I’ve long prided myself on abstaining from hot tools and have been sans-straightener since middle school. But, last month, I got an $18 face frame from a cosmetology school student (she killed it) and realized that my recent fringe demanded occasional TLH — tender, love, and warmth. So I blew the dust off my blow dryer brush, ate my humble pie, and located a product that kept my mane silky and secure. Quickly, I used to be lost within the sauce of surplus leave in conditioner, hair oil, and hair mask options and none of them looked as if it would do all the pieces I used to be searching for. So when the news of the just-launched Ouai Hair Gloss landed at the highest of my inbox, I used to be intrigued.

Ouai’s Hair Gloss is the latest product from the mostly-hair, sometimes-perfume brand, founded by celebrity stylist Jen Atkin. The paraben-free and cruelty-free gloss is fragranced with Ouai’s North Bondi Eau de Parfum (think white musk and beachy florals) and guarantees heat protection, color fading prevention, frizz-reduction, strength, and shininess. In case your hair is already vulnerable to breakage, the gloss also purports to treat damage, too.

While Ouai cites the lively ingredients within the gloss as hyaluronic acid, sugar beets, panthenol, and rice water, cosmetic chemist Ginger King explained to Allure that the force behind the formula is a mix of silicones. “Hyaluronic acid may help to coat and make hair less frizzy, however the ‘gloss’ part comes from dimethicone, phenyl trimethicone, and dimethiconol,” says King.

In 2022, amid a rice water craze on TikTok, Allure spoke to board-certified dermatologist Howard Sobel, M.D. in regards to the advantages of the starchy liquid. “It comprises antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins, and a substance called inositol, which all contribute to creating the hair shinier and stronger,” Dr. Sobel remarked.