Talk to any trichologist and they’ll tell you one of their most asked questions is: “How can I make my hair shiny?”.
It’s a common haircare query as achieving that mirror-like shine that you’ll have spotted all over your Instagram Explore page or TikTok FYP is more challenging than it sounds.
We put our hair through the wringer on a daily basis, whether it’s the use of heated tools, bleaching, or environmental factors like UV rays. There’s also the challenge of living in a hard water area - all combine to leave hair dull and lacklustre.
Shine sprays will be the best-kept secret in your haircare arsenal. This stylist essential enriches the strands with lock-loving nutrients and nourishment for a healthy and glossy-looking head of hair. All hair types can maximise their benefits, especially those with curly manes.
Dom Seeley, Color Wow International Creative Director explains that shine sprays are “great as a finishing product for any style, particularly very damaged hair. A shine spray should be like a topcoat for your hair, the final step to reduce frizz, adding shine and softness back to your hair”.
The best formulas go beyond creating a superficial shine and impart proteins and vitamin goodness to the strands in order to counteract dryness, dullness and dehydration. “You really want your shine spray to give you true shine and lustre, so avoid any that contain artificial silicones or heavy oils as these essentially weigh the hair down”, Seeley says. “You also want to avoid any mineral oils, they are a filtered by-product from kerosene and although they’re safe they are not the best when it comes to haircare. The high alkaline can dry out the hair and have the opposite effect of what you would like to achieve when using a shine spray. Look out for any ingredients that have a waxy or rough texture finish as they will give you shine but more often than not, they will also leave you with hair that can be hard to manage”.
There are shine-giving products in every format but for foolproof application, a spray is your best bet for even distribution and to ensure the formula remains lightweight. Just spritz and go.
Shop ES Best’s favourite hair shine sprays below
Color Wow Extra Mist-ical Shine Spray
Enviable shine is a spritz away with this cult product from Color Wow. The lightweight mist imparts sheen without imparting grease, stickiness or leaving unpleasant dryness. Quite the opposite. It uses a flower known as mullein that has light-refracting properties in order to capture UV light and transform it into full-spectrum light to turn up the luminosity of your style.
Buy now £20.80, Cult Beauty
Oribe Dry Texturising Spray
The beauty of this texturising spray from luxury label Oribe is not just the megawatt shine that it leaves - in fact, that’s just a happy side note. This product was first and foremost designed to give a weightless mist to up the va-va volume, counteract greasiness and hold styles in place without collapsing or making the hair feel crispy.
It’s a triple-duty formula that works as a dry shampoo, hair spray and shine spray. The latter is possible through the antioxidant-rich ingredients contained within, including kiwi, passion flower extract, Hawaiian white ginger root extract and mango extract. This combination, while sounding like it would make a delicious virgin cocktail, boosts hydration, softens, smooths and protects colour.
Buy now £36.00, Cult Beauty
ghd Shiny Ever After Final Shine Spray
Restoring lustre to your locks is what this shine spray is all about. It comes from the hair experts at GHD who know a thing or two about heated tools and caring for your strands while you use them. This is the last step in your styling routine, applied to freshly coiffed locks in order to combat frizz, flyaways and recreate that professional blow-dry finish with its previously unrivalled shine. It also has a lovely, subtle scent that you’ll catch whiffs off with every flick of your tresses.
Buy now £15.95, lookfantastic
Living Proof Restore Perfecting Spray
Get ready to cue the compliments with this mane-changing product from Living Proof. The science-backed label calls on a vegan, research-led formula that is free from nasties and safe for all hair types (including chemically treated) to give you your healthiest-looking locks yet.
The multitasking spray is like a drink of water for the strands, counteracting dehydration, breakages and leaving locks silky smooth. There’s also UV and heat protection so you can combine two steps in one; shine and shielding strands up to temperatures of 232oC.
Buy now £29.00, Living Proof
Fable & Mane HoliRoots Hibiscus Hydrating Hair Oil Mist
Through a combination of lock-loving oils, this mist offers an intensely glossy shine that is far more than just superficial, it’s all about nourishment. Fable & Mane is beloved for combining the traditional Indian wisdom, passed down the family of the sibling founders with Western practices.
What this means is plants that have been used for generations are harnessed for their restorative properties, yet they are combined with a beautiful aroma that will have you cherishing this step in your haircare routine. As the name suggests, red hibiscus is the star ingredient and is to thank for its shine-enhancing properties. It is set alongside amla (Indian gooseberry) that is brimming with vitamin C and provides UV protection.
Buy now £20.80, Cult Beauty
Bumble and bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil UV Protection Dry Oil Finishing Spray
New York-born label Bumble and bumble brings salon-styling tricks to your everyday haircare routine. This is the finishing spray that’s part of the Hairdresser's Invisible Oil collection which includes some of our favourite ever products, from the oil itself to the shampoo.
This Finishing Spray has one mission, and one mission only, to give you healthy shine instantly and without weighing down your strands. This is something it succeeds with aplomb and you can really be liberal with application as it is practically invisible in the hair - no greasiness, tackiness or residue.
Buy now £28.36, Sephora
Davines VOLU Hair Mist
If the addictive floral aroma of this hair mist from Davines isn’t enough to draw you in, the shine-enhancing effect certainly will. The Italian haircare label approaches its formulation from the point of view of caring for the strands, rather than a superficial silicone-like solution.
This means that it is designed to nourish with the likes of strengthening keratin, panthenol and volumising turnip extract. It is applied on towel-dried hair so is less a finishing spray and more a helping hand for a bouncy blow dry, flyaway-free and high-shine style.
Buy now £24.00, Cult Beauty
Moroccanoil Glimmer Shine Spray
Whether you have a special occasion or your hair is looking dull and dry, this shine spray brings instant gloss to your locks with just a simple spritz. The quick-fix formula has the Moroccanoil signature ingredient, argan oil, alongside vitamins and nutrients that, when applied to the hair, have a light-reflecting effect. It’s also protective against future damage, whether that’s caused by the sun, sea or dips in the pool.
Buy now £19.95, lookfantastic
L'Oréal Professionnel Serie Expert Vitamino Color Multi-Benefit Leave In Treatment
You can spritz on this multi-purpose spray from L’Oreal at any point in your haircare routine to maximise its shine-giving ability. Whether on freshly washed hair pre-styling or to top up a two-day-old look, you only need one spritz for it to work its magic.
It’s a 10-in-one for mirror-like gloss, a smoothing effect, heat protecting up to 230oC, works to detangle, hydrate, counteract breakages, fizz- and split-ends-fighting as well as fortifying the hair fibre. If you’re looking to streamline your bathroom cabinet, this is one hero to stand pride of place.
Buy now £20.00, Sephora
Amika Top Gloss Shine Spray
So often the search for a product that will leave hair glossy results in a greasy finish - but not with Amika and its styling saviour. No matter your hair type, you can apply this hydrating mist and maximise its attention-grabbing shine.
The formula spotlights sea buckthorn oil, a source rich in fatty acid omega 7 and is a great moisture booster. Hydrated hair is happy hair and minimises frizz and flyaways too.
Buy now £26.00, Amika
