Last Updated on December 13, 2022 by Gaga
What is Hair Gloss?
Hair Gloss is a color-enhancing and shine-boosting hair treatment. It can be applied as a final touch after coloring or can be performed as a stand-alone treatment to refresh dull, discolored hair.
The acidic nature of glossing products helps to seal the cuticle layer. This creates a smooth surface that reflects light, adding a beautiful sheen to your hair. The film around the hair strands keeps color molecules wrapped to lock in your favorite color shade.
There are two main types of hair glossing products:
1. A clear hair gloss contains hair-smoothing ingredients that coat and seal the cuticle to boost shine.
2. A tinted hair gloss is infused with color pigments to revive fading color or enhance your natural hue.
How Long Does Hair Gloss Last?
Since glosses only coat the outside of the hair, they gradually wash out with shampooing. A salon gloss treatment lasts from four to six weeks on average. If you do the treatment yourself, it may last 2-3 weeks. In both cases, you will need to reapply the glossing product periodically to maintain the results.
However, if you just need to refresh your hair for a special event, hair gloss is a great option.
At-Home Hair Gloss vs Salon
Some formulas are meant to be used by professionals (such as Redken Shades EQ Color Gloss) because their application requires skilled hands to achieve the desired shade.
Fortunately, many glossing products are easy to apply at home and can be much more affordable than in-salon treatments.
So, if you want to save some money, give it a try, especially if you are planning to use a clear gloss. Make sure to wait two days before shampooing to allow your hair enough time to absorb the treatment.
Benefits of Hair Glossing
1. Enhances Color Results
When applied after coloring, hair gloss enhances the tone of color-treated hair. When used between colorings, it revitalizes faded color and replenishes lost tones, making the color look fresh and vibrant.
2. Extends The Life Of Your Hair Color
If your color fades too fast, apply hair gloss once a week to maintain the color and prolong the time between coloring sessions. Hair glosses are especially beneficial for overly porous hair that tends to lose color quickly.
3. Adds Smoothness and Shine to Your Hair
A gloss tightly closes the hair cuticle, which results in smooth and polished hair. Hair gloss adds vibrancy and shine to your dull hair and makes it look healthier.
4. Eliminates Unwanted Tones
The application of a hair gloss can cancel out unwanted yellow and brassy tones in blonde hair and neutralize red undertones in brunette hair.
5. Reduces Frizz
This treatment seals the hair cuticle, which helps to reduce frizz and tame flyaway hair. Your hair will look and feel softer, healthier, and shinier.
6. Repairs Summer Damage
If your hair has lost its color vibrancy due to exposure to the sun and seawater, hair gloss could fix the damage and make your overly stressed hair appear shiny and healthy again.
7. Non-Committal
Before opting for permanent hair color, consider getting a glossing treatment instead. This is an easy way to make a subtle color change without using harsh chemicals. You can experiment with different shades without over-drying or damaging your locks. The effects fade away within a month, so there’s no long-term commitment.
8. Fades without Visible Line of Demarcation
Unlike permanent hair color, a hair gloss fades gradually, without leaving a harsh line of demarcation in the hair. So, there is no unsightly contrast between the new growth and previously treated hair.
9. Blends Grays
If you don’t have a high percentage of gray hair, hair gloss will blend your grays nicely, making them less noticeable.
10. Gentle on Your Hair
Hair gloss enhances your hair’s natural beauty, without any unwanted side effects. The application is more comfortable than using permanent dyes, as there is no strong ammonia smell.
Best At-Home Hair Glosses
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1. John Frieda Color REFRESHING Gloss
The John Frieda gloss is available in six shades to match different hair colors. The biggest advantage of this product is that it is very easy to use. This in-shower treatment takes just five minutes to restore hair color and shine. The formula is free of ammonia and peroxide, so it is will not damage your hair.
What this glossing treatment can do for your hair:
- Refreshes the vibrancy and tones of color-treated hair between color sessions.
- Makes your hair feel healthy and gives it a glossy sheen
- Extend the life of your color and prolong the time between salon visits
- Make gray strands less noticeable
- Leaves hair soft, silky, and manageable
- Neutralizes brassiness in blonde, white, and gray hair
How to Use
- Make sure your hair is freshly shampooed.
- Put a quarter-sized amount of the product into the palm of your hand, then work it through your hair from root to tip to coat each strand.
- Leave the product on for at least 3 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
- Wash your hands immediately after applying.
To keep your color looking fresh, apply this product once a week.
2. Oribe Glaze for Beautiful Color
This clear conditioning glaze is easy to use at home. The product adds a beautiful shine to colored hair and helps your color last longer. It can also be used to boost the shine of virgin hair. It conditions and softens damaged hair leaving it smooth, tangle-free, and healthy-looking.
How to use: Apply a small dime size to damp hair after shampooing, run through the hair, and leave it on for about five minutes. Use once a week in place of conditioner or whatever your hair needs refreshment.
3. Bumble and Bumble Color Gloss
This glossing product comes in five shades: Cool Blonde, Warm Blonde, Universal Red, Brunette, and Clear to match different hair colors. Your highlighted hair will love the Clear.
This hair color enhancer is used to magnify shine and revive any shade of color-treated hair. It also enhances natural hair color and gives instant shine to your locks.
Bumble and Bumble Color Gloss contains conditioning ingredients that leave your hair with more volume, frizz-free, full, and easy to style. The product is free of ammonia and peroxide.
Drawback: This product could be too pricey for regular use. One tube is sufficient for up to 2 applications if you have medium-length hair. If you are not comfortable with the price, you may want to use it only for special occasions.
How to use
This hair gloss is easy to apply, as it can be used straight from the tube.
- Divide your dry hair into four sections.
- Apply the product throughout each section, then use a comb to spread it more evenly.
- Leave the treatment on for 20 minutes, then rinse. The exception is the Cool Blonde, which only requires four minutes after application.
- Follow with shampoo and conditioner.
4. R+Co Gemstone Ultra Shine Glossing Treatment
If you prefer products that deliver immediate results without adding additional steps to your daily hair care routine, R+Co Gemstone Ultra Shine Glossing Treatment might be the right choice for you. All you need is to use it once a week in place of your regular conditioner and leave it on for about five minutes.
This vegan glossing cream seals the cuticle giving your hair shine and softness and protecting the color.
The company doesn’t test its products on animals and takes steps to reduce virgin plastic consumption in product packaging.
5. Clairol Professional Radiance Color Gloss
Clairol Radiance Color Gloss is a semi-permanent hair gloss that comes in 21 glamorous shades. This ammonia-free gloss is easy to work with and doesn’t damage your hair. You can apply it to a virgin, colored, permed, or relaxed hair.
This home glossing treatment gives smoothness and sheen to dry, color-treated hair. It revives the color, providing even and lasting coverage.
If you need something to improve your lifeless and dull hair between salon appointments, Clairol Professional Radiance Color Gloss is a great color enhancer. It also leaves your hair looking healthier and shinier, and helps to define your curls.
This gloss keeps your hair shiny for approximately four to six weeks, and will slowly fade away with each wash.
How to Use
The product should be applied to damp, freshly washed hair. Make sure to also purchase the Clairol Professional Radiance Color Infuser. Use latex gloves during the preparation and application stages.
- Mix 2 oz. of the Clairol Professional Radiance Color Gloss with the Clairol Professional Radiance Color Infuser in an applicator bottle.
- Shake hard for about one minute.
- Apply the solution to your hair and distribute it evenly to coat every strand.
- Leave the mixture on your hair for 20 minutes.
- Cover your hair with a plastic cap and use a hairdryer for 15 minutes. The heat helps the product to penetrate better. However, using heat is not recommended if you apply the gloss immediately after a relaxer.
- Rinse your hair with warm water and apply a deep conditioner.
- Rinse the conditioner and then dry and style your hair as desired.
Gaga is a blogger and founder of the Softer Hair website. She often says that insomnia is to blame for her first blogging attempts. Being the night owl, she hated the morning alarm. She left her office job and returned to what she loved most - writing.
Thank you for the heads up that hair glossing is the best way to fix sun- and sea-damaged hair by restoring its health, shine, and color. Since my mom needs her overly stressed out hair revitalized and renewed, she might need her hair treated with just the right amount of color and a generous amount of gloss. Since glosses are basically hair colors without the harsh chemicals, I’m sure that my dad would appreciate spending more for this treatment than he would with synthetic hair treatments. My mom would definitely love having her hair colored for the first time in nearly 50 years of her life.