6 products that saved my newly blonde hair.

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After a disastrous series of hair changes in my early 20s, I decided to grow my hair out for several years. Yes, virgin hair! Free of dye!

Then I went through one of those big, wonderful, simultaneously stressful life events (a wedding, to be exact) and decided that I needed a change. A fresh start.

As I sat in the salon chair, grateful for the bleach that would cover my naturally brown hair, I felt excited. But while it might’ve turned out exactly as I’d wanted, there was one thing I hadn’t factored in: the intense hard labour of being a blonde.

Not only will you have to give up your precious money and time (you will now spend hours in the hairdresser’s seat as the brunettes around you come and go), there is much maintenance involved.

Watch: Mia Freedman on how to get a great haircut every time. (Post continues after video.)

I’ve quickly learned there are several products that will save your blonde ass — whether it’s prolonging your colour, or preventing the damage done to your hair.

1. BHave leave in creme, $44.

No seasoned blonde can deny the colouring process often makes your hair feel like it’s more at home in a hay bale than on your head. I rub a small dollop of this between my hands and slather it onto damp, clean hair. OK, sometimes it’s not clean. Or damp. But I don’t care because it’s packed with the magical powers of macadamia oil, natural keratin, certified organic argan oil, jojoba oil and more ingredients that help to stave off damage and bring on smoothness and a little shine.

2. Lady Jayne Bobby Pins Blonde 25 pack, $3.09.

Those brown and black bobby pins you’ve used forever? They now stick out like a Kardashian without contouring. Time for a beige-y update.

3. Scunci Beautiful Blends No Damage Blonde Hair Elastics, $7.95.

Same goes for your hairbands; a white or light-coloured variation will do the trick. These Scunci elastics are great because they don’t have any of those snaggy, annoying metal bits and will blend into your hair. 

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4. MoroccanOil Light Treatment, $27.50 for 25mls.

Remember how everyone sold their firstborns to get a drop of MoroccanOil when it was first released? Well, I’m that person post-Mission Blonde. The “light” version is just that little bit, well, lighter in consistency and helps convince my wiry strands to at least pretend to be healthy. (They’re currently also doing Paleo, but I’m not fooled.)

I apply a little of this to the mid-lengths to ends of my hair after washing, and then again later in the week when it’s looking ratty and I, ahem, haven’t washed it for a week couple of days.

5. De Lorenzo NovaFusion Silver Shampoo and Conditioner, $27.95 each. 

Another thing I’d completely forgotten about having light hair? The fact that it can turn from bright, sunshine-y blonde into the colour of rust in one wash. To combat this, specific tools are required. Your usual shampoo and conditioner combo? It’s dead to you.

I love De Lorenzo’s Nova Fusion Silver Shampoo and Conditioner. It helps to remove the brass and return and make your colour last longer. While some blonde shampoos can feel very drying, this one feels just like your regular products.

6. A hat. Or several hats depending on regrowth. This one’s $39.95 from Sportsgirl. 

If all else fails, grab a hat — any hat. It shall give you the appearance of being chic and well-presented, hiding the real truth; your greasy two-inch dark brown roots with flecks of grey.

What are your blonde hair survival products?