I'll stop gatekeeping—this shine-boosting hair product is my secret to super-glossy, vibrant lengths

My hair has been through a lot. Much to my mum's dismay, I was first acquainted with hair dye around the age of 12 or 13. My hair has been every colour of the rainbow with sprinklings of Sun-In misuse in between. After a long period of sticking to brunette with some money pieces in the summer, I went bright copper in early 2019. One of my favourite colours, done by the brilliant Jack Howard.

However, with a pandemic and Jack moving to the US, I decided it was time to return to my roots—quite literally, by attempting to grow out the copper and back to my natural shade—a deep brunette. Throughout lockdown, I didn't mind my growing copper roots; after all it was only colleagues on Zoom who saw me sport them. But as we started to return to normal, I realised I needed something else to disguise the now washed-out copper as I grew my lengths—something like a hair gloss.

Enter: Glaze Super Color Conditioning Gloss.

This brilliant pigmented glossing product has worked wonders in not only coving my copper without it going any unusual tones, but it also adds the most incredible shine. Here's exactly how I use it and my results.

Glaze application

First, here's what you'll need. Your Glaze hair gloss (I went for Chocolate Gleam), gloves (I re-use the same pair hence why they're an odd colour), hair clips and a wide tooth comb. Oh, and something to protect your skin and clothes (e.g. a hair-dye T-shirt), which is particularly important if your method is slap-dash like mine.

After sectioning my hair, I start with my mid-lengths and ends as that's the sections where my copper is still growing out, so it gets a little brassy. I then do this for all of the sections of my hair before moving on to my roots. When my copper was really peeping through, I only used the gloss on my ends and lightly feathered it up towards my roots so that I wasn't always putting product on my roots where I didn't need it. However, now that it's far more grown-out, I tend to put Glaze on my roots, too, as I love the shine it gives.

From start to finish, it takes me six minutes to cover my whole hair. What I love about this is that it only takes 10 minutes to work its magic on the hair before you need to rinse it out, so it doesn't feel like a mammoth task. Plus, you can put it straight onto dry hair. I always use shampoo and conditioner as normal after applying.

The biggest downfall of this product is the packaging. Its oval-shaped bottle looks great but is nearly impossible to squeeze, so do find myself unscrewing the cap and blobbing it straight out.

Glaze formula

Glaze is a semi-permanent formula but doesn't feel like the stubborn semi-permanent dyes from back in the day that would weirdly cling to the hair. This lasts around 10 washes with its full effects. I find that it lasts longer on my mid-length and ends covering my copper growth but the shine lasts about eight washes for me. I probably get about three applications from a tub, so it works out at around a fiver for each dye.

The formula is packed full of conditioning ingredients in addition to the colourants, which is what gives hair such a noticeable shine.

It's available in 16 shades, including blondes, coppers and even clear if you just want added shine. Glaze can also be used on wigs and extensions provided the hair is human hair.

Glaze before and after results

Before using Glaze

After using Glaze

I never go for a shade too dissimilar to my natural colour so the results give my hair a balanced look, knocking out any brassy or light tones coming through from previous dye jobs as I grow it out. It gives the most incredible shine that, without a doubt, someone will compliment the few weeks after I've used Glaze. It also makes the texture of my hair much glossier and shinier, meaning I don't feel like I have to use heat on it quite as much since it naturally appears healthier.

I'd say the shine lasts the 10 washes it promises but the colour stains for longer. If you're looking for something to give your hair that natural-but-better look with a boost in shine, Glaze is your gal.