When I was a kid, people used to stop me in the street and ask my mum if they could touch my hair. Of course, nowadays they'd receive a firm slap and a jail sentence if they attempted such perverted acts, but back then, things were different. And so was my hair, apparently.

Come the mid 80s, the curling tongs were hot. Then came the straighteners. Then brown wasn't good enough anymore and in rushed shades of red, orange... even a few strands of blue. Years later of course, it's the water in Dubai that makes what was once a glossy mane of brunette, reflective glory look a little like I had a fight with a haystack (and lost). Apparently, the salt from the taps here is damaging our hair, girls, strand by strand - and it's a hell of a lot harder to fix than you'd think!

Maria Dowling, help me, I pleaded. I had a leaving party to attend and I wanted my hair to look its best. Heck, I wanted someone in the Park Hyatt to stop and ask if they could touch it and I don't mind admitting that at all! And so, in I was ushered for a hair detox - a brand new treatment her High-Hairness has imported from Thailand.

I love Maria's salon. It's been in the same spot in Satwa (just down from the Capitol hotel) for six years and the regulars won't go anywhere else! The floor is like a surrealist's painting - all black and yellow zig zags, and it's the little touches, like the menu of extensive teas with ingredients you've never heard of, that add to the experience.

On this occasion, my hair detox was to consist of a soak (no wash, the treatment cleanses the rubbish right out), a glorious head massage and a total covering in a clay-based concoction that smelt a little like my scalp was a VIP at a Body Shop party. The clay allegedly absorbs all the toxins that the sun and chemically based shampoos leave in the hair. Tea-tree and sandlewood add moisture, and all you have to do is sit back and read about Charlotte Church's latest endeavor in a glossy mag, as the beauty is restored in your barnet.

Twenty minutes later, after a rinse and blow dry, my hair was the shiniest I'd seen it in years. Genius! In just half an hour my lame, dry locks had been transformed and my stylist, Tricia, tells me people come in once a week to get it done, sometimes not even washing their hair in-between. You can also buy the detox treatment in tubs to take home, so you can perform this miracle yourself. To think we've come full circle, from damaging our hair with out-of-the-box kits, to fixing it all up again with clay. A man would never understand.

That night, at the Park Hyatt, whilst swishing my detoxed locks about with an urgency reserved only for those who want people to notice they've had something done, my friends ooohed and aaaahed in appreciation. "Can I touch it?" asked Kate, apprehensively. Mission accomplished, I thought. Cheers Maria! My mum would be so proud.

Hair detox treatment - Dhs 100
Maria Dowling - Satwa, three buildings down from Capitol Hotel
Tel: 9714 345 4225