I’m not a natural blonde. I’m sure you’re shocked. Shocked! Unfortunately, in the interest of this post, that information needed to be shared. In its original state, my hair is of that exceptional colour that Estonians call potato peel and the rest of the world calls mousy.

Compared to many other things, I’m not really interested in hair. I’ve been colouring it since my teens, however, and had black, bright red and very short platinum blond hair. Recently, I’ve been a shade of boring, flattering blonde that requires an expert – and expensive – colouring job every four weeks. The most annoying thing about being a high-maintenance fake blonde is not the time and money you spend in the salon, but that your lovely colour turns yellow after two washes. So even if you don’t want to, you’re sort of forced to develop an interest in hair products.

Which brings me to Christophe Robin. He is a French hair stylist whose products have always seemed interesting to me, but were quite difficult to get. A little while ago, it turned out that a colleague of mine who has excellent hair (And skin. And style. Quite annoying, really.) is a devotee. She gave me a list of what she uses and I promptly bought most of it.

Not surprisingly, the Shade Variation Care mask (in Baby Blond) turned out to be my favourite of the bunch. It’s a blue mask to leave on shampooed hair for up to half an hour and it does, indeed, help my hair stay a cool shade of blonde. I have used a very similar product by Davines in the past and while it wasn’t useless, Robin’s version is more effective and leaves my hair nicer. I use it together with the gentle Clarifying Shampoo with Chamomile and Cornflower that I also like – I love the soft, natural result.

Another thing on my list was the Moisturizing Hair Oil with Lavender, which in fact looks more like a cream. You can use it both pre- and post wash. I go for the former and even then, I have to be careful not to overdo it: my hair is fine and will easily turn limp. But the oil smells amazing and would be excellent for coarser hair, I think. The only product I haven’t really figured out is the new Brightening Hair Finish Lotion with Fruit Vinegar. It sounds super cool, but didn’t really work for me on dry hair (I haven’t tried it on damp hair yet).

Robin products are free from parabens, alcohol, silicones, SLS and some other stuff I cannot immediately recall. I don’t generally care too much and have no irrational fear of parabens, but I don’t like to use silicone-heavy shampoos all the time and SLS can be a true concern for some people. The combination of quality, carefully chosen ingredients and a famous name makes these products quite pricey. If you are a 19-year old of limited means who just wants glossy, bouncy hair – of course, look elsewhere. But if you are a choosy fake blond who spends a considerable amount of money at a hairdresser, the line is worth checking out. The cleansing salt scrub is next on my list.