How to ace the glossy hair look with hair glazes and at-home care
Have you heard? High-gloss hair is this season's must-have trend! After spending the last two spring seasons locked away without professional care, everyone wants the nourished look, and we're here for it.
You deserve to shine this summer, so we're giving the goss on salon Glaze treatments and at-home high-shine solutions.
What's a glaze?
Glazes are specialist in-salon treatments that add stunning shine to hair. They're applied at the backwash and take just ten minutes to work. They have an acidic base that causes the hair cuticle to lock and lie flat. Hair looks smoother, but the PH will be slightly lower — very strange when you consider the acidic base of the Glaze formula! It can also help lock hair and skin, forming a barrier to protect the inside from external aggressors.
Glaze treatments leave hair looking and feeling healthier, more youthful, and incredibly shiny. What's more, they also make it quicker and easier to blow-dry and brush your hair!
Do I need a Glaze treatment?
Glazes are a treatment that can benefit anyone and everyone! Like skin, hair is made of keratin cells (proteins) which naturally lose moisture, become damaged, and lose essential oils over time. All hair needs maintenance treatments to exfoliate or add back lost proteins, hydrators, or essential oils.
Glaze treatments come in a pigmented form, so you can use them to tweak your artificial colour or even your natural colour (when mixed with oxidants). They also come in a clear form, so your technician can customise your Glaze as a standalone treatment when you have a cut or as part of your colour service.
Glazes add smoothness and strength, making them excellent for ageing or greying hair. Over time, the body changes the way keratinocytes are created, their shape, and the chain that links them, which is the cause of roughness in grey hair. A Glaze can restore some of that softness and manageability.
Glazes are also great for overly porous hair. Porosity happens when the follicles of the hair aren't lying flat. Prolonged cuticle exposure to pollution, sun UV, heat styling or an artificial oxidative process (like colouring or perming/straightening) usually causes this.
Can glazes repair damaged hair?
Damaged hair is usually a result of lost protein bonds. You can replace them and rebuild hair with tailored services like Ultimate Protein Rejuvenating treatments, or Signature Smooth.
Our advice? Combine these with your Glaze treatment as part of your repairing program, so you get the added benefit of repair and protection by locking the cuticle. Your hair will have wonderful shine as a result!
What are my other gloss options in-salon?
Glaze treatments can lower the PH of your hair and for some people, that's a no-go. You can mimic the cuticle-locking effect of the Glaze's acid base with treatments that give the cuticle elasticity/flexibility or an added coat of essential fatty acids.
Hyaluronic acid can give the cuticle added oomph and hydration. It locks in moisture and temporarily reduces hair porosity. Argan oil is also great for adding strength and essential fatty acids back into the hair follicle, so it's shinier and more elastic.
Get the gloss at home: products to imbue you with shine
Keep your glossy locks shining brightly by introducing these at-home care products into your ritual. Taken straight from Paul Edmonds himself, these product recommendations run the gamut of hair types, so you can find something to suit you.
Everyday care essentials
You can add shine and manageability by swapping to cleansing essentials like Shu Uemura Silk Bloom shampoo and conditioner. They contain argan oil which is great for repairing hair while promoting a high gloss finish.
For ultimate impact, finish with a few drops of Shu Uemura Essence Absolue. It gives incredible shine and protects hair from harmful UV rays and the drying effects of the wind.
Shine boosters for coloured hair
To give your dulled colour back the lustre of when you left the salon, use high-gloss products for coloured hair. Top recommendations are Kérastase Bain Riche Chroma Respect shampoo and Soin Acide Chroma Gloss treatment. Use both together to ensure your colour fade is minimal and your shine is maximised.
Softness and shine for grey hair
Grey hair is more sensitive to picking up impurities in the atmosphere. It becomes dull and yellowish, so in this case, it's a matter of cleaning out the hair fibre and neutralising the yellow without dulling the hair.
Use Shu Uemura Yubi Blonde Glow Revealing shampoo as a first shampoo to clean out any build-up of product or impurities. Follow up with Yubi Blonde Anti-Brass Purple Shampoo to clean up yellow tones. Then use the Kérastase Blonde Absolu Cicaplasme Treatment to help de-frizz and smooth.
The second reason for grey hair looking dull is frizz which is to do with the cuticle layer looking rough and uneven as well as curl. The best advice is to try a signature smooth that reduces frizz and smooths the hair making it easy to handle and lustrous.
Get glazed in our salons
Book your glaze in-salon for £35 as part of your hair service. It takes 10 minutes and won't encroach on your valuable appointment time (depending on how frazzled your hair is, of course!).
You can also get a Glaze included as part of your colour service at Paul Edmonds London — just request one, and we'll add it to your care plan.
Got a question? Get in touch with our team and let us know how we can help!