Color Wow

Color Wow hair care: where the brand comes from

Color Wow was founded in 2013 by Gail Federici. She is no newcomer to hair care: in 1987 she met the London stylist John Frieda and the two became partners in John Frieda Haircare. That company created Frizz Ease, the first ever solution to frizzy hair, and in 2002 John Frieda Haircare was sold to the Japanese group Kao for 450 million dollars. Starting a new brand was Federici’s next step.

The new brand grew out of a simple observation: more and more people colour their hair, and colour treatment leaves hair drier, rougher and harder to manage. Color Wow first gained attention with Root Cover Up, a root touch-up product, and was followed by the Dream Coat anti-humidity spray. Color Wow is female-led and family-owned, and Federici’s twin daughters Alex and Brit contribute to its voice and vision. Its products have won more than one hundred beauty awards.

How Color Wow formulates its products

Formulas are developed in the brand’s own laboratory by a team led by the biochemist Dr Joe Cincotta, and Federici approves each product. The formulas leave out ingredients restricted in the United States and the European Union, plus about seventy more that can dull or distort hair colour. The leave-in and styling products include at least two kinds of heat protection.

Color Wow products suit coloured and non-coloured hair alike. That is why the range is easy to combine: you can take a colour-safe shampoo, a leave-in and a styling spray from the same brand without worrying that one product will undo another.

Dream Coat: the product that made the brand famous

Dream Coat Supernatural Spray is the line most people mean when they say Color Wow. Dr Cincotta developed it with technology borrowed from the textile industry: it is the first waterproofing anti-frizz technology. Frizz appears when hair pulls moisture from humid air and the strands swell. Dream Coat uses polymers that tighten and seal each strand so that hair becomes impermeable to humidity. It feels like nothing on the hair, and the effect lasts three to four shampoos.

There are several versions. Extra Strength Dream Coat is meant for very dry, dehydrated and curly or coily hair that returns to frizz in humidity. It works in two steps: a hydrating polyol complex fills the gaps in porous hair so that it stops drawing moisture from the air, and polymers on the surface link together when activated by blow-dry heat and tension. Supernatural Spray and Extra Strength are activated by blow-dry heat, so they belong to a blow-dry routine. Dream Coat for Curly Hair works differently: it is a one-step styler for waves and spirals that needs no heat, so curls can dry in the air or with a diffuser.

How to use Dream Coat Supernatural Spray

• Apply on clean, towel-dried hair, section by section, and comb through.
• Blow-dry or heat-style as usual so the polymers can set.
• The effect lasts three to four shampoos, then repeat.

For Dream Coat for Curly Hair the steps are shorter:

• Wash and condition, squeeze out excess water and comb if you like.
• Spray generously section by section, underneath too.
• Let the curls air-dry or use a diffuser.

Money Mist: leave-in conditioner for everyday use

Money Mist is a leave-in conditioner in a micro-atomised spray. It suits all hair types. Money Mist is alcohol-free and sulfate-free, contains plant-based proteins, peptides and marine-botanical humectants, and gives heat protection against styling tools. Its Baolized Amino Acid Complex strengthens the strands.

The figures: 69 percent less breakage and 82 percent less frizz. The directions are simple: after shampooing and conditioning, spray it evenly through clean, damp hair, comb through, do not rinse out and style as usual. Start with a small amount and keep it away from the scalp. Common sizes are 150 ml and a 50 ml travel size.

Dream Coat or Money Mist: which one do you need

The two are often mixed up because both go on after the shower. Dream Coat Supernatural Spray is a frizz and humidity treatment that works through heat and lasts three to four shampoos. Money Mist is a leave-in conditioner that adds moisture, detangling and heat protection and is used every time you wash. If humid weather ruins your blow-dry, start with Dream Coat. If hair is dry, tangled or breaks while brushing, start with Money Mist. The two can share a routine; just keep Xtra Large Bombshell and Dream Coat on different days.

Color Security: colour-safe shampoo and conditioner

Color Security is the washing pair of the brand. Color Security shampoo and conditioner leave out silicones, natural oils, conditioning gums, pearlising agents, waxes, sulfates and parabens, and they are as gentle on hair colour as water. The shampoo is a clear gel. The conditioner comes in two versions, fine to normal hair and normal to thick hair, in 250 ml tubes.

Masks and treatments: Money Masque and Dreaming

Money Masque is a deep conditioning mask. Start with a quarter-sized amount and add more for length and thickness. Apply it to hair after removing excess water, spread it generously, comb it through and rinse. Use it once a week or every third wash. Money Masque is vegan, cruelty-free and sulfate-free.

Dreaming is an Advanced Repair and Resurfacing Treatment, sold in 215 ml and 50 ml. It is made for dry, flyaway-prone hair and for all hair types that get puffy and frizzy in humidity, straight, wavy or curly. It resurfaces and repairs the outer cuticle, smooths rough texture, tames puffiness and leaves a glass-like finish; each application lasts through a few washes. After shampooing and removing excess moisture, apply a generous amount from roots to ends, leave it for two to three minutes, rinse and repeat weekly or as needed. In a humidity test, untreated hair absorbed 3.4 times more moisture than hair treated with Dreaming, and in a study of 30 volunteers 87 percent saw less frizz and 90 percent said their hair looked shinier.

Styling: Speed Dry, Xtra Large Bombshell and Style On Steroids

Speed Dry Blow Dry Spray

Speed Dry is sprayed on towel-dried hair before blow-drying. It cuts drying time by at least 30 percent. It is alcohol-free and uses a polymer that squeezes excess water out of the hair as you dry. Spray generously, comb through, add other styling products if you like and blow-dry as usual. It comes in a 150 ml bottle.

Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer

This is a volume foam for fine, thin and flat hair. It puts a lightweight polymer blend strengthened with bamboo on the surface of the hair, which expands as it dries and adds body while the cuticle stays tight. It is alcohol-free, contains no salt or drying resins, is fragrance-free and needs no heat to activate. Use it on damp hair: two to three pumps of foam, worked through sections from roots to ends, then comb through and blow-dry or air-dry.

Style On Steroids

Style On Steroids is a texture and finishing spray for fine or flat hair. Its formula combines micro-zeolites and elastomers and adds heat protection when waving. Shake the can, hold it 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) from the hair and spray section by section before curling or straightening, or mist it over the finished style. It is sold in 250 ml to 262 ml cans depending on the market.

How to build a Color Wow routine

You do not need the whole range. One possible order looks like this:

• Wash with Color Security shampoo and conditioner.
• Once a week replace the conditioner with Money Masque or Dreaming.
• On towel-dried hair add Money Mist, then Dream Coat if humidity is the problem.
• Add Speed Dry if you want to shorten the blow-dry.
• Finish with Style On Steroids for texture, or Xtra Large Bombshell for volume on fine hair.

For curls, apply Xtra Large Bombshell first and Dream Coat for Curly Hair afterwards, then let the hair air-dry or diffuse. Keep Xtra Large Bombshell and Dream Coat Supernatural Spray on different wash days. A small set of two or three Color Wow products also makes a thoughtful gift for a friend who has just coloured her hair.

Color Wow in our shop

You can compare Color Wow with other options in the hair care category, and styling sprays and foams are on the hair styling page.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Color Wow?

Gail Federici founded it in 2013. She is also a co-founder of John Frieda Haircare, which developed the Frizz Ease line.

Is Color Wow only for coloured hair?

No. Color Wow products suit both coloured and non-coloured hair.

What is the difference between Dream Coat and Money Mist?

Dream Coat Supernatural Spray is an anti-humidity treatment activated by blow-dry heat and lasting three to four shampoos. Money Mist is an everyday leave-in conditioner for moisture, detangling and smoothing.

How long does Dream Coat last?

Three to four shampoos.

Does Dream Coat for Curly Hair need heat?

No. Spray it on wet hair section by section and let the curls air-dry or use a diffuser.

Do I rinse Money Mist out?

No. Spray it on clean, damp hair, comb through and style without rinsing.

Which Color Security conditioner versions exist?

Two: one for fine to normal hair and one for normal to thick hair.

How often should I use Money Masque or Dreaming?

Once a week or as needed; Money Masque can also be used every third wash.

Does Speed Dry really shorten drying time?

Yes, Speed Dry cuts drying time by at least 30 percent.

Can I use Xtra Large Bombshell and Dream Coat together?

Use them on different wash days. For curly hair, apply Xtra Large first and Dream Coat for Curly Hair afterwards.

How do I use Style On Steroids?

Shake the can, hold it 25 to 30 cm away and spray section by section before heat styling, or as a finishing mist.