This $28 J.Lo-Approved Product Took My Hair From Dull to Glossy in 15 Seconds

I love everything about my long, wavy hair except for one thing—it's dull, and it always has been. Blame it on my naturally dry strands or the fact that I get it chemically processed, but it lacks luster. That explains why I've fawned over pictures of celebs like Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian for years. They always have the glossiest, healthiest-looking hair.

It's no coincidence that both J.Lo and Kardashian are my shiny-hair icons. That's because they share a hairstylist—Chris Appleton. He's known for creating silky styles for his celeb clients, and he counts on one $28 product to do so: Color Wow's Dream Coat Supernatural Spray. Yep, it's only $28, and it's A-list approved. Obviously, I had to try it out for myself and see if it could really transform my dull strands into something shinier, silkier, and more expensive looking. Spoiler alert: It did, and my fellow beauty editor Jamie Schneider feels the same. Keep scrolling for all the product details you need, including how to use it from Appleton himself. Plus, see pretty epic before-and-after pictures.

What Is the Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray?

To put it simply, Dream Coat is a spray that keeps hair—whether it's straight, wavy, or curly—looking super shiny for days on end. When I say days on end, I mean it. It even lasts in between washes, which means you can shampoo your hair three to four times before the shininess wears off.

Think of it like a sealant for the hair, protecting it from humidity and giving it a glossy sheen. It's all thanks to a proprietary anti-humidity complex, including a heat-activated polymer that creates a matrix around each strand, plus chamomilla extract and glycerin. Together, these ingredients give hair a luxurious luster, or, as I like to call it, "the J.Lo effect."

Even though you can use it for all hair types, Color Wow does make a Dream Coat spray for curly hair, which Appleton uses on wavy hair and 2a, 2b, 2c, 3a, and 3b strands. It's specially formulated to create super-shiny, bouncy curls. Simply spray it on damp hair and use a diffuser attachment on your hair dryer. There's also an extra-strength version, which Appleton uses on extremely dry or dehydrated hair, porous hair, or hair that's curly/coily. "Nothing works better for completely humidity-resistant hair," he says.

Appleton used this exact Color Wow product to achieve this silky blowout for J.Lo. "I use Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray for all hair types," he says. "It's ideal for transforming dry, frizz-prone hair or color-treated hair to silky-smooth glass-like hair."

How to Use the Color Wow Dream Coat

You might think a super-glossy, salon-grade blowout would be incredibly difficult to replicate at home, but it's not. All you need is the product, a hair dryer, and a round brush. Here's how he recommends using it:

"First, I use my washday favorites, including Color Wow Color Security Shampoo ($24) and Color Wow Color Security Conditioner ($24)," he says. "You always have to start with a clean canvas, and Color Wow shampoo is 100% residue-free, which is key. Then, I towel-dry to make sure the hair is damp, not wet. Next, I divide the hair into sections and drench the hair in the product liberally and evenly to hit every strand from roots to ends. Lastly, I blow-dry the hair with tension to activate the product and reveal that glass-hair look we all love."

How Often Should You Use It?

You could theoretically use Dream Coat with every wash, but the silky, shiny results do last you three to four shampoos, per the brand. So you'd be A-okay only using it every few washes. Just remember that the formula is heat-activated, so you do need to follow up with a blow-dryer or diffuser when you use it.

Our Testing Experience and Results

Kaitlyn McLintock, Beauty Editor

Per Appleton's advice, I started by shampooing and conditioning my hair. After wringing out some of the excess water, I liberally sprayed the product through my hair. Next, I reached for my hair dryer and a round brush and got to work giving myself an at-home blowout.

First and foremost, my at-home-blowout skills are weak, so don't judge the overall style of the hair, just the shine factor. These pictures were taken about an hour and a half apart, which was just long enough for me to hop in the shower, shampoo my hair, apply the product, and blow-dry using a round brush.

As you can see, my hair had a lustrous shine that it didn't have before. Thanks to the newfound shine, my hair color looked brighter and more vibrant, like I was fresh from a salon visit. It wasn't just me who noticed a difference either. I had three people compliment my hair that day, so I know it made a big difference. The only thing I wish I would have done differently is use more tension on the brush. Since I'm not an expert at using a round brush, I fumbled a bit and had a looser pull on each section of hair. With more tension, my blowout would have looked better, and the shine would have been even brighter.

Despite my faulty technique, the shininess stayed intact throughout my next wash, which was true to the brand's word. I didn't even have to blow-dry my hair or anything. Once it was air-dried, I noticed the sheen was still there. I also recently tested it for an outdoor wedding (those are the photos where it looks like I'm in a forest), where we even got ready outdoors. Again, I was met with unparalleled smoothness and shine. It's also worth nothing that I took the "after" photo after a full day of on-and-off rain and humidity! So you might notice some flyaways in the picture, but my style held up so well despite that.

Since I saw such a big difference from the original formula, I can't wait to get my hands on the extra-strength version—which brings us to our next tester.

Jamie Schneider, Senior Beauty Editor

My 2c wavy-curly hair frizzes at the mere mention of humidity, so I was very intrigued to see how this glass hair-inducing spray would measure up. I've heard about its magic for years, but to be honest, I always thought it was all hype. It wasn't until hairstylist Carlyn Griscti of White Rose Collective suggested I use it for my wedding-day hair that I decided to finally give it a go. (She knows my strands very well at this point, so I take whatever advice she gives as gospel.)

I usually resort to an air-dry—you can see my natural waves in the "before" photo above—but on the rare occasions I do attempt an at-home blowout, something about the result just… It isn't right. I've tried every technique in the book (and by book I mean my TikTok feed), and my hair still appears a little puffy post-blow-dry. I will usually add another source of heat to my strands, be it a flat-iron or curler, in order to secure the glossy sheen I so craved.

Enter Dream Coat. I decided to opt for the extra-strength version since my strands are perennially dehydrated and prone to frizz. After giving my damp strands a very generous spritz (don't be afraid to really coat your lengths, especially if they're thick), I dried my hair with my trusty Dyson Airwrap—and proceeded to be absolutely floored. I had finally mastered the silky blowout I saw all over my TikTok feed: smooth on top with bouncy, flippy ends full of life. Not to mention, those ends looked fuller and less straw-like, despite being in dire need of a trim. And flyaways? Where?

I have since used Dream Coat for every single at-home blow-dry, and it provides those liquid-like results every single time. I can officially report that the humidity-proofing spray is not just hype. True to Griscti's advice, I will 1000% percent be using it the day of my wedding.

So Does Color Wow Dream Coat Actually Work?

As you can likely glean from our gushing reviews, Dream Coat really does work. In case you need even more proof after Appleton's many endorsements, consider our own personal testing notes and photos. Whether you use the original formulation, extra-strength, or curly girl version, the heat-activated polymer technology will leave your locks looking silky, shiny, and noticeably more hydrated. Those effects will also last until your next wash, thereby extending the life of your at-home blowouts. We'd even go so far as to say that the MVP product is all you need for a salon-grade style. Well, that and a quality hair dryer.

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This post was published at an earlier date and has since been updated.