Adding shine is the number one goal for hair right now, as evidenced with the Photo Finish Hair trend.
But what if yours is hard to work with and you battle to get even a glimpse of a gleam?
The first thing to do is consider if your locks are showing signs of damage, which can inhibit the way hair reflects the light.
It’s a common affliction, one even Gwyneth Paltrow has admitted she battles with.
The actress and Goop founder recently shared the steps she takes to tame her famous blonde locks and add back the shine she has lost. The star has been letting her greys grow in a little too, which can be more wiry and less refelective.
“I actually have very difficult hair to work with, it’s very frizzy, it sort of has a lot of different textures to it,” Paltrow shared on her Goop site.
“Being on set and doing photoshoots and having a lot of hot tools on my hair, I’ve given it some good wear and tear!”
She reveals she’s learned how to hair for her lightened blonde locks with trial and error, even developing products for her beauty line Goop Beauty, available here at MECCA, to help. This is her recipe for smoothing and hydrating her tricky locks so hair remains in good shape and looks radiant:
L-R: Goop Glow Amino Acid Shinebath Shampoo & Conditioner; Goop Restore + Shine Hair Serum
Add a hair serum
Paltrow loves a hair treatment, favouring an oil-based serum with cuticle-sealing vitamin C, omega-rich sea buckthorn oil, and shine-boosting plumeria monoi oil. She works it through her lengths and leaves it for a while before washing out.
“I leave it in for twenty minutes before I shampoo and I sneak in a workout while the serum soaks into my hair, Paltrow explains. “It smooths frizz and damage, softens and strengthens my hair, and leaves it so shiny.”
“When you get out of the shower and let your hair dry naturally it just has this nice shine to it.”
Switch your shampoo and conditioner
Paltrow recommends switching to a clean formula.
“Switching to clean shampoo and conditioner can make a remarkable difference in your hair. ” She chose to develop products made with amino acids, pea protein, and more to help improve shine, bounce, and texture. “It’s amazing to get this kind of shine, body, and texture from a shampoo and conditioner you can use every day,” says Paltrow. “I love the results—and the scent, the lather, the creaminess, all of it.”
Add an occasional scalp scrub
Exfoliating your scalp to remove debris, improve skin cell turnover and stimulate blood flow is growing in popularity as experts recognise the benefits in the pursuit of stronger, healthier hair.
Paltrow is a big advocate, carrying out the ritual once a week.
Use a hair mask
Again, the star likes to use an occasional hydrating hair mask when hair is feeling very dry. She admits she sometimes uses it more than once a week.
“It’s made to use once a week, but I have such dry hair, it’s more like three times a week for me.”
