My hair may be relatively long at the moment, but that doesn't mean it's in particularly good condition. In fact, if anything, it's looking a little rough around the edges.

There are two reasons. First, I was so blown away by the fact that for the first time in a decade I could tie back my hair that I kept putting off going for a trim. Then, as if to punish me for my foolish ways, when I eventually called my hairdresser I was told he'd gone away for a couple of weeks. My options were either to go to someone else or try to revive it myself. Going elsewhere wasn't an option - it's taken me so long to find a decent hairdresser that I'm not about to go and have a one night stand with just anyone. So it was time for some serious DIY hair TLC.

At-home hair treatments have come a long way since the days when my only option was to buy a job lot of VO5 hot oil (whose idea was it to create those money-grabbing ridiculously small tubes anyway?). Hair masks are now where it's at, but I find it hard to believe they are any better than an extra dose of your regular conditioner.

Not so, says Amy Farid, stylist for Bumble and Bumble, when I ask if masks aren't just a ploy to make us buy more products: "A mask is very rich and conditioning," she says. "It can only be done once a week because it may contain too much protein and start breaking off your hair. A conditioner eases the detangling and soothes the cuticle."

There are different types of masks, and you have to be careful in your choice, because the wrong one can do more harm than good, adds Farid. "Those with thick, curly hair should use a mask that is very rich, that contains oil, that will coat the hair and that will penetrate the scalp as well as the hair follicle, because curly and thick hair needs more moisture than regular hair.". Those with thin hair, meanwhile, should go for something a little less thick, she says. "If you have dead ends, you need something light that will not leave a residue."