I started getting my hair coloured in my late 30s. I wanted to see I could pull it off. That it hid the grey was a happy coincidence .

I had been using the L’Oréal’s Serie Expert’s Color Radiance Shampoo and Masque on the salon’s recommendation. The Masque especially was quite good for my hair and led to less breakages. But the products didn’t come cheap. They retail at anything from 1200-1300 depending on the site you source it from. Unless you get it directly from a salon in which case it could cost slightly more.

Courtesy the nation-wide lockdown however, when I ran out of my usual shampoo+conditioner, I was forced to look for alternatives. And the answer came in the form of another offering from L’Oréal- their Color Protect range. Retailing at Rs.239 for 360 ml and Rs.169 for 175 ml respectively, the shampoo and conditioner are extremely effective in protecting and cleaning coloured hair without much hair breakage in the process.

The hair gets bouncy, stays soft and the Color Protect range is easier to source from supermarkets instead of having to hit the salons or visit Nykaa or Amazon. So lesson to be learnt here is this- stick with a good brand but shop around a bit. Just because it’s expensive doesn’t mean it’s the best thing out there for you. Sometimes high-end is just that; high.