Does your hair lack volume? If your tresses have a habit of just lying there, completely lifeless, looking as flat-as-road-kill, you need to show them who's boss. Thankfully, by following some easy tips, you can add some body to your limp locks, transforming them into a flowing mane filled with ample bounce and vitality.
1. Part with your part
Have you been parting your hair in the exact same spot since Ronald Reagan was in office? If so, it is time to force your follicles out of their comfort zone by relocating your part. The truth is that when you always part your hair in the same place, you are actually training it to lie flat and behave itself. By switching to the other side or even the middle, you will add instant volume and lift to your hair.
2. Turn your world upside down
Say "goodbye" to the upright blow-dry. It's time to hang that head upside down while blow-drying your locks. This naturally pulls your hair away from your scalp, adding volume. And with your head mere inches away from your floor, you may find some loose change or an earring you lost many moons ago.
Hairstylist, Nathaniel Hawkins, tells Allure magazine that blasting your entire mane with cool air once it is dry will "create fullness and loosen up the blow-dry."
3. Layer it
When you were a kid, did your mother apply a light layer of spit to the top of your hair to tame it? If so, that was quite unfortunate. Not only did it likely make your head smell oddly like saliva, but it also left you with a flat hairdo -- which wasn't a good look then, and isn't a good look now.
Thankfully, you're a big girl now and you're in charge of your hair. An effective way to liven up your locks is to introduce layers as they decrease your hair's weight and instantly add bounce and body. Be careful though. Too many layers or ones that are too short can leave you looking like a time traveler from the 1980s.
Furthermore, if you have thin hair and would like to add layers and thickness, you can opt for hair extensions and avoid the scissors completely.
4. Master the finger curl
There is a fun way to add volume to your hair while achieving a playful style -- and it doesn't require any tools or heat. It is called the "finger girl" and simply involves mastering the art of making waves and curls by using your fingers to lightly twist or curl sections of your hair. Once you have your curls just the way you want them, simply apply some hairspray to hold the style and voila! you have a head full of body and natural-looking wave.
Another easy way to add volume to hair is to let it dry with braids in. This will give you natural waves with little effort.
5. Stop straightening
Pin-straight hair suits some people, but not everyone. In fact, flat and lifeless hair can add years to your face by highlighting laugh lines and crow's feet. Instead of undertaking the laborious task of straightening your hair every day, you may want to embrace your natural wave or curl, adding beautiful bounce to your tresses.
If you are extremely attached to your straight style, but long to add volume, you may want to try introducing hair extensions. Not only can you increase length if you desire, but you can also increase your hair's overall volume and thickness.
6. Try velcro hair rollers
We can see why these were the most have hair tools in the 90s and are now making a revival on Tiktok. Rollers work! Whether you opt for modern hot rollers or retro velcro hair rollers they are a great way to achieve soft, beautiful waves, while adding volume to your hair. And, The Skincare Edit offers a valuable tip stating, "Rolling away from the face gives you glam Hollywood waves, while towards the face creates a more vintage, Veronica Lake effect." Yes, your velcro rollers can transform you into a Hollywood starlet.
7. Change your hue
Did you know that hair dye actually alters the texture of your hair, roughing it up just enough to give your hair extra body? Yes, a trip to your favorite colorist can not only give you a glorious new shade, but it can also increase your hair volume.
Interestingly, when highlights are placed strategically, they can also make your hair look much more voluminous. It's all about tricking the eye. A great way to add highlights without ever having to subject your tresses to chemicals or go back to the salon for repeated touch-ups is to introduce hair extensions of a lighter or darker hue.
8. Bye-bye daily wash
Shampooing every day is actually bad for your hair -- no matter what your shampoo bottle tells you. It leaves your hair stripped of natural oils and is particularly damaging to long hair. Instead, try to embrace your second and third days between shampoos and you will enjoy flouncy follicles that boast much greater body. And, as Aneta from Home With Aneta recommends, "embrace the 2nd and 3rd-day texture to do some messy braids or other styles that need to hold."
9. Know your bristles
The wrong hairbrush can unleash unspeakable damage upon your follicles, while the right one can protect your mane while stimulating growth. According to Matrix hair products, the most hair-friendly brushes have natural boar or flexible nylon bristles as your blow dryer will not cause them to overheat and they won't catch on your hair. A brush with a cushioned base is also recommended.
10. Get reacquainted with mousse
The giant hairdos of the 1980s have given mousse a bad rap. The fact is mousse works! Where would the Hair Metal Bands of yesterday be without the staying power of mousse to keep their hair in place during a head-banging riff? Even in the twenty-first century, mousse can give your hair, especially the roots, plumpness and fuller body. Celebrity hairstylist, Harry Josh, explains that mousse "makes your strands huge, so it looks meatier and allows for more pliability." And, when it comes to hair volume, "meaty" strands are a good thing.
11. Try dry shampoo
It has been said that dry shampoo, not diamonds, are a girl's best friend. Especially if that girl has fine, limp locks. Dry shampoo, by its very design, adds volume to hair. And it can also stop volume-sucking oils from building up. If you are waiting for your hair to get greasy before applying dry shampoo, however, you are doing it all wrong. By applying dry shampoo on Day 1 of the wash cycle, you will prevent oils from developing and robbing your head of much need volume.
12. Give CBD oil a try
Healthy hair equals happy hair. And happy hair, naturally, is full of bounce and body. A great product for nourishing your strands is CBD oil. Rich in both amino acids and antioxidants, CBD oil strengthens and hydrates follicles while protecting them from free radicals, keeping your mane in tip-top shape.
13. Sea salt spray away
If you live miles from the ocean, but long to acquire wavy beach hair, don't lose hope. You, too, can achieve surfer waves by applying some salt spray to wet locks and scrunching them with your hands as they dry. It can even be sprayed into dry locks and scrunched for a mid-day refresh. Marc Trinder, the Art Team Director for Charles Worthington, warns, "not to overload too much into the roots, these products work best on mid-lengths to the ends." And, don't go too crazy with these products though as salt can be quite dehydrating.
Saying "good riddance" to lazy, lifeless locks has never been easier. Thanks to a myriad of body-enhancing products, the ease of beautiful hair extensions, and some handy tricks-of-the-trade, even the flattest of follicles can be transformed into a voluminous mane.
