I’m a Beauty Editor & I Can Confirm This New Gloss Serum Is Instant Shiny Hair in a Bottle

Not to toot my own horn, but I know a good shiny hair product when I use one.

Glossy, swishy hair is kind of my thing.

I even wrote a whole Beauty IQ article about how I get my hair to shine so damn bright.

So trust me when I tell you, I've found a new gloss hair serum and it's a real winner.

I stumbled across this hidden gem of a hair product while road-testing our newest luxe hair range called ORI Lab.

When our haircare marketing managers first gave us the heads up it was coming, I wasn't sold because, well, it's a 'clean' hair brand.

And if I'm honest, I haven't loved many clean products I've tried.

But then I heard it's made by one of my favourite affordable professional hair care brands NAK.

Then saw the gorgeous minimalist packaging, and decided to put my organic/natural/clean beauty scepticism aside, and I'm chuffed I did.

Keep scrolling for my ORI Lab hair review, including which products I reckon are worth your dosh.

What is NAK Hair ORI Lab?

If NAK products are your entry level salon-quality hair care, ORI Lab is the next step up.

Each luxe organic product is priced at $39.95, so while they're not as budget-friendly as NAK or ELEVEN Australia, ORI Lab isn't super bougie like Kérastase, Oribe or Virtue Hair.

Aside from being ridiculously good-looking, ORI Lab is all about the mindfulness and conscious aspects of the 'clean beauty' movement.

Rather than leaning into woo woo trends or greenwashing, the brand focusses on certified organic and naturally-derived ingredients, high-performance, salon-quality formulas that work, and sustainable, recyclable packaging that also looks chic in the shower.

Like all NAK hair products, ORI Lab products are Aussie-made, vegan, cruelty-free, and free from sulphates and parabens.

Oh, and they smell really good.

NAK Hair products are known for their delicious scent. I'd say the ORI Lab fragrance is a subtler version.

NAK Hair ORI Lab Products.

NAK Hair ORI Lab has five core shampoo and conditioner ranges to suit different hair types and concerns:

• Calm - A super-mild shampoo and conditioner designed to cleanse, nourish and protect sensitive scalps.

• Plump - Got fine or flat hair? This volumising shampoo and conditioner duo adds weightless body.

• Curl - Gives curly, coily hair the nourishment, hydration and protection it needs to thrive against dehydration and frizz.

• Restore - Colour-safe shampoo and conditioner to replenish amino acids, proteins and moisture content in colour-treated hair.

• Blonde - Your toning purple shampoo and conditioner to neutralise brassy tones and brighten blonde, silver, grey and lightened hair.

The thing that makes ORI Lab hair products different to others is the skin care for your hair approach.

Each formula starts with a 'clean beauty base' of ingredients you might recognise from your skincare serum bottles:

Niacinamide (vitamin B3), hyaluronic acid, aloe and marshmallow.

'Beauty boosters' are then added to the formulas depending on the specific hair concerns the products aim to address.

Think of these as the extra nice-to-haves in your skincare products that complement the heavy lifting active ingredients.

Like oat extract and quinoa protein to nourish and strengthen damaged hair, rice protein for bounce and volume, or finger lime to smooth hair cuticles for less frizz and breakage.

Once you've chosen the shampoo and conditioner for your hair type (you can mix and match between the ranges too!), choose your treatment, styling and finishing products to address any post-wash concerns.

From a leave-in ends remedy balm and curly hair moisture foam, to restore treatments and masks, an 'overnight dew serum' and styling and finishing creams, every hair concern is covered.

My NAK Hair ORI Lab Review.

I tried a few ORI Lab hair products from the different ranges in order to write this review.

Some were lovely. Others were 'meh' for my particular hair type and concerns (lots of fine, limp hair prone to frizz).

But there were a few that really surprised and delighted me.

As we've already established, the ORI Lab gloss serum was one of them, and I'll show and tell you why in just a moment.

Here are the five NAK Hair ORI Lab products I'd genuinely repurchase once I empty the bottles, listed in the order I like to use them.

1. NAK Hair ORI Lab Overnight Dew Serum.

Overnight hair serums like this one were made for lazy people.

All the hydration of a treatment mask with none of the heaviness. And no rinsing required.

NAK Hair ORI Lab Overnight Dew Serum 100ml reminds me a lot of the cult Kérastase 8HR Magic Night Serum. It'd be a great organic alternative if that's important to you.

All hair types can use the camellia oil cream/serum hybrid on damp or dry hair, at night or before styling in the morning.

My favourite way to use the dew serum is liberally through dry hair the night before I'm going to wash it.

That way, I can let it soak in from the scalp to the ends without worrying about waking up with greasy roots.

2. NAK Hair ORI Lab Plump Shampoo.

'Plump' really is the best word to describe how this shampoo makes my hair look and feel.

A lot of volumising shampoos leave my fine hair feel heavy, stripped or dirty (I'm obsessed with the clean hair feeling).

NAK Hair ORI Lab Plump Cleanse Shampoo 300ml contains white cypress and rice protein to effectively cleanse the scalp and remove product build up, and add bounce and shine to limp hair without weighing it down.

Here's a look at my hair after blow drying it, no extra styling products or tools were used!

Bonus points: You only need a small amount of product.

As far as clean shampoos go, this one foams up into a beautifully luscious lather, especially if you double shampoo!

Even though the light moss green bottle looks *stunning* in the shower next to the matching NAK Hair ORI Lab Plump Condition 300ml, I prefer to use hair masks in place of conditioners.

3. NAK Hair ORI Lab Rescue Masque.

This is the first hair mask I've used in a long time that genuinely feels like my hair is drenched in nourishment.

NAK Hair ORI Lab Rescue Masque 225g is made with cocoa butter and marula oil, and offers deep, restoring moisture to rough, dry hair.

It's thick and juicy and smells so fancy. But the way it coats the hair rather than disappearing after you've applied it is what I love most.

Use weekly (or whenever you feel like it) from the ears down for softer, more manageable hair. The big tub will last you ages, too.

Leaving the mask in for a few minutes while I do my other shower admin is enough for my hair, but you can even use it as a pre-shampoo treatment for deeper hydration.

4. NAK Hair ORI Lab Finishing Crème.

Heat protection, anti-frizz smoothing and light, flexible hold, all for less than $40?

Bargain.

I'm all about a lengthy haircare routine, so once I've shampooed twice and conditioned, I gently towel dry my hair before running a couple of pumps of this lightweight moisturiser through the mid-lengths and ends.

Up into the hair wrap it goes to marinate for a few minutes (or hours) until I can be bothered to blow dry it.

The reason I'm into NAK Hair ORI Lab Finishing Crème 100ml as my pre-styling product is because you can pack even more hydration into the hair without the greasy film some oils leave behind.

I also find it gives my hair the perfect amount of body and hold after blow drying, but crucially, still leaves hair feeling clean and soft, not crunchy or gritty.

5. NAK Hair ORI Lab Gloss Serum.

Last but not least is this bloody gloss serum I've been going on about.

NAK Hair ORI Lab Gloss Serum 100ml is the Goldilocks of hair oils.

Thick, but not too sticky. Hydrating, but not heavy. And the gloss you get from the camellia and marula oil formula is pretty wild.

Nine-year-old me wearing my super sticky, shiny lip glaze would be salivating.

I apply a generous squirt to towel-dried mid-lengths and ends, then brush through any knots with my fingers before using my Dyson Supersonic Iron Fuchsia 605C with the concentrator nozzle attachment to blow dry.

Granted, I'm in the sun in these selfies, but the shine is real, no?

You can leave it there for a shiny 'I just had my hair done at the salon' finish, but I like to go that bit further.

Warm a drop between your palms and press the serum into the ends once dried, concentrating on the front sections of hair.

Ooft. The result is hair so swishy and glossy, I legit can't stop touching it.

So there you have it. My ORI Lab hair review.

Now all that's left to do is to add that gloss serum to cart before it sells out!

Want more haircare recommendations and reviews? Check out these Beauty IQ articles here:

• 5 Quick & Easy Ways I Make My Limp, Greasy Hair Look Fresh (Without Washing It)

• A Visual Diary of My 3-Year Journey From Hagrid Hair to Professional Haircare Convert

• 3 New Blonde Hair Products We're Repurchasing in Our Next Staff Orders

• Every Single Product Our Beauty Editor Uses to Wash and Style Her Hair

• I’m a Beauty Editor & This Is How I Get My Hair So Shiny

Still confused? We're here to help! Take our hair quiz now to build your perfect haircare routine!