Chris Appleton has built a career on being the person Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande and Britney Spears all call before a red carpet, and somewhere along the way he also became Color Wow's Global Creative Director. It's a genuinely annoying amount of talent and cheekbones for one hairstylist to have, but at least it means the products behind some of Hollywood's most copied hair moments are actually sitting on Hairhouse shelves.
Who Actually Is Chris Appleton?
Appleton started out in the UK, working with singer Rita Ora before Jennifer Lopez got in touch and pulled him toward a bigger stage in Los Angeles. From there his client list turned into a genuine who's who: Kim Kardashian and the wider Kardashian-Jenner family, Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Sofía Vergara, Britney Spears and Dua Lipa, along with a long-running relationship with Lopez that's included campaigns, tours and that 2020 Super Bowl halftime show. He's since written a New York Times bestselling memoir, "Your Roots Don't Define You", and in mid-2026 picked up Estetica Magazine's Global Hair Icon Award at a Color Wow masterclass in Madrid.
Since taking on the Global Creative Director role at Color Wow, Appleton's job has effectively been translating what he does on A-list clients into products anyone can buy, which is a much more useful thing for the rest of us than it sounds.
What Does Chris Appleton Actually Use Color Wow For?
Kim Kardashian's glass hair. Appleton is widely credited as one of the stylists who made "glass hair", ultra-sleek, high-shine, almost liquid-looking hair, a genuine social media trend from around 2018 onward, and he's continued to use it as one of Kim Kardashian's signature looks. The product doing the actual work is Color Wow's Dream Coat Supernatural Spray, a heat-activated, anti-frizz treatment that bonds to the hair to create a smooth, glossy, waterproof-feeling finish.
Jennifer Lopez's bouncy volume. Lopez's big, bombshell curls, including her 2020 Super Bowl halftime show hair, lean on serious volume underneath the actual curl. Color Wow's Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer is the brand's foam built for exactly that kind of lift and body without weighing hair down, and Raise the Root Thicken & Lift Spray targets the same volume problem specifically at the root.
Ariana Grande's signature ponytail. Appleton is behind Grande's tight, snatched high ponytail, one of the most recognisable hairstyles in pop music, using haircare that keeps flyaways smooth and the finish glassy rather than stiff, the same shine-first approach that runs through the Dream Coat formula.
Red carpet root touch-ups. Between colour appointments, Appleton has also spoken about relying on root concealers to keep a fresh-colour look intact for last-minute events, which is the exact job Color Wow's Root Cover Up powder is built for: an instant, mess-free way to cover regrowth or greys without committing to a full colour service.
Appleton also has his own Color Wow collaboration product, the Money Masque, a deep-hydrating treatment built to turn dry, dull or overworked hair into silky, light-reflective strands. It's a good sign of how far his involvement with the brand actually goes, well past being a famous face attached to a logo, and it's stocked at Hairhouse alongside the rest of the range.
Expert Tip: Hairhouse stylists point out that Dream Coat and similar heat-activated glossing sprays need heat to actually work. Applying it and air-drying won't get you the "glass hair" effect; it needs a blow-dry or a hot tool afterwards to bond the formula to the hair shaft and lock in that glassy finish.
Why Does a Celebrity Stylist's Brand Involvement Actually Matter?
It's easy to be cynical about celebrity-adjacent haircare, but Appleton's role at Color Wow isn't just a paid face on packaging. He's actively involved in product development and education for the brand, including his own named collaboration product, and the specific problems Color Wow's core lineup solves, frizz, flatness, and fast colour touch-ups, are the same problems he's solving on set and on the red carpet under far less forgiving lighting than a bathroom mirror. The gap between "celebrity hair" and "your hair" is mostly about time and tools, not some unreachable formula, and that's exactly the gap these products are built to close.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Chris Appleton actually do for Color Wow?
He's Color Wow's Global Creative Director, working across product development, education and global brand campaigns, alongside continuing his celebrity styling career with clients including Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez and Ariana Grande.
What product does Chris Appleton use to get "glass hair"?
He's closely associated with Color Wow's Dream Coat Supernatural Spray, a heat-activated anti-frizz treatment that creates the smooth, high-shine finish behind the glass hair trend.
How did Jennifer Lopez get so much volume in her Super Bowl hair?
Big, bouncy volume like that typically starts with a root-lifting or volumising product applied before styling. Color Wow's Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer and Raise the Root Thicken & Lift Spray are both built for that kind of lift.
Is Chris Appleton's Money Masque available at Hairhouse?
Yes. It's his own Color Wow collaboration product, a deep-hydrating mask for dry, dull or overworked hair, and it's stocked at Hairhouse as part of the full Color Wow range.
Do I need a heat tool to get the glass hair effect at home?
Yes. Dream Coat and similar heat-activated glossing sprays need a blow-dry or hot tool to bond the formula to the hair and create that sleek, glass-like finish. Air-drying won't produce the same result.
Curious which Color Wow product actually matches your hair goal, glass-like shine, real volume, or a same-day root fix? Explore the full Color Wow range at Hairhouse, and a Hairhouse stylist can help you build the closest thing to Chris Appleton's kit that your bathroom counter can handle.
Images: @chrisappleton1 on Instagram