In a sea of updos (and gorgeous ones, at that) Sandra Bullock, Best Actress winner, was in a league of her own with long, glossy, side-parted hair at the 2010 Academy Awards.

We could practically see our jealous stares in the mirror finish of her glossy locks.

How, exactly, does hair even get that shiny? We posed this question to Frederic Fekkai hairstylist Adir Abergel, who created Bullock's red carpet 'do.

Firstly, it's not just about the styling methods.

Abergel stressed how important the right shampoo and conditioner can be to shiny hair. "It's really important when women want to do silkier styles to use the right shampoo and conditioner, which we kind of forget about when we're talking about how to get a look," he told StyleList.

"I turned Sandra on to Fekkai's Glossing Shampoo and Conditioner," he told StyleList. "She used them the night before to add the perfect amount of weight and shine to the hair."

But the main trick is your technique -- the goal is to make each actual strand as smooth as humanly possible. And when that's your goal, the cuticles on each hair are your enemy. "The secret to create shine is by going the opposite direction as the cuticle layers," says Abergel. "When the cuticles are completely flattened they will reflect light."

To subdue the hair cuticles, he blew Bullock's hair dry using a round brush for volume, then saturated her locks with Fekkai Sheer Hold Hairspray, starting about 2 inches below the roots. Next, he ran a flat iron down her hair to flatten flatten the cuticles, flipping it around at the ends to create a little wave.

He finished the look with Fekkai Silky Straight Ironless Smooth Finish Serum, applied to the length of the hair to add gorgeous gleam, not to mention ward off shine-stymieing factors like humidity and frizz.

And there you have it -- hair so shiny you practically check your lipstick in it.

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