I'm sure by now your social media feed has clued you in on a magical little thing called hair glossing. No? Let me explain. Hair glossing is a great way to enhance your natural color or add vibrancy to dull, color-treated hair. As a bonus, it also adds some serious shine. You can opt for a hair gloss treatment at the salon, or you can try one for yourself at home. Me, being a total hair gloss novice, I decided to try one out for the summer and share the results.
I won't lie to you, it didn't disappoint. If you're curious to learn more about this little underrated treatment and its benefits, keep scrolling. I've broken down the difference between a hair gloss and glaze with a few trusted hairstylists and rounded up the best at-home treatments to try.
Hair Glossing vs. Hair Glazing
According to color specialist Kevin Kelly, "A hair gloss is a demi-permanent treatment (meaning it lays over the cuticle) that helps add shine or deposit color to tone out unwanted tones. It can also decrease frizz." They're great for those who color their hair and want to preserve the vibrancy of their hue or can work great for those who just want to enhance their natural color and give it a little extra oomph. Hairstylist Jennifer Korab also adds that "a gloss can be clear or colored depending on your desired results. Hair gloss will intensify shine, enhance color, and keep things from fading."
Now, you might be wondering what the difference is between a hair gloss and a glaze. Don't worry, we have you covered. A hair gloss treatment can help seal the hair's cuticle and penetrates more deeply than a hair glaze. Hair glazing merely coats the hair, making it a bit milder than a gloss. Glazes usually are usually clear and only act as a conditioning treatment to boost moisture and shine.
You can get a hair gloss treatment in a salon, but there are also some great budget-friendly options to try at home that can deliver serious results. If you're curious about my review of the Kristin Ess Hair Signature Hair Gloss Treatment, keep reading.
My Review of a Hair Gloss Treatment
I decided to test out celebrity stylist Kristin Ess's at-home Signature Hair Gloss in the shade Bittersweet for this review. You can see in the above photo what my hair looked like prior to the gloss. My natural color consists of a reddish, dark brown. I'd never used a hair gloss treatment prior to this, so I was extra careful when mixing the formulas. It comes with two pre-measured bottles and gloves for any other newbies out there wondering. You pour one into the other, shake it a bit, and you're ready to go. It's labeled as an in-shower treatment, but I definitely had to shut off the water and step out to let it sit for 20 minutes. I also have to note that it can definitely get messy so be prepared for that.
Once I applied the entire bottle of gloss to wet hair and let it sit, I hopped back in the shower and shampooed and conditioned like normal. I really loved the results. The gloss added a lot of vibrancy and shine to my natural color that I'll fully admit was not there before. It almost looked like I dyed my hair a rich, black cherry shade and I was living for it. You can't see a dramatic difference in the above photo, but the results are definitely there, and I think it added the perfect amount of extra color I was looking for. My only con is that my hair had a bit of a weird quality to it after using the gloss and conditioning. (It was most likely due to the color deposits.) Hopefully, that won't affect my hair too much, but overall this gloss is a great at-home option for those who want to boost their natural hue or for those who color their hair. You can see my results plus check out a few other great at-home options down below.
Best At-Home Hair Glosses and Glazes
Korab recommends this luxurious glaze from Oribe that conditions, adds shine, and helps brighten up color or highlights.
Amika's clear hair gloss is a great option if you just want to add some quick shine to your locks. It softens, hydrates, and adds shine in just 60 seconds with ingredients like red wine extract, hydrolyzed flax seed, and an amino acid complex.
This semi-permanent treatment boosts dull, lackluster strands with vibrant color and deep conditioning agents.
This color conditioning gloss treatment comes in 10 shades, including clear. It deposits semi-permanent color, deep conditions, and adds softness to the hair.
If you're going to invest in an at-home gloss treatment, it might as well be one formulated by Beyoncé's colorist.
Ion Intensive's treatment is a clear gloss that contains botanically derived ingredients that promote megawatt shine.
If you're looking to refresh your color, Madison Reed's Color Reviving Gloss is a great option. It reduces brassiness, adds shine, and makes your color look refreshed without over darkening or creating color buildup.
This clear gloss from John Frieda gives hair salon-level shine and improves overall texture. Your locks will be left silky smooth for the weeks to come.
Korab loves this Pureology formula for blondes because it neutralizes brassy, yellow, or orange tones in the hair. It also restores shine and softness and refreshes up to eight washes.
Both Kelly and Korab love Redken EQ glosses for an in-salon treatment. They can enhance, tone down, or intensify natural or color-treated hair.
Keeping your hair color glossy and gorgeous just got easier with L'Oréal's One Step Toning Gloss. This is also an in-shower toning gloss that deep conditions, adds shine, and color deposits to the hair in one easy step.
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