I feel as though I’ve done a bit of a run of very expensive products lately, so here we go with some that are affordable and very effective.

I had a MARE of a day yesterday, because I hadn’t read my schedule properly that my agency had emailed me, and failed to see that I had a shoot in the afternoon! That will teach me to skim-read! Anyway, because I was already in central London there was no point going home, so I decided to pop to the gym to wash my hair  (I was cultivating a wild, bed-head look, and protocol dictates that models appear at a shoot with washed hair and clean shoes). I realised en-route that the only shampoo in my gym locker was James Brown’s ‘Big Night Out’ hair, or something similarly named, which literally turns my hair into yellow pipe-cleaners; so I nipped into Boots to have a little perusal of the goods.

My one and only concern as I was browsing the shelves was that the shampoo shouldn’t strip out my semi-permanent colour, and so I was looking for, ideally, an SLS-free shampoo. Look at what I found! A shampoo and conditioner that are SLS-free, 97% natural and also protect colour from the effects of the sun! Although the sun part was rather optimistic, I was completely sold on the natural, SLS-free bit. The products were £3.99 each, which I thought was very reasonable indeed – it wasn’t until I left the store that I realised I could have had a third item for free (thanks, till lady!) but hey-ho. Such is life.

The shampoo is scented with cinnamon, which isn’t entirely offensive but wouldn’t be my first choice of ingredient. I can just about stomach cinnamon in small amounts – this smelt a bit like those chewing gums that were all the rage at one point. “Big Red”, was it? The shampoo lathered pretty well, although I used a fair amount. The trick with SLS-free shampoos is to have hair absolutely wet through, and it’s difficult to achieve that when you’re washing under what amounts to a watering can fixed to the wall. So I used a little too much, probably. But the shampoo managed to remove four days’ worth of product build-up and dirt -(before you ask, I was doing an experiment) – which was very impressive. My hair was absolutely clean but didn’t feel dried-out or stripped, and once the conditioner was applied it was silky smooth.

Altogether a very impressive performance from Naked. This would be an extra-beneficial buy for those of you who spend a lot of time outdoors or live in a hot country. Sun and harsh cleaning chemicals really are the two things that affect hair-colour, so it’s wise to get into the habit of using shampoos that protect – you’ll see the difference in the amount of time between salon visits!

Naked Colour Protecting Shampoo and Conditioner, £3.99 each from Boots.