Hey everyone! Today’s post is about dealing with thin hair. I’ve always had the most baby-fine hair and for most of my life, I resented it. My hair wouldn’t stay up in any hairdos and it always looked greasy and stringy at the end of the day. I wished so badly that I had thick, curly, voluminous hair. Once I accepted that my hair wasn’t magically going to get thicker, I started working towards improving it myself and realized thin hair wasn’t so difficult. Here are some tips and tricks that I LIVE BY when it comes to handling thin hair…
- Don’t wash your hair every day. While thin hair gets greasy quicker than thick hair, you still only really need to wash is 2-3 times a week. When you wash your hair daily, not only are you quickly stripping your thin hair of its natural oils, but you’re also training your scalp to produce more oil and just prolonging an endless circle of damage. Within a couple weeks, you will train your scalp to produce less oils and won’t notice a build up between washes.
- In between washes, use dry shampoo. Dry shampoo is a necessity for thin hair. It masks the appearance of oil, but also adds an impressive amount of volume to your roots in just seconds. Pro tip: even if your hair isn’t greasy, use dry shampoo as a quick volumizing spray.
- Don’t neglect conditioner. You should condition every time you shampoo your hair to replenish moisture (especially important for thin hair because it dries out easily). Also, every so often try a hair mask made of 4 tbsp coconut oil and tbsp of lime juice. Massage into your scalp for 10 minutes and let sit for 60 minutes, then rinse.
- Blow-dry your hair upside down for extra volume. Best tip I can offer honestly. When you blow-dry upright, you’re literally blowing your hair downwards, which is the opposite of volume.
- Always use a heat protectant spray. Thin hair gets damaged way more easily than thicker hair so you have to take extra special care of it. Hot styling tools can cause thin hair dry out, become brittle, and break. Heat resistant spray adds an extra layer of strength to it. This spray is my personal favorite (affordable and effective).
- The brush you use is important. Plastic tools can cause a lot of frizz. Try a hot air brush to lift hair at your roots and add volume. This one uses ionic technology and static-free bristles to prevent frizz. While you’re at it, get a metal comb like this one to avoid plastic-induced frizz.
- Curls are your best friend. If you have thin AND straight hair (like mine), you know the annoying feeling of having your ears stick out from under your hair. Straight hair makes it impossible to hide a lack of volume. Curls and waves add volume just because of their very nature. My best advice is to use a curling wand and start your curl from the top of your hair to add volume at the root. You can find my 5-minute curling routine here. If you want easy, heat-free waves, try braiding your hair before you go to bed.
- Hairspray, hairspray, and more hairspray. We all know how well thin hair holds texture :C so if you curl or wave your hair, don’t skimp. BTW, you can use a toothbrush and some extra hairspray to brush down little static flyaway hairs. Also, don’t touch your hair. That just weighs it down, creates static frizz, and adds extra oil to your hair.
- When your put your hair in a ponytail, split it in two sections and make one ponytail right under neath the other. The top ponytail will conceal the lower one, and add an illusion of volume. Here’s a tutorial. You can also stick two bobby pins underneath your pony to boost it like this. If you don’t want to put in all that effort, just do a messy ponytail. Messy ponytails look much more voluminous than a slicked-back style.
- Hairstyle matters. Get layers cut into your hair. They’ll add volume and definition. Shorter hairstyles are easiest for thin hair because the longer your hair is, the more weight is holding it down. Avoid heavy bangs because thin hair will not provide the desired result, instead aim for side-swept or layered bangs.
- Lastly, there are plenty of great products to add volume to thin hair. Avoid heavy gels and using too much product so you don’t weigh your hair down. Instead, opt for lightweight sprays and mousses. Try this body-boosting mousse. You can also try a texturizing spray for lightweight styling. Additionally, you should take biotin daily to promote healthy hair growth and thickness.
I hope these tips help anyone with thin hair. I know it can be a pain in the butt, but it doesn’t have to ruin your life. All hair types are manageable 🙂 and beautiful. Have a great day guys.