Add Shine to Your Hair

Christopher and Sonya Dove

During colder weather, clients usually have one big complaint, which is that their hair lacks pizzazz -- and with good reason, since central heating and the chilly outdoors can rob moisture from locks, leaving them dry, staticky and lackluster.

But there's a quick, easy fix that doesn't involve much time or money. It's a mini-service called a glaze, and it's a way to add shine and gloss to your locks, much in the same way that a clear or transparent topcoat on your nails provides dimension and sparkle.

Some glazes are clear, while others contain just enough blond, brunette or red tones to tweak your own color a bit. They're applied at the shampoo sink and penetrate a few minutes before being washed out, or are activated under a hair dryer, where heat closes the cuticle on the hair shaft so that it lies flat to reflect light.

An easier way to add gloss to your hair is at home with a once-a-week deep conditioning treatment. If your hair has been chemically altered (colored, relaxed or permed), choose a conditioner designed to counter that with moisturizing agents that target damaged sites on the hair shaft. Here's what we suggest: After a shampoo and towel dry, apply the conditioner and don a plastic shower cap, which will trap heat from your head and send the ingredients deep within the hair shaft. No less than 15 minutes later -- preferably longer -- remove the cap and rinse out the conditioner. Minus sitting under the dryer and a professional blow dry, this at-home treatment is as close as you can get to a glaze at the salon. And the price is right!

 

Christopher and Sonya Dove are the Creative Directors at The Doves Studio in Santa Monica.

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