I am a firm believer in the philosophy that as long as your hair and nails are looking good, you’ve got nothing to worry about.  

We’ve covered nails, so now time for hair. 

I have been blonde and brunette, and whatever colour I’m sporting there’s always one thing I want my hair to be, and that’s full of shine. 

So I’ve had a look into the shop bought and home remedies that promise to give hair that shine and bounce we all strive for. 

Recipes for shiny hair
Firstly, it’s the home remedies. I’m sure we’re all familiar with the beer trick. Mix two parts water with one part beer, and you will have lovely shiny hair. It works a treat, but make sure you do what I did not do, and rinse thoroughly with water after. This will make sure you don’t smell like you’ve had a heavy night in a brewery. Keeping the smell will not get you a boyfriend. Believe me. 

Next trick for not-so-natural blondes is ketchup. It works particularly well if you’ve been for a swim, as it stops the chlorine from turning you’re blonde locks green. Just work ketchup from the roots to the tip and leave it to work. Shampoo out and you’ve got yourself a home made hair mask. 

I am always wanting my hair to keep it’s colour as long as possible in between dying, so I make sure I wash my hair every other day make sure it retains the dye as long as possible. This was, and still is, a hard transistion for me to make, as I suffer from greasy locks, so any way to help me stay clear from a greasy mop I’m willing to try. 

I usually give it a good spritz with some dry shampoo, but this is not necessarily good for the environment. One trick I was told was to use a few slices of lime. Rub them into the roots and down the length of the hair to dry up grease and make it smell fresh and yummy. Sounded great, so I bought my lime and got to work.

Honestly, this was horrible. I ended up with sticky, crusty hair that looked greasier than when I started, and I spent the day pulling bits of lime out of my hair. Just awful. Not recommended! 

I was also pretty dubious about another grease-proof remedy.Mix one cap of shampoo with warm water and the yolk of an egg, rinse through the hair. An egg yolk? Seriously?! But actually, I was pleasantly surprised! I don’t know if it was the shampoo alone, or even if the yolk made a difference, but the mixture left my hair clean and fresh with shine and bounce. I’m not talking hair ad level, but then when does that ever happen?! A great home method though, when you can find the time. 

Finally, I turned to olive oil. I warmed the olive oil in a pan, but didn’t let it boil, and soaked my hair in it. Although fiddly, I found the best way to do was to use the wash bowl – sit it on a low table, I used the coffee table, and lean back into the bowl. I then used my hands to get to the roots. Crazy, I know, but I didn’t just want to pour it over my head and straight down the plug hole, I’m pretty sure that’s bad for the plumbing! Then wrap your hair in a hot towel, and leave for 20 minutes. 

The hot towel part was pretty tricky, and not that eco. My first thought was to put the towel in the tumble dryer, but that would take about an hour, terrible for the earth. So I resorted to putting it on the radiator and blasting it for five minutes. (If anyone has a more eco-friendly way, please let me know!)  Once I’d fully cooked, I then washed my hair with shampoo as usual, but with cold water. Painful, but it made me feel as if I had counteracted the over use of heating by not using the boiler. This was great, as it did leave my hair shiny and easier to manage. 

And in the shops
If you don’t have the time for home remedies, there are some great products on the market that will make the job easy. 

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John Masters
Daisy girl Nicola loves these products. With their Nourishment and defrizzer for dry hair, £16, just a few drops on wet or dry hair will tame and combat split ends. The lavendar and avocado intensive conditioner, £22, will keep hair soft and shiny. From lovelula.com. 

Burts Bees
Avocado butter pre-shampoo hair treatment, £9.99, will prep hair before shampooing, keeping it healthy. Plus it smells delicious! Available at lovelula.com. 

Pukka
Pukka organic coconut oil is not just a hair treatment. Apply it to hair to keep it healthy, and if you get hungry grab a spoon! It can be used in cooking to add flavour to dishes. £7.95, pukkaherbs.com. 

Neals Yard
Their rosemary and cedarwood hair treatment, £6.20, works both the scalp and the hair, deep conditioning and is best when left to work overnight. Even better if you leave the hair to dry naturally. Available at lovelula.com. 

Mop
Editor Sally swears by Mop products. Their glisten and shine drops, £12.50, do exactly what they say on the tin, giving you high shine locks Chezza would be proud of. Their glisten and shine pomade can be used as a serum, or mixed with gel to style. Great to use after the drops. £12,50, all available from mophair.com. 

Dr Bronner
Dr Bronner’s organic shikakai conditioning hair rinse is as complicated to use as it is to say, but if you have patience, worth every minute. It looks very suspicious, and after use made my bathroom look as though I’d had a fight with a toilet training toddler. However, it left my hair soft, shiny and full and smelling lovely and citrusy. Just don’t get it in your eyes and mouth – not fun. £8.95 from lucyrose.biz 

Amazonia Preciosa
This restorative hair mask is easy to use. It smells like almonds, and the only tricky part is the hot towel detail. I didn’t see much difference after use, but people did ask if I’d had my hair done, and said it looked ‘healthy and full’. Can’t argue with that, right?! Exclusively available at Liberty.