We Tried All The Best Hair Glosses On TikTok—These 7 Unlocked Our Shiniest Hair Yet

Firstly, what is a hair gloss exactly? Designed to add extra gloss and shine, at-home hair glosses are inspired by the glossing treatments that you would usually previously only find in a hair salon. At many hairdressers, you'll see hair gloss as part of their treatment menu, which usually consists of a tinted (or clear) gloss to boost or tweak your current hair colour with a semi-permanent finish while adding a healthy lustre. Generally speaking, in-salon hair glosses will last longer than at-home glossing treatments—usually around 6-8 weeks.

However, at-home hair glosses are a great way to add extra lustre to your lengths without needing to head to the salon. They typically come in cream or liquid formula that you apply through the lengths and leave on for five minutes after shampooing. Some hair glosses need to used after conditioning, but others you can use in place of this step. Unlike hair masks, they're a quick option if you want to add shine and smoothness to your lengths without the need to wait for ages while it gets to work. Most hair glosses last through around three hair washes, so they require topping up more regularly than in-salon hair gloss treatments.

Rating: 8.5/10

Price: £16

Size: 200ml

Pros: Affordable, leaves hair silky and shiny, corresponding shampoo, conditioner and hair serum in the range

Cons:

Our Verdict: "The L’Oréal Paris Elvive Glycolic Gloss has been a lovely addition in my haircare lineup. As a blonde, I never think my hair looks shiny (at least, not in the same way that it does on my brunette friends). To add insult to injury, any shine products I’ve used in the past haven’t lived up to their promises of a liquid-like mane, with many leaving a greasy residue. L’Oréal, however, has cracked it with this formula.

Immediately after using it, my hair looked noticeably shinier and healthier, with a bit of that elusive salon-fresh radiance we’re all after. It didn’t just look glossy either; the colour seemed more vibrant and brightened up my whole look.

Rating: 8/10

Price: £30

Size: 200ml

Pros: Silicone-free, leaves hair silky, manageable and shiny, last up to three washes

Cons:

Our Verdict: "My hair is long and reasonably thick, but a lot of the time I struggle to get shine through my lengths. While brunettes tend to have the advantage in achieving shine, I have coarse hair that—along with being bleached with balayage through the years—is looking a little lacklustre through the mid-lengths and ends. I’d heard (and seen) amazing things about Living Proof’s Perfect Hair Day High Shine Hair Gloss so I was excited to put it to the test.

Interestingly, Living Proof’s hair gloss doesn’t use silicone (which is sometimes used in hairs products and can add a temporary shine, but can sometimes build up onto strands over time and make hair look dull) and instead uses light enhancing technology to create a mirror shine that won’t create a build-up on the hair. The brand says that is can last throughout three hair washes, and I have to agree with them on this—it did last.

This hair gloss comes in a cream consistency which was easy to distribute through my hair from root to tip. I actually prefer this texture to some of the more watery liquid hair glosses I’ve tried, which tend to slip through your hands while applying (and when you're spending a lot on a hair gloss, you don't want it running down the drain). You use it after shampooing and conditioning the hair as a final step in your wash routine, and you only need to leave it on for five minutes, so it’s not a long, drawn-out process like using a hair mask.

Even before drying my hair, I could tell my lengths were much silkier from the treatment. As well as adding shine, this hair gloss also helps to smooth, which undoubtedly helps enhance the glossiness too. After blow-drying my hair smooth, I had noticeably more shine than usual and my hair felt smoother and my usual flyaways sat more sleek after using this. My hair had a bouncy swing to it and was noticeable shinier after using it. Because my hair is quite lacklustre generally, I wasn’t expecting a total mirror-like shine that I’d seen on silkier hair textures on TikTok, but overall I was impressed with the added gloss I now had through my lengths.

As someone with long hair, I found I needed to use a lot of the product, so I would get through a £30 tube quite quickly and would be hesitant to re-buy it regularly at that price, but I like that it lasts in between washes so you don't have to use it every time. For that reason, I’ll be keeping it on standby on the wash days when I want an extra glossy shine."

Rating: 8/10

Price: £47

Size: 210ml

Pros: Boosts shine, moisturising, smoothing

Cons:

Our Verdict: "Hair glosses have been on my radar for a few months since my hairdresser suggested that my dry, frizz-prone strands could stand to benefit. I have fairly thick, wavy hair that frizzes if it goes without enough hydration and as of late has been feeling particularly dry to the touch. As such, I was super excited to try Kérastase’s Chroma Absolu Soin Acid Chroma Gloss, the brand has been on my radar for a long time and the product has accumulated hundreds of 5-star reviews.

After washing the product out of my hair I noticed that my hair was far softer than normal and was much easier to brush. I dried it with a blow-dry brush and found that it was left incredibly silky and shiny. On my dark brown hair, the shine showed up well, but I don’t know if this would translate quite as well for blondes.

The instructions recommend weekly use which will see the product last for several months, however, the £47 price tag is quite steep, but if you also have frizz-prone hair then this will certainly give your locks the moisture and shine boost that I can ordinarily only achieve with the help of a hairdresser."

Rating: 7/10

Price: £16

Size: 190ml

Pros: More affordable than luxury hair glosses, comes in clear and tinted versions, leaves hair silky

Cons:

Our Verdict: "Naturally, I have curly hair (type 3c/4a), but I often blow dry or straighten it at home. I was therefore excited to try a product that promises to leave the hair glossy and silky soft to give me salon-like results at home. You can get the product in a range of different colours (the brand describes it as a tinted moisturiser for your hair); however, I opted for the clear formula.

The biggest difference I could pick up on was my hair’s softness. It felt extremely lightweight and soft after applying heat to my hair. I would say that the glossiness of my hair did increase slightly, but I was way more impressed with the actual texture this gloss left my hair in.

For £16, I would recommend this product if you're looking for something to make your hair smoother, softer and easier to style. I’m also now very keen to try the tinted dark brown and black shades to add a tint of colour."

Rating: 7/10

Price: £63

Size: 175ml

Pros: Hydrating, reduces flyaways, luxe packaging

Cons:

Our Verdict: "As someone with very straight hair, I wasn't sure I would see much difference when adding a hair gloss into the mix, but I'll save the anticipation by saying that I was pleasantly surprised. As someone who moves at 100 miles an hour all the time, I'm always a bit unsure about adding new steps into my routine. For my hair this could definitely work in place of a conditioner and so I think this simple and quick addition is one I'll continue with.

After shampooing my hair I squeezed out any excess water and applied the liquid from mid-length to the ends, letting it get to work for a minute or two. Looking at the before images, it's clear that my hair was in need of some nourishment, even if it did have a little natural shine. The most striking difference I found was the hydrating of the ends of my hair and the reduced appearance of fly-aways. The gloss definitely did its job, and I found that the shine lasted until my next hair wash but it does suggest to use this only once a week.

At £63, it is definitely a luxury addition to your hair care routine, and with the small amount you need to apply the price per use would definitely come down. If you want to indulge in serious hydration, I'd recommend this."

Rating: 7/10

Price: £30

Size: 177ml

Pros: Good for thick and curly hair textures, chic packaging

Cons:

Our Verdict: "My hair is naturally wavy with no real pattern—I’d generally describe it as frizzy, 'puffy' and very susceptible to humidity, which is why I subject it to so much heat styling. The flipside of this though is that it can err on the lacklustre side, so I was really keen to see if a hair gloss could help give it a smooth and glossy makeover, not to mention tame the frizz and keep it at bay—I can’t stand when my hair doesn’t behave itself, which is most of the time.

Ouai’s hair gloss is a cream-textured product which comes in a flip-top, squeezy bottle. You wash your hair, towel-dry it, section it and apply a small amount to each section, combing it through. After five minutes, you rinse it out and continue with your routine. It contains rice water and hyaluronic acid for overall hair health and claims to add shine and heat protection, protect colour and treat damage.

The application process was easy but I fear I may have used a little too much product on each section as my hair felt a little coated and heavy—like it had product in it—as I was blow-drying it. If I didn’t apply too much, I might have messed up by spraying in my usual detangling leave-in conditioner after the gloss, so when I try it next time I’ll forgo that step.

Rating: 6/10

Price: £33

Size: 237ml

Pros: Helps to maintain coloured hair, leaves hair smooth

Cons:

Our Verdict: "It’s safe to say that hair glosses are all the rage at the moment, and as someone who styles and applies a lot of heat to their hair, I was really excited to see if the Redken Acidic Color Gloss would leave my locks looking and feeling smoother.

At £33, it’s similarly priced to other products on the market. Having said that, I think I would have potentially gotten better results using the shampoo/conditioner from the same range which would push the price up.

The only other thing to note is that as the pH of the formula is acidic, they suggest using disposable gloves during application—so worth noting you'll need to purchase if you don't already own some. I'm keen to give the gloss another go to see if repeated use would make more of a visible difference.