Almost everyone has the occasional gripe about their hair. Those with curly hair might complain that it’s unruly; those with thick hair may say that it’s difficult to style or frizzes easily. By the same token, people with fine hair might speak of lack of texture and volume.
When it comes to hair, the grass seems frequently greener!
But, let’s talk about what fine hair is. It’s not to do with how much hair you have – rather, it’s about each individual strand and its thickness. The diameter of each strand of hair will be thinner than thick or coarse hair.
So, while those with thick hair might find their hair gains volume too easily and spend time trying to tame it with products and blow-dries, those with fine strands may struggle with limp or flyaway hair.
However, it’s possible to add volume to fine hair using the right products and techniques.
1. Use volume-specific shampoos and conditioners
Adding volume to fine hair all starts with how you wash your hair, so look out for volumising or thickening products. These work by helping to ‘lift’ hair from the roots, creating height and space around each strand to give an appearance of fullness.
Be aware that such products don’t have a permanent effect. That is, they can’t actually make fine hair thicker, but they can create the appearance of fuller hair.
You can make your volumising shampoo and conditioner work harder for you, by really massaging the products into the scalp, and into the hair closest to the scalp.
And, because such products aren’t long-term solutions, you’ll need to consider your activities and lifestyle factors. In the same way that makeup may need to be reapplied after a long day, before heading out for the evening, product may need to be reapplied too.
That’s not to say that you should wash and condition your hair all over again, but you may wish to use a volumising mousse or hairspray to re-lift your roots if the day’s events have flattened your hairstyle.
2. …but try to avoid overdoing it
Yes, the right products can volumise hair, but it’s also important to avoid overwashing. An excess of any product can weigh hair down and reduce its good effects. Water quality can also have an impact: if you live in a hard water area, this can impact how full and lively your hair looks.
While fine hair benefits from washing with volumising shampoos and conditioners, it’s still important to leave sufficient time between washes. If you feel that your hair needs a boost in between times, try a dry shampoo.
Not only does dry shampoo give your hair a refresh, absorbing oil and dirt, but it will also add texture, lift and fullness. A tip? Apply it at night before going to bed and you can swerve any concerns about white residue. Instead, you’ll wake up with hair that’s fresher, cleaner and with a convincing amount of bounce.
London hairstylist Eva Stassi says, “Try lifting your hair up, section by section, and concentrating the spray a little more as you get closer to the roots. When you’re finished, flip your head upside down and secure it in a high ponytail or topknot before you go to sleep.”
3. Practise clever blow-drying
The way you blowdry your hair can make a big difference to your hair’s fullness. While many of us associate blow drying with wrapping a brush around sections of hair and moving the blow dryer slowly down each section, this is a technique that smoothes and tames hair.
If you have fine hair, try flipping your head upside-down and rough-drying the underside of your hair – you could also use a diffuser to lift and spread your hair even more. The hot air will separate the strands and cause them to lie further away from one another, creating an appearance of volume.
Once done, you can continue to dry your hair the right way around. Use a round brush to pull the hair up from the roots and continue to dry your hair, section by section.
The idea is that you’ll have fullness from beneath but the smoothness of a regular blow dry on the surface. Then you can enhance and set the look with a volume spray.
4. Speak to your hairdresser
If anyone knows a thing or two about how to make your hair look thicker and fuller, it’s your professional stylist.
Try voicing your concerns to them and giving them freedom to play around with your hair: they have the professional ability to determine the texture, thickness and quality of your hair.
They will likely have suggestions, whether that’s to do with cut, styling, products, or routine hair care. For example, a layered haircut can add lots of volume, as well as movement around the face and height at the roots.
Colouring can also be a useful device, as using darker tones and highlights can add depth and create an illusion of greater fullness. This may be tricky to achieve at home, so it’s worth utilising the expertise of a colourist.
5. Use time-honoured tricks
You can achieve a great deal in terms of making fine hair look fuller, even without going to a salon.
Backcombing, or teasing – combing your hair towards the roots rather than away from them – is just one of the methods you can employ to achieve more volume. Be careful though – some of the overly-backcombed styles of, say, the 60s, caused breakage and damage.
Try holding the hair up from the roots, section by section, and use a brush and short strokes to gently move a hairbrush from the hair shafts to the roots. Essentially, this causes the hair to tangle, which adds space between strands and, therefore, a voluminous look.
However, you’ll also need to pay attention to how you take this style out again. To avoid damage, you’ll need to use a good detangler on your hair before gently easing out the ‘tease,’ working in small sections from the ends of the hair up to the roots, rather than dragging a brush from roots to ends.
6. Try rollers and straighteners
Velcro rollers can also be a useful tool to have in the ‘thicker hair’ arsenal.
“Try using larger rollers near the roots to add volume and bounce around the face,” says Eva. “I suggest using more rollers, rather than fewer: that is to say, only use a small amount of hair around each roller.”
“You can use rollers on dry or damp hair, but make sure your hair is fully dry before you remove your rollers – and give them an extra spritz of texturising spray or similar to help them keep their ‘lift’ once the hair relaxes,” she advises.
Straighteners can also be a game changer: even though they’re usually linked with flattening down frizzy or wavy hair, they can also be used to create volume and bounce. Rather than gliding the irons down your hair from roots to ends, try sectioning your hair and pulling it away from your face with the straighteners.
In the process, turn your hair at an angle away from your face and then continue to move the iron down towards the ends. Once you’ve worked through all sections of your hair, gently work your fingers through it for a more natural look, and perhaps try adding a spritz of salt spray or another type of texturising spray.
For more guidance, it’s worth checking out YouTube, which is brimming with tutorials and step-by-step visuals.
7. Invest in hair extensions
Many people tend to associate hair extensions with adding length, but they can also be used to create volume for fine or thinning hair.
There are many different ways to use extensions, which can range from clip-ins to taped-in. You can also have extensions ‘bonded’ to your natural hair; a process that lasts around six weeks but is renowned for being subtle and effective.
The cost of such treatments varies widely, but human hair – which gives the most natural look – will always be pricier than synthetic hair, and bonding will generally be more expensive than clip-ins and taped hair.
There are DIY options that you can look into, as well, without going to a salon, although you may need to practise these a few times before you perfect them. As well as clip-ins, which you can add to the underside of your hair, you can also use ‘hidden halo’ hair extensions.
These involve hair (whether real or synthetic) attached to a fine wire, which you pull over the crown of your head, letting your natural hair fall over the top of it. You can then style the front of your hair to hide the wire.
Although these options don’t make your individual hair strands look any thicker, they do, when done correctly, create an overall look of volume and fullness.
8. Eat a hair-friendly diet
While diet can’t change the natural state of your hair, in terms of how thick each strand is, it can help to enhance the overall appearance of your hair, making it look more lustrous and healthy – and, in turn, fuller and thicker.
Try prioritising foods rich in protein, such as fish, eggs, and tofu, as well as legumes ranging from lentils to chickpeas. Nuts, such as almonds and walnuts, are another good addition to your diet, as these, like fish such as salmon, are high in omega 3 fatty acids, which help to keep hair strong and hydrated.
Final thoughts …
Fine hair can be made to look as full and as voluminous as you’d like it to – it’s just a matter of the right tips, tricks, and tools.
Many of these – such as the ones involving certain blow drying techniques and products – can be accessed and achieved at home. Others, such as certain cuts, colours and, if you choose, bonded extensions – will need professional input.
Underpinning all of these, of course, is diet and lifestyle. Many times, if you keep yourself as healthy as possible, your body – including your hair – will follow suit. If fine, thin hair is strong and resilient, it’ll be much easier to manipulate into styles that make it look fuller.
It will also look more beautiful just as it is – because, as we mentioned above, the grass is always greener when it comes to hair. And for every time you’ve lamented your hair’s fineness, there’s likely to be someone with coarse or thick hair envying your locks.
Do you have any additional tips for adding volume to fine hair that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
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