I have been highlighting my naturally ash-blonde hair since I was a freshman in High School, and although most of the time I've only trusted my hair to the pros (after a few at-home box-dye scares in the late 90's) I've been really impressed with just how great DIY hair coloring has become. All the more intriguing are at home salon-quality glazes/glosses, which John Frieda pioneered.

The problem I've always struggled with when it comes to maintaining highlighted hair, is that I lead such a busy life it can be hard to make it to the salon every 6-8 weeks.  Just found out about this new innovative/breakthrough at-home gloss treatment for color-treated hair that will be launching in January. It's by John Frieda (no surprise there) and is designed to restore vibrancy and tonal dimension between coloring, while counteracting fading, neutralizing color change, and correcting the appearance of dull, washed out color. It comes in six "prescriptive" shades: Warm Blondes, Cool Blondes (like my own), Warm Reds, Cool Reds, Warm Brunettes and Cool Brunettes. To find out how to select the right shade for you, visit johnfrieda.com/gloss.

The gloss retails for $12.99 in drugstores, and there are 6 uses per bottle, one for each weekly in-shower treatment. It's so easy to apply, even for the time crunched like myself. You simply shampoo and condition your hair, then rinse thoroughly, and apply the treatment evenly from roots to tips, coating hair 3-5 times. Then you wash your hands with soap, leave in for at least 3 minutes, and wash it out and style as usual. The effect is amazing, and it gets even better with each use. It is a color booster, so be sure to pick your correct tone, and if you have meticulously highlighted/low-lighted hair that you're super picky about, just know that this product is ammonia and peroxide-free, so it is not a permanent hair color, nor will it lift or lighten your existing hair color. So there's not a whole lot to worry about. I'm still new to this product, but if it means I can stretch my $200 hair appointments by a few weeks each visit, it might even save me a couple of trips to the salon each year--an idea I'm totally loving.

It hits the shelves January 1 (well, technically you probably won't get it til January 2nd since the 1st is a national holiday) so put this item on your shopping list--I can totally see this product being the best friend of busy moms and working professionals who want to keep looking fresh when they can't make it into the salon. (And what's not to love about the shiny-hair bonus?!)