MidoriLei

I have very thin hair. These tips are great for anyone else who has thin hair, not to be mistaken with “thinning hair.” Thin hair has to do with the volume and thickness of each hair strand, not the lack of hair or an issue with balding. Having thin hair makes your hair look limp and lifeless, and adding a little body goes a long way. Having thin hair also makes your face look rounder, so I always aim for creating volume in my hair, especially the roots at the top of my head. I use these tips and products on myself. Enjoy:)

1. Blow dried hair always looks more voluminous than air dried hair.

I think this is the main reason why I never air dry my hair. I’ve found that the quietest and strongest airflow from a blow dryer (the perfect combination) comes from my Conair Salon Series 1875 Watt blowdryer. Unfortunately, I’ve searched high and low for this, and I think it’s been discontinued. This one, Conair 276R Infiniti Pro Volume Dryer, looks like the most similar and has great reviews.

2. ALWAYS blow dry on the opposite direction of your part.

If you normally part your hair on the right side, create a left side part and blow dry your hair that way, so when you flip it back to your real part, you will have some lift in the roots.
If you normally part your hair in the middle, blow dry half of your hair in front of your face. It should cover your face like this:

I used this technique when I did Annie’s makeover and look how much volume it created!

BEFORE

AFTER

3. Dyed hair strands give the appearance of thicker hair compared to virgin hair strands.

All of that cuticle damage to the hair shaft? Sounds terrible huh? Well actually, for women with thin hair (myself included), the damaged hair actually helps create volume! I think it works even more so if you are going lighter instead of darker. As you know probably with clothing, dark colors make people thinner, bright and lighter colors make people look bigger. Same thing goes for hair. It’s easier to create the look of volume with lighter hair than it is with darker hair. Plus, the damaged hair, the open cuticle, gives texture to the hair which makes it look more voluminous.

It took me forever to find a “virgin” hair photo of me so you could see the difference, but here it is:

Compare with how much thicker my hair looks with blonde hair:

4. Root booster products give you volume where you need it most.

I love root boosting products, especially Catwalk Root Boost Styler By Tigi For Unisex Styling
and Big Sexy Hair Humidity Resistant Volumizing Spray Mousse, Root Pump Plus.

I only use them on the top of my head at the roots, never on the sides of my head. Why? Cuz you want volume on top. Unless you want to make your face look wider (for those with long or narrow faces), volume on the sides of your head will make you look more like you’re going for big Texas hair or 80′s hair.

Hope these tips help, ladies:)

Okay ladies, as promised from yesterday’s post, today I’m posting the process of how to use cornstarch as dry shampoo. I found this little secret from a natural beauty book a couple of years ago. I wish I could remember what book it was to give due credit! If you’re the book’s author, email me:) The process I discovered on my own.

What you need:

Large Flat Brush

Large Powder Brush and Wide Tooth Comb (and cornstarch of course)

Process

1. Starting on one side of the head, make a part right above your ear using your wide tooth comb.

2. Dip your large powder brush into the cornstarch and tap excess off. Then apply generously to the part.

3. Moving about an inch above from last part, create another part.

4. Apply cornstarch generously to part again.

5. Repeat process. (each side of head will have about 3-5 partitioned sections)

6. Make sure to focus your application on the crown of the head, or that area at the top back of the head, as this area tends to fall flat due to oil, and on some women with particularly thin hair, this area looks like it is thinning especially when it is oily. This is the most important area for application.

7. The second most important area for application is wherever your natural part is.

For some that may be a center part:

For me it’s a slight side part:

8. Don’t worry about applying too much cornstarch. Of course it’s easier if you tap the excess (it will lessen brushing time) but it doesn’t hurt to have too much. The most important thing is to make sure you cover all the oily roots.

Look how much I applied! (and I have black roots!)

9. Now it’s time to brush it all in so that you don’t have white roots. Start by brushing it from the front to the back.

You gotta do this for a good couple of minutes to really get the cornstarch blended. I mean brush the hell out of it! I sometimes even move my brush to the back of my head with a zigzag motion to really get the “blending” action. Don’t forget to brush out the area by your ears.

10. Now bend down so you can brush from the nape of your neck to the end of your hair.

When you flip your hair back up, it will be crazy big. This is when you just run your wide tooth comb through gently and give your hair some shape. I also use my fingers to “tame” the volume.

That’s it!

Another before picture: (compare how oily my hair looks in the before versus the afters!)

And some more after pictures:

As you can also tell, with my hair looking flat, oily and lifeless, it also has a tendency to make my face look wider. Volume to your hair, especially at the top, creates the illusion of a thinner face!

Have a great weekend! Next week, I’ll be giving more advice for giving volume and lift to thin hair.