Color Wow: Two viral products that finally gave my flat hair volume

If there's one thing I wish my hair had (besides no greys), it's volume. I've tried many brands and products, and nothing gave me the results I wanted. I have straight, flat hair — the kind that looks fine for about an hour after a blow-dry and then gives up entirely. The volume is gone by lunch, and you'd never know I'd spent twenty minutes styling it that morning.

Then TikTok served me Color Wow, and two products kept coming up as the ultimate volume fix: Raise The Roots Spray and Carb Cocktail Bionic Tonic. The hair in those videos was almost hard to believe. I was convinced, I wanted that volume, so I did my research and tested them both.

They only make products that either solve something no one else has cracked, or outperform everything else on the shelf. And the ingredient list is promising too. The EU bans around 1,400 ingredients from personal care products. Color Wow has banned all of those, plus another 70 that can dull or distort colour-treated hair. Every styling product and leave-in also contains at least two kinds of heat protection. It's the kind of detail that explains why salon pros and celebrity stylists trust the range — and why it keeps going viral.

I tested each product separately over two weeks, on freshly washed, towel-dried hair, followed by a regular blow-dry or a simple quick dry. I wanted to see whether the results were noticeable, whether they held up through a full day, and whether either product felt like something I'd reach for again once the bottle ran out. Here's what I found.

The claim: lightweight, flexible polymers form a "spring" at the roots for lasting lift, without stiffness, stickiness, or crunch. The formula also includes panthenol and hydrolyzed keratin to support hair health, plus built-in heat protection.

The reality: it works, and it's the one TikTok is obsessed with for a reason. You spray it on damp or dry hair at the roots, then blow-dry.

What I loved: it doesn't feel stiff or sticky. My hair still felt clean and natural, non-greasy, just with noticeably more volume where I actually needed it. Most volume sprays I've tried leave hair crunchy or coated in something weird. This one genuinely doesn't.

One thing I'd say: blow-dry it in. I tried it with a regular blow-dry — no big round brush, nothing fancy — and still got noticeable volume. You'll get even more lift with heat and a round brush, but you don't need a full styling setup to see a result.

The claim: a carb-infused leave-in designed to thicken fine strands during blow-drying. It works through a lightweight blend of cellulose, starch, and oat bran that binds to each strand once heat is applied — essentially filling out the hair from the outside, so even the finest strands look fuller and denser.

The reality: same honest verdict — it doesn't feel stiff or sticky, hair still looks natural, but this one gives you overall body rather than just root lift. Strands feel fuller, not just at the top.

Apply to damp hair, comb through, and blow-dry. Heat activates it — don't skip that step. It works with just a simple blow-dry, but using a round brush really makes a difference.

After two weeks, both products have earned a permanent spot in my routine, which is the highest compliment I can give a haircare purchase. If flat hair has been your long-running frustration, Color Wow is worth the investment — and with 15% off at Ici Paris XL, it's worth it even more right now.