Lavish Shine Experience

Written and reviewed by Ella Lygren, a stylist focused on finishing hair so it looks like your best self.

Updated September 3, 2026

Why Hair Goes Dull

Shine is physics. When the outside of the hair is smooth, light hits it and bounces back as gloss. When it is rough, and it goes rough from heat, hard water, sun, brushing and time, light scatters in every direction instead. The color underneath has not changed at all. It just stopped reflecting.

That is why a shine treatment can make the same color look brighter without a single drop of pigment being added. Smooth the surface and the color you already have starts working again.

What It Does

• Smooths the outside of the hair so light reflects rather than scatters.
• Softens, which is the difference you feel rather than see.
• Adds visible gloss, the effect that shows up most obviously in photographs.
• Makes hair easier to work with, since smoother hair takes a brush and a hot tool with less resistance.

Shine Treatment or Gloss?

These sound similar and they do genuinely different jobs, so this is worth getting right.

• The Shine Experience is a treatment. It smooths the hair and adds gloss. It contains no color and it changes nothing about your tone.
• A gloss or toner is a color service. It deposits sheer pigment to correct tone, killing brass in a blonde or reviving a faded red.

So if your hair looks the right color but flat, book the Shine Experience. If your blonde has gone yellow or your brunette has gone faded, you want a gloss. If both apply, you can have both, and your stylist will tell you the order.

When to Book It

• Before an event or photographs. Shine reads in a photo more than almost anything else you can do to hair.
• At the end of a color appointment, as the finishing step.
• When your ends have gone rough but you are not ready to cut them.
• Mid winter, when heat styling and dry indoor air have taken the gloss off.
• As part of the New Guest Blowout Experience, where it is included.

Making It Last

Your hair should still look good weeks after you leave the salon. Shine is fragile because roughness is cumulative, so the things that protect it are the same things that protect your color.

Heat protectant before hot tools, every time. Cooler rinses, since hot water lifts the cuticle. A hairbrush that is kind to wet hair. And professional shampoo, which mostly matters for what it leaves out: we carry Shibui and Aluram in the salon and your stylist will match one to your hair. If your hair is dry as well as dull, the Hydration Experience tackles the underlying cause and this treatment finishes it.

See more finished work on Instagram at @lavishhairlounge__.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will a shine treatment change my hair color?

No. It contains no pigment. It smooths the hair so the color you already have reflects more light. If you want your tone changed, you want a gloss or toner.

What is the difference between this and a gloss?

This is a treatment for texture and shine. A gloss is a color service for tone. They are often confused because both make hair look brighter, but only one of them touches your color.

How long does the shine last?

It fades gradually as the hair roughens again, and how fast that happens depends on your heat styling, your water and your product. Heat protectant makes the biggest difference.

Can I add it to a color appointment?

Yes, and it is a good finishing step after one. Mention it when you book so the time is set aside.

Is it good for damaged hair?

It will make damaged hair look and feel considerably better, but it is a smoothing treatment rather than a repair. If your hair is genuinely compromised, talk to your stylist about a plan rather than a single appointment.

Is this the treatment in the New Guest Blowout Experience?

Yes. The New Guest Blowout Experience includes a wash, a professional blowout and a complimentary Shine treatment.