Getting gorgeous with glazes

They’ve been around for decades, but the translucent colorless glaze is gaining in popularity again for the enduring shine it gives to hair, even overprocessed hair or fading colors.

“A glaze is a color without a pigment,” explained Wesley Brian of the Wesley Brian Salon in Monroe. “It’s like a top coat for nails.”

A glaze is applied to wet hair and left on, usually under heat, for about 10-20 minutes, and it can leave hair looking thicker and fuller, as well as more healthy-looking, said Brian, who taught at Northwest Academy in Everett before starting the salon, and who is well-versed in trichology, or the study of hair.

“There’s an integrity to hair,” he said. “It loses its integrity as it’s damaged.”

A glaze, he said, can help build the proteins, the hair’s building blocks, back in.

And it can make grey hair look great, and take anyone’s natural hair color from dull to healthy, shiny and smooth.

It’s often a good idea to get a glaze right along with another process, like a perm or a foil, as it can make colors last longer and add to the overall look of a new style.

Although the process of glazing hair is really no different than that of coloring it, it’s generally less expensive, especially when combined with other services, Brian said.

Some glazes do include colors, but home color glazing kits may include a lot of peroxide, which can dry hair badly. It’s best to stick to clear glazes if doing it at home, or better yet, trust a professional. A professional glaze can actually leave your hair stronger than it was before the process, because some glazes actually seal the cuticle of the hair, locking in moisture and making hair grow in shiny.

A glaze will last up to four weeks.