Sick of fighting flat hair, limp locks, and fringe glued to your forehead? High five! I’ve been there…
Actually, I still have that problem (something I was born with, I guess!). However, after hundreds of attempts, experiments, and failures, I know for sure how to cope with my volume-challenged (or should I say vertically challenged?) hair. The tricks I’ve learned during this time are definitely worth the efforts I made and I’m really happy to share them with you today.
You’ll ask why – I came, I saw, I struggled.. why not share my learnings with others? Anyway, neither here nor there..
The two main reasons for having thin hair are a genetic predisposition and some health problems (e.g. lack of vitamin E or calcium). We can’t do much about the first, but the second we can. In any case, what’s essential for both situations is appropriate hair care.
Thin locks tend to get dirty fast, so they require frequent and thorough washing. It’s good to use a special volume-building shampoo along with a hair conditioner of the same brand. Take an integrated approach: try a dry shampoo powder, a volumizing mousse, various hairsprays for root-boosting, regularly put on homemade or store-bought nourishing hair masks. Unfortunately, without a steadfast routine, you’ll see minimal results at best.
In addition to everything described above, there are some easy tricks that help to create a visual effect of incredible volume – and that’s what I’m gonna tell about right now. So, here we go!
#1 – The Easiest Volume-Building Trick: Hair Illusions
And my favorite one! All you need is to try a new way of styling the hair – just mix it up a little!
Try a New Part. Instead of parting your hair at the center, try to change your part into a zigzag, a side part, a low side part or wear it in a style without a part at all. These simple visual manipulations will keep your roots on their toes and make your hairstyle look more lush.
In case the hair is completely unruly, you may use a hairspray, or try switching the parting when the hair is still wet.
Try a Bouffant. Another almost effortless way of creating a soft volume, which I opened for myself, is back-brushing the roots. The optimal way to increase the volume of the hairstyle is to spike up hair from the roots. The bouffant technique should be performed on clean and blow-dried hair.
Divide the hair into three parts, start from the nape, move from tips to roots, gradually coming to the crown. After that, let the rest of the hair down to cover the working zone and spray some hair product to fix the result. As for me, the bouffant is not an every day hairstyle, however, it really comes in handy when I’m going to a special event.
#2 – Your Blowdryer Might Do the Trick
I also like adding volume by means of your everyday, ordinary hair dryer.
I flip my head upside down when blow drying my hair, and keep drying this way until the roots are completely dry, and after that flip back up and dry the ends as usual. (Megan chiming in here – I do the same thing! Seriously.)
Sometimes I use a large round brush, take a thick section of hair, and wrap the hair around the brush from the roots, aiming the blow dryer to this section (moving it quickly to avoid damage!). I then let the hair cool down a bit while it’s still on the brush, before moving on.
I really wasn’t good at it for the first couple of times, but now I can blow dry like a boss.
Oh, and my hair looks great, too!
#3 – Get Volume in Your Sleep
Maybe for some, this trick is even easier than others, but not for me, as I literally can’t stand sleeping with my hair tied. If that doesn’t bother you, then no problems here. This is truly a #lazychick’s hair hack.
All you need is to pull hair up into a high, loose bun or a pony, while it’s still damp, and go to bed. In the morning, remove the hand band and enjoy the playful natural volume. (Megan again, I do this one too! #LazyChick Just make sure it’s really loose so that it doesn’t make the hair oily at the base; if it does, just dry shampoo it.)
#4 – Ride the Waves
This technique is the most popular by far. It’s no secret that curly and wavy hairstyles make you look more feminine and visually add volume to thin locks.
Kill two birds with one stone – look hot and get voluminous hair all in one.
You can use a curling iron as usual, or go old school and take your fav hair rollers: magnetic, foam, snap-on, plastic, hot rollers – anything goes. Look at these shaggy gray hairstyles, do you still disagree that curls make the difference?
#5 – Cut & Color Magic
Most hairdressers agree that medium and short lengths are optimal for fine hair, since such cuts visually look bulkier. As a bonus, they are much easier to style. So, if between length and volume you still choose the volume – call your hairstylist.
Another worthy variant is a multi-layered cascading haircut with torn fringe and hairline. It’s also very easy to maintain and suits women of almost every face shape.
#6 – Light it Up
Extra volume can be “painted” by means of up-to-date coloring techniques like ombre, shatush, degrade, and baby highlights.
Professional colorists use 3-6 different shades within the same color palette to make smooth harmonious transitions and create a magnificent visual effect. Highlights are especially effective for dark hair when the strands are one or two tones lighter than a natural color. For blondes, it’s better to choose the shades matching with their skin color.
Want create an incredible volume for your less-than-voluminous hair? Surely one of these tricks will help you rock the hair you’ve been waiting for.
Try them and let us know! As for any other tips or tricks we missed, feel free to comment below! Thanks for reading.
Today’s guest blog was written by Nancy Cooper.
