The Case of the At-Home Hair Glaze
Though a hair glaze is normally an expected step in a full professional color service, it’s more than just an add-on. Some salons offer it as a standalone to help enhance shine and revive color vibrancy. Unlike glossing treatments however it can’t lift or deposit color, and is typically not used to tone. Its main purpose in life is to add shine (and happiness, and a hall pass for those of us who like to wait till the last minute before retouching our dye jobs).
1. At-home glazing
Nope, the doughnut variety isn’t the only glaze you can take with you! Just as home hair care products exist to help maintain and extend the integrity of your new cut and color, an at-home hair glaze can step in and give you a much-needed shine boost—especially after a week or two into a new dye job, when some dullness and dryness might start to creep in.
2. How to use a hair glaze
Similar to a deep conditioning treatment, a hair glaze is applied to wet hair after washing and conditioning, then rinsed off. Hair is then dried and styled as desired. There are also formulas that are meant to provide smoothness and a gleam onto already-dry hair, and these can fall under the serum and cream categories. One favorite is Bed Head by TIGI Blow-Out Golden Illuminating Shine Cream, which works to fight flyaways and combats frizz, all while imparting a glossy look (it also has a golden shine and glitter!). A lower-octane option for when we’re not feeling quite so extra is Bed Head by TIGI After Party Smoothing Cream, which gives a silky, healthy-looking, lightweight feeling to any hair texture. If runway-smooth hair is the goal, a product that simultaneously defrizzes as it gives shine is your best bet. S Factor by TIGI Smoothing Lusterizer tames unruly hair and gives it a perfectly soft, smooth, humidity-resistant finish. Fans of a serum can also appreciate the power of a good shine product, like TRESemmé Keratin Smooth Keratin Infusing Smoothing Serum, which has keratin and Marula oil that helps to detangle and boost shine (without the grease too, so, yay!).
3. Between visits
Lazy girls may now rejoice, as treating your hair to a weekly hair glaze rinse in the shower, together with supplementing your stylers with shine glazes and vibrancy-boosting shine serums, can help prolong time between your salon visits. Heat also plays a huge factor in dulling color over time, so injecting a thermal protecting styler into your regular regimen also works wonders—and even help you squeeze an extra great hair day or two out of that fabulous new ‘do.
