The Summer Hair Update: The Balayage

I've never been much of a hair care person - I tend to buy the cheapest shampoo (we're talking under £10 here) and the most I do is the occasional hair mask or hair serum (if I remember) so hair is not big on my list. But I do love getting highlights.

So with Spring finally setting in, I decided I wanted my hair to be a bit lighter and went for a balayage which is essentially a more "natural" ombre and because the upper half of my head is still natural, it's a relatively low maintenance colour. For all my manchester readers, I went to RCNQ in the Northern Quarter for a cut and colour (Liam did my colour and Vince my cut) and I'm so happy! What I'm so pleased about is the condition of my hair, it's definitely slightly drier on the newer blonde parts but nothing like when I've had colour put in before. But when I was getting my hair cut, I got chastised on my lack of hair care, I decided it was time for a change.

Cue, Bumble and Bumble. Bumble and Bumble is almost a cult brand for hair care - they're obviously more expensive than your standard L'Oreal Elvive but they're brilliant. I've been using the Bb Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Sulfate Free Shampoo and Conditioner which are brilliant. Because my hair is naturally quite frizzy, the oils in the shampoo and conditioner leave my hair feeling soft and smooth which means serum is off the cards! When blowdrying it, I'm using the Bb All Style Blow Dry Creme (not pictured because it's only a sample size) but I've been loving it so much that I've ordered a full size! My hair feels so light and smooth and it definitely holds it's blow dry longer than before.

Instead of assorted and random hair masks, I've been using Sacha Juan Hair Repair which is so lovely. I try to whack this on a Sunday so I can leave my hair in a shower cap for as long as possible but it makes my hair so much softer and manageable and I've noticed a steady improvement in the quality of my hair since using it.

So definitely a bit of a Bumble and Bumble rehaul but my hair is in so much better condition that it's definitely worth it. What are your haircare essentials?