Hair-care must-haves

How much money and time do we spend on our hair? I think we're much more obsessed with hair than anything else and it's because we believe with just the right product, cut and colour we could transform our looks.

So we come to my must-have hair products. Boy do I feel well researched, I have dozens of appliances I've tried gathering dust and I could fill an ocean with the amount of shampoo, conditioner and styling products I've thrown out half used. About my hair: it's thick and not dead straight but not nicely curly or interesting, more kinky with frizzy bits and annoying curls underneath.

I get my hair coloured at the hairdresser because I simply cannot be bothered with doing it at home and recreating an abattoir scene in my bathroom plus my towels are white and I'd like them to stay that way. Also as my hair is thick, it would be impossible to colour it at home and do a good job. So I get the roots tinted which is much better for your hair than a semi-permanent colour. However, to eek out the visit between hairdressers (and as I am getting older and have more grey), I am a huge fan of Clairol Root Touch-Up.

You put it in the obvious places (temples and parting), wait for 15 mins and rinse out.  It works wonders and costs less than £5. It's easy to apply (I ignore the brush and just dab it on - using the gloves, obviously) and it really means you can wait a few more weeks before going back to the hairdresser. It just seems to blend with your colour, I really think this is a miracle product.

To maintain my colour, I only use shampoo and conditioner designed for coloured hair. This is really important, I know it's a bit of a bore but I promise you if you don't your colour will fade faster. This is an area I have tested extensively, trust me. Also, wear a hat on holidays in the sun.

I am currently loving the Fudge range and it's not too expensive (about £7 a bottle).

And I really do love Pureology which is more expensive but lasts ages.

Both smell divine and the matching conditioners are great too. However, one needs a deep conditioner once in a while (especially on holiday) and so to Bumble and Bumble Creme De Coco Masque.

Nothing is as good as this. It deep conditions yet rinses out easily, my hair never feels heavy afterwards and it smells like heaven. It is £20 but I promise you it's worth it.

Since I am obsessed with conditioning my hair, I adore the Moroccan Hair Oil.

Glossy, shiny, bouncy hair? Yes please. All yours. If I could only take one thing to the desert island, it would be this. It also smells so good.

Combs? I have three combs. One for the shower to comb the conditioner through - wide toothed and from Origins, had it for years. One to then comb it after it's been wrapped up in a towel for 5 mins and then another  finer toothed one to comb it again after I've added my oil. I am so high-maintenance, it's almost embarrassing.

Phew, so now we have clean and perfectly conditioned hair. Time to style it! I've tinkered with styling products and have to admit, I've still not found one that's right for me. I tend to just go to the hair dryer without any additional styling products. However, I have middle to long hair all one length, it's hardly cutting edge punk.

My new Parlux hair dryer that I blogged about very recently is, as it turns out, life-changing. It is so powerful that my hair dries much, much faster.

I recommend it highly. I do like my Babyliss Big Hair but it's much more effort to use. I use a paddle brush to blow-dry my hair, round brushes just tangle up and cause me no end of heartache. I don't use an expensive one - just one from Boots that I knacker and have to replace about once a year. When I win the lottery, I would have a hairdresser to blow dry my hair all the time. I don't think Kate Middleton is extravagant having this, I so would if I were her too.

Time to hairspray! I only ever buy Elnett as it seems to do the job for me.

The very essence of hair to me. I adore the smell, the can, the fact it never changes. It comes in handy handbag sizes, it brushes out, my hair never feels stiff. I adore it. I don't use a lot of hairspray so a can lasts me a long time but I've never seriously bothered with anything else.

And after all that, I am ready to swing into the world with my mane of glossy hair (well, in my dreams!)