I've never had particularly shiny hair — it's always been on the frizzier side and, therefore, a smidge dull. As someone who doesn't color their hair, I didn't really think it was possible to get that mirror-like finish I see everywhere without color-treating it. That was, until I noticed more and more brands releasing at-home hair glosses and shine boosters, like the Garnier Sleek & Shine Glass Hair Water ($8).
To be clear, this Garnier in-shower treatment isn't a hair-dye product, and you don't need to have color-treated hair to use it. You simply need to be someone who wants to boost shine in their ends. The treatment promises to deliver glass hair with a reduction in frizz and has garnered quite a large fanbase on TikTok. It's your easy, at-home ticket to the viral liquid hair trend that's everywhere right now (namely, on the heads of Dua Lipa, Megan Fox, and Megan Thee Stallion, to name a few).
But unlike other products I've tried, the Garnier Sleek & Shine Glass Hair Water isn't a gloss — it uses "lamellar" technology to leave hair sleek and glossy. You can think of "lamellar" as a speedy, water-based hair mask. It works quicker than traditional leave-on treatments to coat hair in its smoothing formula and can be rinsed out almost immediately after applying it.
After seeing countless people rave about it on TikTok, I gave the Garnier Sleek & Shine Glass Hair Water a go in my morning shower routine. The instructions say to shampoo normally, squeeze out any excess water from your ends, then use one to two doses of the treatment for fine hair and two to three for thick hair. Since I fall in the former group, I applied a little under two doses to my ends. (There are markers on the back to signify how much one dose is, which is super helpful.)
It only takes 10 seconds to work, and during that time, you massage it into your hair to make sure it's evenly coated. The bottle says you might feel a slight warming sensation (nothing too noticeable), which I experienced about three seconds in. At first, it was a little hard to work it into my wet hair sans any conditioner, but the Garnier Sleek & Shine Glass Hair Water actually provides some slip and made my hair feel pretty moisturized on its own. When it came time to rinse, my hair felt like I had conditioned it — it had that sleek, hydrated feel to it.
As I said, I was a little wary about skipping conditioner, but my hair didn't feel dry like I had expected when I got out of the shower. The instructions say to style as desired, so I put my hair up in a wrap to dry a bit before moving onto my normal styling products. I used a volumizing mist and wave mousse on my ends before taking my blow-dry brush through my hair to give myself a blowout.
Once I was done styling, I immediately noticed how my hair was reflecting the light. It had a glossy shine to it that it doesn't usually have. My hair always gets a little frizzy when I use heat styling tools, but there was a significant improvement after using the Garnier water treatment. It also felt softer and smoother to the touch. Considering it only takes 10 seconds to use and it's priced so affordably at just $8, I'd say this shine-boosting hair treatment is worthy of the attention it's stirred up. I can't wait to continue using it and see how much better my hair looks.
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Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Jessica Harrington