'This $7 hair oil saved my damaged hair after one wash.'

I came back from my recent European summer holiday with 15 kilos of dirty washing, a tonne of memories (most of which involved food) and extremely damaged hair.

Not to be dramatic, but it looked like trash and felt like sandpaper.

I honestly thought not using hot hair tools for over a month would have a positive impact on my hair.

My hairdryer sat untouched at the bottom of my suitcase, and I fully embraced airdrying my naturally wavy hair for that 'fresh out of the ocean' holiday look.

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But from the moment I started washing and styling my hair back in the real world, my hair looked dull, brittle and seriously frizzy — even frizzier when I tried my holiday airdrying technique at home.

This isn't me trying to be self-deprecating, by the way. I pride myself on having swishy, shiny, TV commercial hair, so trust me when I say, six weeks of sun, salt and humidity left my hair in dire need of help.

Watch: You Beauty's Kelly McCarren shares her genius 30-second hair hack, post continues below.

First stop was the hairdressers. Because I've never dyed my hair (I'm a natural Ranga!), I assumed regular trims weren't as important for me. However, after telling my hairdresser this during a recent salon appointment, he humbled me by informing me that my ends were so dry, that it looked like I had colour damage. Ouch.

I've used and loved Kérastase's Elixir Ultime Hair Oil for years, but at $118 for 75ml? Absolutely not. No way was I wasting that precious stuff on my diabolical mid-lengths and ends.

I needed a more affordable alternative, and I found one while doing my Sunday grocery shop.

ALDI Protane Argan Hair Oil, $6.99.

Spendy vs. Savey, hair oil edition. Image: Supplied.

Like most things in ALDI, this hair oil looks like an alternate universe amalgamation of several other well-known brands.

The brand name could be mistaken for Pantene, the packaging was presumably 'inspired' by OGX's Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil, while the texture and scent of the golden oil inside took me back to sneaking my mum's MOROCCANOIL Original Oil Treatment from her bathroom as a child.

But at $6.99, I was prepared to give this suspiciously too-good-to-be-true product a crack.

Unlike dry oils and lightweight hair serums you use sparingly to smooth frizz and add shine, this argan oil hair product has a super thick texture; think of it more like a treatment oil than a finishing product.

My hair repair strategy was to douse my hair in this stuff. I added a 20-cent coin-sized amount to clean, damp hair from the ears down before letting it marinate in a microfibre hair wrap. I applied another decent dollop to my hair before blow drying.

The result? Ridiculously shiny, touchably soft hair that felt light as a feather. Even with heat styling, I noticed less frizz and significantly more natural lustre after just one use.

My hair on the last day of holidays (and I hadn't been in the ocean yet!), and today! Image: Supplied.

I've been using this hair oil as outlined above with every hair wash for a good month now. My hair is a lot more manageable than it was when I first got back from holidays, and it looks better with less styling, too — which makes a big difference when you wear your hair down every single day.

I am also obsessed with how this hair oil smells. It has a nostalgic 'supermarket haircare' scent that some might find overpowering, but I live how it lingers like a hair fragrance.

I've been through two bottles of this bargain hair oil since that fateful ALDI shop, and in this economy, I can't see myself giving it up anytime soon.

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Feature image: Supplied.