From brows to booties, everybody wants it thick! And for us thin haired girls, our manes are no exception. If it feels like you’ve tried every volumising mousse on the market, and you still aren’t seeing hair gains, try a page from our playbook and learn how to make thin hair look thicker.
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Sitting Pretty Halo Hair Extensions
But, of course! Because halo hair extensions are specially designed for thin hair, they’re the fastest route to thick, luscious locks. Unlike other extensions that are meant to add length, Halos are volume first, length second. That means fine manes get a much more natural, thickening effect.
Even better? Halo hair extensions won’t damage your already-delicate strands because they contain no clips, glues, or complex installations. Similarly, for those wondering how to grow thin hair thicker, Halos are a perfect tool to give you thicker-looking hair while you let your natural hair thrive on its growth journey.
Shop all Halos HERE.
Volumising Shampoo
If you’ve ever wondered how to make thin hair look thicker, I know you’ve lingered a little longer around volumising products than most. Volumising shampoo is great for making thin hair look thick because its formula is designed to amplify volume without weighing hair down. They’ll often include oil-controlling ingredient compounds to combat any sebum overproduction that so often makes hair look limp and dull.
So, what’s the difference between volumising and thickening shampoos? A thickening shampoo uses polymers to give the illusion of thicker strands. Some may include ingredients that promote or stimulate growth for those interested in how to grow thin hair thicker too.
But while thickening shampoos *do* give thin hair the thick hair experience, those polymers that coat your strands–and give the plumping look–wash off in the shower. And over time, thickening shampoos can create buildup making thin hair look even limper (and thinner). For that reason, we find volumising shampoos a better route for how to make thin hair look thick because they give a more noticeable effect to hair and are kinder to scalps.
AVEDA, Pure Abundance Volumizing Shampoo sold HERE; Virtue, Full Shampoo sold HERE; Briogeo, Ginseng + Biotin Volumizing Shampoo sold HERE; L’Oréal Professionnel, Salicylic Acid Volumetry Shampoo sold HERE.
Volumising Powders
Fact: fine haired girls have at least three bottles of dry shampoo in their bathrooms at all times. Not only do we love these powder heroes for their oil-absorbency, but they give amazing volume too. So… you’ll be happy to know you can get the same bit of wash-day avoidance with an even bigger focus on volume. Enter: volumising powder.
These brilliant little bottles create noticeable lift, texture, and volume when tapped at the root, making even the finest of hair look thick to the touch. We’ve tried a few, and keep coming back to these stars:
UNITE, ExpandaDust sold HERE; IGK, 30,000 Feet Volume Powder Spray sold HERE; Kevin Murphy, POWDER.PUFF Texturizing Powder sold HERE; Frank Body, Dry Clean Volume Powder sold HERE.
Washing Your Hair The Right Way
What you're washing with is almost as important as how you're washing your hair. And yes, there's a proper way that's a little more than just lather, rinse, repeat. While using your lightweight, volumising shampoo that we suggested, change up your routine with a salon-quality clarifying shampoo to eliminate any buildup that may be contributing to limp-looking locks.
You should also be shampooing less! Shampooing too frequently can create product buildup on your scalp which can cause your hair to not only look thinner, but also to fall out more easily.
As far as conditioner goes: avoid getting it in your roots and focus application on the ends. Conditioner is meant to moisturize, seal, and well, condition your hair so even if its labelled as a volumising conditioner, it’s best to keep at least a couple inches away from your scalp.
Read Next: The New Routine: How to Clean Scalp Buildup
Blow Drying With a Round Brush
One of the oldest tricks of the trade in how to make thin hair look thicker is a classic round brush blow dry. The slightly more coordinated sister of the upside-down blow dry, a round brush style gives amazing dimension and thickness to hair.
When blow drying, leave your round brushing to the very end. Blow dry your hair upside down using the rough-dry method. Use your hand throughout your roots by raking and lifting hair while your head is upside down. While called rough drying, you should still be gentle in how you toss your hair around.
Once hair is about 70% dry, flip back over and begin your round brushing. We love managing the front and top pieces first, then finishing with round brushing your ends for added flippy fullness. Tip: be gentle and careful not to pull too hard as this will cause your hair to sit flatter!
Highlights
We hate to say it, but having a bit of dryness (ahem, damage) to hair is an easy way to get thicker-looking locks because of the texture-effect. We don’t suggest going out and bleaching your hair for the sake of making thin hair look thicker, BUT professionally done highlights are kinda that!
Not only will processed hair be a LITTLE more textured even with the best of dye-jobs, but highlights will add a thickening illusion because of their dimension. Go for balayage and ends will look extra thick or do an all over highlight/lowlight mix for luscious dimension with every sway.
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Thickening Haircuts
Give thin hair the illusion of thick hair with the right haircut! Two perf options are blunt cuts and an edgy, multi-layer do like a wolf cut. With blunts cuts, these are great for those with search histories full of how to make thin long hair look thicker, as they make ends look denser than they are. This strategic haircut draws the attention away from a frayed or generally fine end and makes hair look healthy too!
Alternatively, a super edgy, flowing layers haircut gives thin hair a lot more body to work with. If you love wearing a halo everyday (wow, same??) then layers are always better to get volume and length! If you have very thin hair, a blunt cut is likely better, but most fine hair'd gals have more than enough hair to get the benefits out of layering.
Read Next: Halo Hair Extensions: Short Hair To Long Hair In Seconds
Vitamins and Supplements
Focusing on nourishment from the inside out is how to grow thin hair thicker. A good diet is a great start–less processed foods and sugars, more protein and healthy fats–but sometimes our bodies are working on more than just dinner.
From stress to hormone imbalances, female pattern hair thinning can be caused by what’s going on just below the surface. While we can say stress less, it’s easier said than done! For both of these, we suggest talking to your doctor or naturopath if you suspect stress is getting to your body or if your hormones seem a bit off (very common with age!)
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