How to Get Shiny Hair

Oh, shiny, bouncy, gorgeous locks, if only they were as easily attained as the media depicts. Seeing photos of celebrities and influencers with glimmering, picture-perfect hair can start the mental comparison game. It’s easy to feel disappointed or that your hair falls short. Hair that lacks shine is typically called “dull” or “lackluster.” 

The main issue is a lack of moisture, but why your hair isn’t getting enough moisture can vary. Common culprits of dull, lackluster hair include heat damage, nutrient deficiency, or counterproductive beauty routines. You may wonder: Why is my hair not shiny? And while we’re on the subject, what makes hair shine, anyway?

Shiny hair has to do with hair structure anatomy. Healthy hair is generally judged on three criteria: volume, shine, and integrity. All three factors go back to the root, namely the cuticle and cortex. Each hair has a cuticle, the outer layer that surrounds the cortex and protects the hair strand. A healthy cuticle is smooth and lays flat, allowing light to reflect from its surface. That light reflection is how natural hair shine occurs.

In our attempts to achieve lustrous locks, we often sacrifice our hair’s long-term health for short-term results. Damaging hair care routines like repeatedly using heat tools, getting chemical treatments, or overloading on products can have results closer to Stephen King’s The Shining than the effortless shine you desire.

Let’s break this down. In this guide, you’ll learn precisely how to get glossy hair based on scientific research and expert advice. Goodbye bland, hello brilliant!

Best Tips for Shinier Hair

The causes of dull hair may vary, but luckily, there are plenty of easy fixes to take your hair from lackluster to lustrous! All it takes is knowing which habits might be doing more harm than good.

One aspect of hair care that can make or break its luster is your shower routine. While we all love a soothing, hot shower, strands require moderation. The heat and humidity of a hot shower help shampoo cleanse our scalp more effectively and allow the cuticles to open and soak in the moisturizing nutrients in conditioner. 

However, if the cuticles don’t close, hair loses moisture as natural oils strip away more easily, along with many of the beneficial ingredients in your conditioner. Instead, rinse the conditioner out with cold water to close the cuticle, locking in all that nourishing moisture and shine.

After the shower, we recommend scrunching the hair to squeeze out excess water before wrapping it in a microfiber towel. Instead of the towel, or after the towel has soaked up a good amount of water, apply a heat protectant and let hair air dry, or use a blow-dryer on a cool setting. If you shower at night, opt for a silk pillowcase over cotton to reduce friction and prevent your pillow from absorbing that precious moisture. 

Ready for some more shiny hair tips?  Read on as we go over the industry do's and don'ts for getting glossy, radiant hair. 

Ditch Sprays & Opt for Oils or Serums

Shine sprays, also called “shimmering spray” or “shine enhancer,” may seem like the perfect solution when it comes to glossy hair products. However, this “perfect solution” is often too good to be true.

Most shine sprays are alcohol-based, meaning the product evaporates quickly. If you’re trying to avoid greasy hair, this may seem like the ideal choice. But alcohol can take away your hair’s natural oils, making your scalp overcompensate to make up the difference. For fine and thin hair, in particular, this is a recipe for greasy, lifeless locks.

The healthier option? A trusty hair shine oil. Research shows that hair oils can protect your hair by preventing excessive water from clogging the hair shaft and keeping harmful substances from getting into the follicle. Plus, the oil will stop friction that can lead to breakage. If you’re worried about film or residue, the right oil will penetrate deep enough only to leave a thin layer of film, if any.

So Which Oils Create The Best Hair Shine? 

Here are our top recommendations:

• Saturated and Monosaturated Oils. These may apply to various oils, but saturated and monosaturated oils diffuse into the hair better than polyunsaturated oils.
• Certain Plant Oils. Nature tends to do it best, and plant oils are great for natural moisture, as long as they can penetrate the hair. A study comparing the effects of mineral oil, coconut oil, and sunflower oil on reducing protein loss in hair found that coconut oil was the only one that made a significant difference. Other great plant oils include almond, avocado, jojoba, and argan oil.
• Brazilian Plant Extract Oils. A similar study comparing oils and butters made from various Brazilian plant extracts concluded that hair shine treatment with oils was better than butters at increasing glossiness and reducing split ends. 

Whichever hair shine oil you go with, start with a dime-sized amount once or twice a week.

You can even try a hot oil hair shine treatment! After washing your hair, heat a few tablespoons of oil in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Apply an even coat of the oil from your roots to your ends, massaging it into the scalp. Leave it in for half an hour and hop back in the shower to rinse it out.

Shifting to our regular shower routine, choosing the right conditioner is essential for locking in glistening locks.

@audreyvictoria_

The makes my hair shiny AND soft 8’ obsessed