ROADTEST: 'I tried Pump Haircare’s Blonde Collection to see if plant-based ingredients can help me keep unwanted yellow tones away.'

I won't lie. My hair is on a downward spiral.     

I am currently stuck in day 5,431 of lockdown in Sydney, or otherwise know as week 8 or 9. And my hair is not okay. 

I get it coloured 2-3 times a year with lots of natural looking blonde foils, and often get regular cuts to maintain a short, sharp bob. 

Then COVID happened. And it's been all over the place.

The last time I coloured by hair it was probably around 6 months ago. It was a fresh, ash-like blonde. But then I was left to my own devices.

If you're a fellow faux blonde you know the feeling all too well. A few washes down and the colour starts to fade, and some areas start to tip over to the dreaded yellow and gold. All of a sudden, you are panic buying any remedy to prolong the inevitable. 

Add to that the fact that hairdressers have been closed in Sydney for over 2 months now, and I've been feeling like my hair is a bit... ugh. 

Most of the time I've been slicking it back into a low bun because frankly, I just can't be bothered. But sometimes I catch my reflection in a Zoom call and think... oof. When was the last time I wash my hair? I can't even remember anymore. Is that a hint of yellow I see?! Say it isn't so.

I normally wash my hair every 2-3 days, but in lockdown I've been pushing that even further. Yet, every time I do wash my hair, I feel INSTANTLY better. It's like a superpower. I feel human again. 

I decided that I'd make more effort to look after my lockdown hair, and try some haircare for blondes in the hopes of leaving my colour-treated, dry and fine hair more hydrated, while keeping those yellow tones at bay. One can dream, right?

Pump Haircare

A friend of mine swears by Pump Haircare (she even wrote this article about trying the Curly Girl Method), so I thought: let's give Pump Haircare's Blonde collection a go. This range is specially formulated for blondes, and includes their Blonde Shampoo, Blonde Toning Conditioner, Blonde Hair Mask and Blonde Leave In Moisture Spray. 

The Blonde range fresh out of the (sustainably packaged) box! Image: Supplied.

One of my favourite things about this brand is that it's made with plant-based ingredients. I have been making a conscious effort this year to consume and support brands more sustainably (which often can feel quite overwhelming), so I have started with small swaps. 

Finding haircare that helps me do this is one of the small changes I definitely want to keep making. 

All of Pump Haircare's product tubes are made with environmentally-friendly sugarcane – with a zero carbon footprint – right here in Australia (in a solar powered facility too!). All of their bottles are made by Australia's first carbon neutral recycled plastics manufacturing facility, and created from post-consumer recycled plastic. 

What an enormous commitment and positive impact this has!

The plant-based ingredients Pump Haircare uses too includes Liquorice Root and Aloe Vera Extracts with Argan Oil, Shea Butter and Soy Proteins. These ingredients aim to moisturise and condition your hair, soothe your scalp and provide deep moisture to dry and damaged hair (so basically: sign me up). The hydrolysed proteins in the range promise to deliver essential nutrition to the hair shaft and conditions the hair follicle, making your strands stronger and healthier. 

This combination of ingredients and benefits sounds literally tailored to what I need.

My hair is VERY fine, gets dry easily and I have noticed when I'm stressed I have a bit more fall-out than usual. This is something I'm quite self-conscious about, and I'm always trying to use products that can help strengthen and thicken it.

I love that Pump Haircare is an Australian lady startup too, created by a hairdresser Natasha Jay, who started her business in 2017 after experiencing her own hair loss as a symptom of endometriosis. 

It feels so comforting using products developed directly from a lady startup's own personal need. From her own struggle, she worked with local formulators to create this Australian made, plant and botanical based, organic haircare range that actually works without the nasty ingredients. 

I couldn't be more keen to get it on my head! I had high hopes too – my hair needed some serious help.

That regrowth is... not okay. Image: supplied.

The colour is getting a bit brassy... and mismatched. Image: supplied.

Here we go.

First up I tried the Blonde Shampoo and Blonde Toning Conditioner. 

As a side note – I appreciate this packaging so much, they're made form 100% post-consumer recycled plastic, and I very much enjoy these pastel purples in my bathroom. 

Image: Supplied.

I popped in the shower, rinsed my hair and removed the excess water before adding the Blonde Shampoo as evenly as I could in my hair. I left it in for exactly 4 minutes to do its thing (I take time-based instructions very seriously), rinsed well and followed it with the Toning Conditioner. I added evenly, concentrating on mid-length to ends.

The products have a very subtle yet delightful smell, which made using them feel a bit luxurious – especially needed in lockdown life. They're both silicone-free, paraben-free and sulphate-free, so that gave me a huge boost in peace of mind that they weren't full of nasties.

After rinsing, I jumped out of the shower and towel dried my hair, ready to try the mask. 

Image: Supplied.

I'm not going to lie... I feel like I don't usually know what I'm doing with hair masks? I just, sort of, slap them in there and hope they're doing... something?! But after reading about how hydrating this one is, I was keen on seeing a noticeable difference.

I applied a small amount to towel dried hair and waited for 10 minutes. I decided to put a face mask on at the same time to really take advantage of the pampering... because why not. 

The Blonde Hair Mask felt really rich, creamy and hydrating, like when you're at the hairdresser and they give you a treatment. It smelled SO good, and was very easier to work into towel dried hair and not feel like hard work. Huge tick from me.

After rinsing it all off well in the shower and letting my hair completely dry, I can confirm it feels VERY SOFT. Somehow it also has more volume too, which is a miracle to me as dry and flat is its usual MO.

(I didn't know I'd be fully converted to hair masks in this roadtest, but I am now! I'll definitely be using Pump Haircare's Blonde Hair Mask once a week to keep my hair feeling fresh, hydrated and revived.) 

First round trial! Image: Supplied.

I used the Blonde Shampoo and Blonde Toning Conditioner duo 4 more times throughout the next week and a half, and I am genuinely so impressed with my results. 

SO IMPRESSED.

Not only does it feel super soft; it's toned out some of the yellow/gold I had spotted starting to creep in, and revived me back to a light, low-key blonde. I feel like it's given me salon-quality results, straight from my own Sydney bathroom.

A few people have even commented saying it looked like I got my hair freshly done, which is music to a dyed blonde's ears really.

Image: Supplied.

Image: Supplied.

Last but never least, Pump Haircare's Leave In Moisture Spray needs a notable mention because this stuff might be my favourite of all the products. I live by the beach so I am often swimming, even in winter. 

But my hair tends to suffer.

But fear no more! I used this spray post-beach swim after I rinsed the salt water out of my hair, and this Leave In Moisture Spray instantly conditioned and detangled it, leaving it to dry happily moisturised and not brittle from the salt water. 

It uses White Tea extract too, which is super nourishing for the hair without weighing it down. I loved it, and it worked well with my short lob. I can see this being an easy re-purchase well into summer and beyond.

A little bottle of magic. Image: Supplied.

If you're looking for a purple haircare range for blondes that truly works to keep the brassiness away, Pump Haircare is sparking major joy. 

GIF: Supplied.

It's not harsh, it's a female-founded Australia start-up and they're products (and packaging) that are low-impact on the planet. I really can't recommend Pump Haircare enough. I was sceptical that plant-based products may not be as effective in keeping yellow tones at bay, but I am glad to be proven wrong here! Pump Haircare's active botanical ingredients know exactly what they're doing with my lockdown locks (thank goodness, 'cos I sure don't). 

These products will very much continue to be on heavy rotation in my bathroom!

Check out Pump Haircare's story, and the products in their Blonde collection.

Feature: Supplied.