Everything to Know Before Getting a Hair Gloss

• A hair-gloss treatment is your ticket to shiny, “liquid” hair.
• Hair glosses can be clear or contain colour and have many benefits, including enhancing hair dye and boosting shine.
• Learn more about hair gloss vs. hair glaze from a professional.

Hair-salon visits, as relaxing and transformative as they may be, can be a little stressful if you don’t know the lingo and terminology that your stylist is using. From toners and semipermanent hair dyes to hair glazes and keratin treatments, there can be a lot to keep track of. That’s why we’re breaking down everything you need to know about getting a hair gloss.

Below, with some help from a professional stylist, we’re answering all your hair-gloss questions, including what it is, how it affects your hair colour, and how you can do the treatment at home.

What Is a Hair Gloss?

A hair gloss is a type of hair-colouring process that’s applied from the middle to the ends of your hair. “Hair gloss can be used in a couple of ways – either to add pigment and shine to faded colour or to freshly highlighted hair as a second step,” L’Oréal Paris style and colour expert Jonathan Colombini tells POPSUGAR. But that’s not all: it can also be used to remove unwanted tones in hair, such as brassiness from blonds.

If you don’t have colour-treated hair, you can still benefit from a hair-gloss treatment – just in a different way. Hair gloss can be applied to virgin hair to seal the cuticle, adding shine and smoothing frizz.

The Difference Between Hair Gloss vs. Hair Glaze

At the salon, you may be presented with the option to get a hair gloss or a hair glaze, and there’s a difference. It all comes down to life span. “Glazes do not have any ammonia or peroxide in them, so they can last only up to a week and a few days, whereas glosses do have low levels of ammonia and peroxide, so [they] can last anywhere between four or five weeks,” Colombini says.

Depending on how frequently you shampoo your hair, your glaze may wash out faster.

The Benefits of a Hair Gloss

Whether or not you get a clear hair gloss or a hair gloss with colour, the benefits are almost identical. The treatment adds shine – giving you that liquid-hair look – and sometimes pigment to the ends of your hair. “However, glosses carry more of a noticeable impact for colour-treated hair since it treats the eventual colour fade that results from colouring the hair,” Colombini says.

If you’re overall happy with your current hair colour and not looking to change or enhance it in any way, he recommends using a clear gloss.

Hair Gloss at Home

Just as there are professional-grade DIY hair-colour kits to do at home, there are hair-gloss treatments for home use. They’re particularly handy if you just want to give your hair a light refresh without trekking all the way to the salon.

At the salon, your hair gloss will be more precise, but at-home hair-gloss treatments are great for maintenance. Colombini recommends the L’Oréal Paris Le Color Gloss, which comes in 13 colours. “It’s a one-step, no-mixing, colouring conditioner that enhances your colour while boosting shine.”

Hair Gloss Before and After Photos

Ahead, see before and after photos of a hair-gloss treatment by celebrity hairstylist Linet K.