The hair-saving treatment every (unnatural) blonde needs in her life.

I have been blonde – a tragically unnatural one – for on-and-off, about three years now.

I’m naturally light, but like the fraud that I am, get my hair dyed a little lighter every few months.

And while I love the colour and love being lighter, dyeing my hair blonde comes with its downsides.

Firstly, it’s expensive. Secondly, it doesn’t take much for the colour to lose its shine. And thirdly? Somewhere along the line there, I feel I lost the natural texture of my hair.

Growing up, my hair was always fine and always on the shinier side. So shiny, in fact, that I’d forever find myself washing it daily, but so fine I rarely needed conditioner.

Then I began dyeing it, and the shine wasn’t there as much anymore. My hair wasn’t as soft, either. It was a litter harder, definitely a bit crunchier and you could almost see the damage from rounds of bleach.

However, at the end of the day, I still prefer having my hair colour light and this is just a small price to pay.

So, when a co-worker of mine suggested I try a product called Colour Fanatic by Pureology, I didn’t think a lot of it. I didn’t need a quick fix per se for my current hair texture – frizzy fly-aways and all – but I wasn’t opposed to seeing if something would smooth it out.

It promised to “prime, perfect and protect”, which, on initial inspection, just sounded like a great use of marketing jargon and alliteration.

“Packed with 21 essential benefits this weightless lotion is armed with antioxidants and full spectrum UVA/UVB sunscreens to defend hair against the sun’s damaging rays and promote longer-lasting colour vibrancy,”  Sydney hairdresser Chad Wijayatilake says of what the product actually does.

So, I began using it. What was there to lose?

After I washed my hair, I put a few pumps in my damp hair and then combed it through.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. I understand, of course, that smell is subjective. But I really liked the smell of this. The second thing I noticed was how my hair looked when it dried. It was less frizzy. The bottom of my hair strands weren’t as fluffy and broken-looking.

My hair felt flatter, but heavier. The shine was back. (Granted, my hair could've used a comb in the 'before' photo, but the point is often that I couldn't. The minute I would comb through my hair, the fluff-factor would return.)

The above photos were taken 24 hours apart, in exactly the spot, with exactly the same lighting. Neither have been touched, edited or filtered. That's just the work of the product.

It finally felt like my hair was the colour I wanted, with my old hair texture back to boot.

At $44.95, this product isn't cheap per se, but in my opinion, definitely worth it. If I'm spending money to make my hair colour the shade I love, I'm more than okay spending a little more in the interim to look after it.

And anyway, I'm only using a few pumps every time I wash my hair, on ever other day. Fingers crossed, it may just last me a while.

Question: Can you dye your hair while pregnant? We investigate.