Growing balayaged hair without breakage is always a challenge, and little is more vexing than that moment when your hair looks like it might reach the ideal length before just snapping off, leaving the ends frazzled and in need of a trim.

However much you may hate the idea of it, if you’re at that stage, the best thing to do is to go and have a cut – just ask your hairdresser to take the least off possible, dusting the ends off the dry and damaged portions where breakage has occurred.

But there’s plenty you can do before it comes to that point to fortify and keep hair hydrated and therefore able to weather the challenges of colour and styling.

One of the key things to remember is that it is rarely the case that you can pinpoint one single part of your routine that is making your hair weaker; it is almost always a combination of things and you can therefore offset damage at many stages.

Some things to consider include asking for an Olaflex treatment during your balayage appointment, making sure the brush you use on your hair doesn’t drag too much, using shampoos and conditioners that strengthen, reducing heat styling as much as is feasible, and remembering that a good hair mask used at least weekly will help matters enormously. Here are three that work wonders:

Best for blondes: Schwarzkopf BlondMe Keratin Restore Bonding Mask For All Blondes will help to repair the inner structure of hair as well as improving elasticity and is an excellent option if you have balayaged hair.

Best for frizz: Redken Extreme Strength Builder Plus is ideal if you have hair that needs to be both more resilient and some smoothing thanks to the blend of proteins, ceramides, and lipids.

Best if growing hair: Kastaste Masque Force Architect is specifically designed to breathe life into hair that’s nearing the point of breakage.