It’s official, we all want “glow” – or at least a considerable chunk of us do. Look to Instagram and the hashtag #Glow has over 10 million posts, Google has upwards of 624 million results for the term and top-performing brands like Becca and Glossier have placed ultra fresh, beautifully sheeny skin at the core of their aesthetic.
The trend for no-makeup makeup has dominated the catwalk season after season and tastemakers like Gwyneth Paltrow, the Duchess of Sussex, Margot Robbie, Lily Aldridge and Alicia Keys have been leading the charge for a more minimal approach. Rather than meticulously sketched-in features, the focus has switched to a more low-key beauty with glossy skin taking centre stage.
It’s a trend that’s made its way to our hair, too. “Glass hair” (strands so straight, sleek and shiny, they reflect light, like a sheet of glass) went stratospheric last year. This year, we still want that high shine, but in a more relaxed and wearable way that we can create and maintain easily.
Essentially we’re looking for lip gloss for our hair – a swipe of something sleek, luscious and luxurious – which, incidentally, is precisely the inspiration behind L’Oreal Professionnel’s new Majirel Glow treatment, launching this month. A new in-salon hair colour service, the aim is to achieve a luminous liquid shine, with a subtle hint of tone.
Much like a lip gloss, the emphasis is on a glowy finish with a sheer tint of colour. The shades – which are permanent – include daring but delicate colours like frosted rose gold, pearlescent mauve and moonshine silver, alongside more natural options like golden caramel, deep chocolate, champagne and even clear, which can be mixed to a custom colour. As for application, it can be as simplistic of expert as you fancy, with glow lights, glow balayage or an all over glow available to choose from.
The finish, L’Oreal say, is a “barely-there-colour with a whisper of tone that leaves hair looking healthy and luminous,” and, having tried it myself, I can testify that this is exactly what it does. The day after opting for an all-over shine that emphasised, rather than changed, my slightly balayaged brunette and caramel hair, my colleagues (and boyfriend) didn’t notice that my hair was incrementally lighter. Instead, I was surprised by how many commented that my hair looked “pretty,” “healthy” or “glossy”. The colour service is rolling out nationwide to L’Oreal Professionnel salons, starting from £50 (depending on location) this month. You can find your nearest salon here.
For an at-home alternative, Moroccanoil’s latest Color Depositing Mask (£28.85), is the hair equivalent to a pigmented lip balm. Fifty percent colour and fifty percent care, it’s softening, nourishing and deep conditioning with a temporary all-over tint that you can wash into hair to enhance or experiment. The line-up includes a selection of blonde and brunette options as well as brilliant pink hibiscus, rose gold, aquamarine and a suitably autumnal smoky bordeaux that can be applied to towel dry hair, left for 5-7 minutes, then rinsed out. A subtle tint will wash out in as little as two washes, a bolder finish will fade gradually over time.
Similarly, Josh Wood’s genius shade shots underwent an update this summer, re-emerging as the Shade Shot Gloss (£15). The semi-permanent at-home colour treatment works in the same was as a toner to neutralise brassiness, or add warmth depending on which of the four shades – Champagne Blonde, Icy Blonde, Smoky Brunette or Chestnut Brunette – you choose. A 20 minute stint with this applied to hair like a mask and not only is your colour intensified, but it also creates unbelievable shine.
Don’t fancy a colour shift? You’re in luck. Kerastase launched its new professional strength rinse-out K-Water treatment (£10), exclusively in salons at the end of last month. When added to your blow dry, it offers remarkable shine thanks to breakthrough lamellar technology which enables teeny tiny care molecules like amino acids and proteins to penetrate deeper into hair. Crucially, they position themselves only where needed (into gaps in the hair fibres) to create an ultra-fine, insanely sheeny topcoat that doesn’t weigh hair down.
For some similar DIY action, Rita Hazan’s in-shower True Color Ultimate Shine Gloss’s (£21), work to leave hair especially silky. Available in clear or tinted formulas, they’re infused with pro vitamin B5 and silk protein to add shine to hair at home. Apply a handful (roughly 8 pumps) of the foam to your hair while still wet, then rinse after three minutes.
So yes, we asked and some our favourite brands delivered. Get ready, because delicious glossy formulas are coming for your hair.
