After this winter—this long winter—I certainly feel the urge for a refresh. I want to slather my skin in hydrating, and glow-inducing facials. I want to break out the brightest, funnest eyeliner and lipstick I have available. I want, well, to do my hair again. I’m ready to add a little shine back to my routine and look. 

I’m not alone. I’ve been getting the same questions from friends, coworkers, and family alike: How do I add a little oomph back to my look, while you know, still at home and on a budget. Certainly, there’s a lot of routes to take (I encourage you to choose your own adventure here), but one answer to look into is an at-home glaze or gloss. 

“A glaze is basically a semipermanent color that coats the hair shaft with shine and lasts up to a few washes,” says celebrity colorist and Redken brand ambassador Matt Rez. As the pigment sits atop the shaft and can be made with light-reflective nutrients, they are often used as a way to add luster to otherwise dull hair. A gloss on the other hand is a bit more permanent, and tends to alter the color a bit more. (In some traditional examples, it will use ammonia to open up the cuticle to deposit color, however, we’ve avoided that here.) Regardless, both are low-stakes options to alter your hair color for a little post-winter fun. 

If you feel that’s just what the beauty editor ordered, here are my favorite better-for-you options.

Here’s the deal: Your skin and hair change with the surrounding environment. As both are outward-facing, they come into contact with a wide variety of stressors that affect their health and appearance. And so when our skin and hair reflect seasonal or environmental changes, it should come as no surprise that we may need to make tweaks to our routine to help our bodies respond to these external aggressors. 

So what’s the deal with winter and hair? Well, it comes down to a few factors. The most obvious is the weather. There are two reasons, actually: When outside, arid, cold air can make strands more brittle and damage-prone. Then when we retreat indoors, the cranked-up heating systems can dehydrate the hair, too. It’s this one-two punch of oscillating temps that really does you in. “In the winter your hair is exposed to radiator heat; car heat; dry, cold fresh air,” says stylist Leonardo Manetti of Rob Peetoom in Brooklyn. “Thus, in the winter it’s most likely to be dryer; this can cause extreme dryness or static in hair depending on the texture.”

Additionally, you likely are turning up the temp in your showers (perhaps unknowingly), which can dull out hair. “In the winter, you are dealing with hotter water being used in the shower,” says Megan Taylor, stylist at Gloria and Company in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

And while those are the main reasons your hair zonks out this time of year, there are a few weird reasons you may be experiencing some dullness. First, hat hair can make strands more static or lifeless. Or product buildup from dry shampoos may be mattifying the strands—since people may be stretching time between washes during these months. Buildup may even come from overusing styling creams and serums, especially those that sit on top of the strand and don’t easily rinse out (read: those with silicones). Not to mention: You may be due for a trim, as damage and split ends can make hair appear more disheveled.