can be a bit of a disaster but one thing that is always going to be completely fool proof is the moisturising treatments that help us to maintain our hair’s natural shine.

A Bleaching Fiasco

A year ago I took the plunge and said sayonara to my brunette locks and decided to go for an illuminating blonde balayage. I was so impressed with how the balayage transformed my look and brightened up my face that soon I was hooked on putting more and more blonde into my hair. My dream was to have long, flowing, platinum blonde hair and my hairdresser advised me to keep going for highlights until my hair would be light enough to start going white. This all fell apart after a disaster of a hair appointment where my hair didn’t take to the bleach and just got damaged instead.

Since that appointment my hair never really recovered. What used to be long, shiny and thick brown hair became dry, thin and brittle. I was amazed at how much length I lost off of my hair from only having bleached it twice.

After all the damage that was done to my hair I decided that during the quarantine I would take as much care of it as I possibly could. I’m never going to bleach my hair ever again. Instead I’ve just been toning whatever blonde is left in it and doing deep conditioning treatments to get its vitality back. Here are some of the products I’ve been loving for maintaining my blonde highlights and for restoring moisture to my lengths.

Products for Eliminating Brass from Blonde Hair:

L’Oreal Elvive Purple Shampoo

Ignore the fact that Elvive is called Elseve in France. This shampoo was a super inexpensive supermarket find and it works wonders for removing brassy and yellow tones from blonde hair. When you take it out of the bottle it’s a deep, dark purple colour so it looks a bit like dye. (Don’t worry, it won’t tint your hair though.) Usually I leave this in for ten minutes while I wash my hair and it really helps to preserve my highlights!

L’Oreal Elvive Violet Hair Mask

Alongside the shampoo mentioned above, my favourite product to go with it is this purple conditioner. I find that when I use this, the brass-neutralising impact of the purple shampoo is doubled and it also leaves my hair feeling very sleek and soft.

Amika Bust Your Brass: Violet leave-in treatment foam

This is a product that I won in a giveaway hosted by a beauty blogger I loved called Kittyp0p.

Overall it is a coloured mousse that prevents blonde hair from becoming discoloured over time. What is amazing about it is that it has a really rich conditioning complex which leaves hair looking shiny and moisturised, all while making it feel soft and detangled. There is also the added ingredient of sea buckthorn berry which is rich in healthy omega fatty acids as well as vitamin C and A so it nourished and protects your hair all while keeping your colour intact.

Products for Repairing Damaged Hair:

Next we move onto the products I’m enjoying using when it comes to caring for my damaged hair. I really feel like my hair has gotten a lot longer and thicker lately so I wanted to share a bit of my regime with you!

Garnier Fructus Hair Food (papaya)

This mask is easily the nicest smelling product that I own. There are so many different flavours in the range but the papaya one is definitely my favourite, especially because it smells so good and is made to repair damaged hair. Every time I use this mask my hair feels so full of moisture and so refreshed! Also the fact that 98% of the mask is made up of natural products earns bonus points for me.

Yves Rocher: Instant Shine Top Coat

This marigold spray leaves a coat of oil on the surface of your hair which not only locks in moisture but also repairs damage as your hair soaks up the oils left on the strands. This product is a lot like a repairing mask and make-up for your hair all in one bottle. I love the shine it leaves and it’s a great solution to a bad hair day where my hair is looking particularly fried or frizzy.

So that’s it for my current hair care routine! I really hope you guys enjoyed this post and I’ll see you very soon in our next one.

~Mandy xx