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I’m a little obsessed with hair gloss I have to admit. When I discovered them a few years ago I was looking for a way to give my hair some extra shine without making it greasy, but hair glosses are amazing for a lot more than that.
Hair glosses help control frizz and can give your hair a tint of color to lengthen the time before I have to color my hair again. But if shine is all you’re after, there are so many amazing clear ones on the market that will make your hair glow.
I’ve tried a bunch of the hair glosses on the market and have some thoughts on which ones are best whether you’re looking for shine or a nice wash of color.
The dpHue glosses are some of the most popular glosses to give you a salon-worthy glow treatment at home. They come in 12 colors including clear, You can leave the gloss on for 3-20 minutes depending on how much color you want to deposit into your hair and get the benefits of a tint of color as well as amazing shine. The results last for up to 4 weeks, depending on how often you wash your hair.
My Review: I love the dpHue Gloss+ and found it really easy to use. I also loved the color it gave my hair. Using a tinted hair gloss can be a bit tricky, although it will of course depend on what color your hair is to start with and what color you’re aiming for. I have brown hair with a hint of auburn and I used the Auburn dpHue+ Gloss to try to enhance the auburn in my hair. I really liked the color and the shine it gave my hair.
Glosses generally aren’t strong enough to cover greys, however I found that with the dpHue Gloss+ it did blend my strands enough to hide my greys!
Kristin Ess has one of the cheapest glosses on the market which is enough to make it a must-try for anyone looking to see igloos is for them. They have 12 signature glosses including the clear version. Their glosses are a bit different in that they are intended for a specific color. For example, I used their Chocolate Cosmo color which is meant for dark brown hair to add warm tones. It also lasts for up to 3-4 weeks.
My Review: In my case, the gloss actually tinted my brown and auburn hair into a more dark chocolate color. I imagine my hair was more auburn than the dark brown color they specify, but I did really like the color it gave my hair. The shine was undeniable. The process is a little more like dying hair since you do have to mix the solution, but they give you gloves to wear while you put it on your hair which is nice to prevent staining.
Kristin Ess Signature Gloss in Chocolate Cosmo Before (left) and After (right)
The Maria Nila Color Refreshes are a really cool idea for giving your hair color a tint. They encourage you to mix colors to create our own custom shade, and they even have a white shade to dilute the color if you’re looking for something less intense. They also have colors in more nontraditional shades like Pink Pop and Vivid Violet.
My Review: I used the Color Refresh in Bright Copper to try to give my hair a red tint. I preferred the red color the dpHue Gloss+ gave me which was a little more natural, so in the future I would likely leave the gloss on for less time to get a less dramatic result. I also think the application was pretty easy but I did see more staining on my skin around my face that took a couple days to fully fade, so I’d recommend really cleaning those areas as you go to get an even result and no staining.
I wanted to include a clear gloss on this list, but since I’ve tried so many (and found them to be pretty similar), I decided to talk about my favorite one. The Kerastase Soin Acide Chroma Absolu Gloss repairs damaged hair while it gives it a smoother and shinier finish. It’s recommend to use once a week and I love it as a gloss and a repairing treatment.
My Review: This is one of my favorite glosses for the longer-term benefits it gives as well as the softness and shine it gives my hair. This is one of my favorite hair glosses to keep my hair feeling silky.
Hair glosses are growing in popularity and I love all the new formulas that are coming onto the market. I hope there will be more affordable versions in the future. In the meantime, I think hair glosses are definitely worth a try if you are trying to extend the time between hair coloring appointments or try out a tint of color before you commit with permanent hair dye. My favorite benefit though is the shine they give hair which instantly makes it look and feel healthy!
