I love having multiple hair personalities and I’ve dyed, bleached, straightened, permed and otherwise pulverized my ‘do countless times. I’m now trying to work this sort of asymmetric chin-length bob, but I do want to grow my tresses out so that I can rock Dree Hemingway’s effortless bedhead style. ‘Tis a futile dream, however, especially since I keep heading to the hairdressers for a snip every time I reach that in-between length during the awkward grow-out phase.

If you manipulate your hair as often as I do, then you’ll know that there is a big difference between drugstore products and the slightly more pricey salon lines. I was a longtime lover of the deceptive brilliance of off-the-rack brands like Pantene and Dove, until I realized that all those creamy conditioners were simply coating my hair with a layer of soft, good smelling gunk. You know it’s true when you go to a hotel and and are away from your products for one day, and your hair becomes a big nest of icky straw.

It was my dear hairdresser who forced me to go upscale, when he accidentally-on-purpose made me an Asian blonde a month after I had my hair ion-straightened. Holy haystack, Batman, were my follicles fried. These are the products that I picked up to aid recovery, as well as a few I’m looking to try.

As a newly baptized blonde, quite against my will, you understand, I was quite attracted to Bed Head’s Dumb Blonde conditioner, which is pretty instrumental in bouncing back from the unique damage of bleach. It says you should leave it in for 5-10 minutes, but just a couple minutes is actually good enough (or for however long you normally leave your conditioner).

I paired it with Bed Head’s Brunette Goddess, not just because it’s a good shampoo, but because it smells so yummy. I don’t like fruity shampoos, and since my olfactory addiction, Revlon Outrageous, went out of production, I’ll have to do with this sweet cookie-ish smell. With a good shampoo, you only need to use very little to get a good wash, so it probably averages out to have the same financial impact on your wallet as a drugstore brand.

Another tasty looking one is Terax’s Latte Clarifying Shampoo with Silk Protein, which I may get because it’s always good to have a clarifying shampoo on hand to rid your hair of buildup. Plus a hair guru once told me that a lady with great tresses always keeps a few shampoos on rotation.

Currently, I’m using Davines Nounou Nourishing Illuminating Shampoo, which is so gentle and nice – I feel like my hair really has room to breathe. You have to get used to the fact that there isn’t much foam, but I really like the idea that they haven’t bothered to add foaming agents just for show. The companion conditioner, the
Nounou Nourishing Illuminating Creme Conditioner, is also really good. I use about a penny-sized drop of it and it covers my whole head of hair, so a bottle lasts a long time.

A couple of other good conditioners to have around are L’Occitane’s Shea Butter Ultra Rich Conditioner (because it’s good for your skin, so why not your hair?) and Jurlique’s Arnica Mint Conditioner (so cooling after a day in the sun).