Would you like to add volume to your flat hair? Here are 29 ways to do so, whether you were born with fine hair or are experiencing the early stages of male pattern baldness.

Why Is Your Hair Flat?

Until the age of 20, I was blessed with thick, dark waves. As of then, my hair became increasingly fine and flat. This was caused by male pattern baldness, which I didn’t (want to) realize at the time.

I found many ways of making my crown seem more voluminous, and came to understand that the very products that were supposed to solve the problem were, in fact, making it worse.

I also had to learn how to treat and style my hair. There would otherwise be only one thing to do; shave it off, which I did years later.

If you are experiencing hair loss but are not yet ready to grab the clippers, or maybe you were born with fine hair, here are 29 tips to give you more volume.

Washing and Conditioning

1. Lather Only Once if You Shampoo Daily

Fine hair tends to be greasy, which makes it look thin and lank. On the other hand, frequent washing may exacerbate the condition.

To avoid this dilemma, lather only once using as little shampoo as possible, and rinse with cold or lukewarm water instead of hot. This prevents over-stimulation of the sebaceous glands and won’t dehydrate the hair if dryness is a problem.

2. Wash With a Clarifying Shampoo Once a Week

Product buildup causes hair to become flat and limp. Remedy this by washing once a week with a clarifying shampoo, lathering twice. Your hair should seem lighter and springier afterward.

An alternative to clarifying products is a mixture of baking soda and a dandruff shampoo, like Head and Shoulders.

3. Never Use Volumizing Shampoos and Conditioners

Volumizing shampoos and conditioners are not intended to thicken fine and thin hair, but to turn already thick hair into bigger hair.

They work by coating each strand with silicone to create an overall impression of density. Unfortunately, this is too heavy for fine hair and causes it to fall flat.

4. Use a Shampoo Specifically for Fine Hair

Shampoos formulated specifically for fine hair have a drying effect. This not only roughens the cuticle to make hair appear fuller; it also causes friction, which supports and bulks up style.

These are ideal if your hair is greasy.

Otherwise, use a mild shampoo, making sure it contains sulfates. These are highly efficient cleansers that prevent product build-up and flatness. The most common is sodium lauryl sulfate, also known as SLS.

5. Apply Dry Shampoo Between Washes

Dry shampoo is great between washes, especially if your hair is greasy. It absorbs excess sebum while adding body and texture.

Just spray it into your roots, massage with either a towel or your fingers, then distribute to the ends with a wide-tooth comb.

6. Condition With Panthenol

You need conditioner to seal the hair after washing. Most suitable are products with panthenol, which moisturizes without weighing hair down.

In case a heavier product is necessary (due to damage), try not to apply to the roots and crown.

If you’ve shampooed with a product for fine hair, use its corresponding conditioner.

Source: Denny Muller via Unsplash

Towel and Air Drying

7. Don’t Rub When Towel Drying

Rubbing fine or thin hair with a towel after washing causes breakage. It’s better to pat dry.

8. Let Your Hair Air Dry

Everyone knows that air drying whenever possible keeps hair in good condition. But a lesser-known fact is that you don’t need a blow dryer to create volume.

If you wash your hair in the evening and go to bed while it’s still damp, you’ll add volume while you sleep. Don’t worry that your hair will look scruffy in the morning; you can then apply a pre-styler to get the look you want.

Pre-Stylers

9. Apply Pre-Stylers to Dry Hair

Apply mousse and styling lotions etc. after air drying, and brush or comb out when the product has set. This results in a more solid-looking volume than if applied to wet hair.

10. Sea Salt Spray

Apply sea salt spray as a pre-styler.

Due to its drying effect, it lends texture and is ideal for a matte, tousled look.

You can also use it between washes in place of dry shampoo.

11. Confine Volumizing Products to the Roots

You can buoy up your style with volumizing mousses and styling lotions etc., but confine these to the roots. There’ll otherwise weigh your hair down in the same way volumizing shampoos and conditioners can.

12. Nourish Your Hair With Beer

Shampoos, conditioners and styling products containing beer are excellent for shine and body.

Or fill an atomizer with flat beer and spray it on your hair from root to end in place of pre-stylers. In case you’re wondering, the smell soon dissipates.

Source: T.J. Lentz (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Heat

13. Take Care when Applying Heat to Fine Hair

It’s true that heat swells hair, but too much will make it static and flyaway, as well as causing untold damage.

• Apply a lightweight blow-dry lotion to protect your hair from heat.
• Hold your blow dryer at least eight inches from your head.
• Make sure your blow-dryer is never set on more than medium. The same goes for other styling devices, in case you use them.

14. Blow Dry for Maximum Volume

Rough drying your hair using your fingers instead of a brush always lends volume. But it works even better if instead of applying pre-styling products before you begin, you apply them when your hair is almost dry.

You might then continue to blow dry with your fingers, or use a round brush to help add body to the crown, depending on the type of style you want.

And don’t blow-dry the moment you get out of the shower. You’ll get more volume if you begin when your hair has dried off somewhat, so make it the last thing you do.

15. Let Your Hair Cool to “Fix” the Volume

After using a heated device, it’s vitally important that you let your hair completely cool before brushing or combing out. If you don’t, your it is guaranteed to fall flat. That’s why many blow-dryers have a cold jet function.

16. Protect Your Scalp From the Sun

Wear a hat or cap when out in the sun. Unfortunately, fine and thin hair are susceptible to the ill effects of strong sunlight, which will cause dryness and frizz.

Contrary to myth, head coverings do not cause hair loss or thinning, unless the covering is so tight as to restrict circulation, thus resulting in traction alopecia.

Finishing Products

17. Finishing Products to Avoid

Avoid wax, silicone and oily products, like finishing and shine sprays. These are much too heavy for fine hair and certain to flatten it.

Hard-setting gel products make the hair appear sparse.

18. Volumizing Powder

Volumizing and texturizing powders add instant volume and will give a matte finish.

If you prefer more shine, apply to the roots only.

19. Texturizing Products

If you favor a matte finish, clays and fiber pastes will add volume and structure.

But the best thing about these is that the hair can be remodeled throughout the day and never falls flat.

20. Rub Your Hair With Silk for Shine and Definition

In place of finishing products, rub your dry hair with a piece of raw silk (e.g., a pocket square) for body and shine. It will look somewhat disheveled, but can be teased into place with a wide-tooth comb.

Or try sleeping with a silk pillowcase. In the morning your hair will not only be shiny and more voluminous, it will have retained much of its style, which will save you time.

Another bonus is that silk creates less friction than cotton, meaning less damage, which is very important for fine and thin hair.

21. Implement Hairspray as a Volume Booster

Hairspray shouldn’t just hold your hair in place, it should boost volume, too. Direct it under your hair and to the roots, and spray only a light misting to the top layers.

Use as little as possible, especially if it’s a maximal hold product; your hair should still be flexible after spraying. If it’s stiff, it will look sparse, brittle and unnatural.

Source: Pixabay

Haircut

22. Keep the Sides and Back Short

If you’re in the early stages of male pattern baldness, you’ll lack volume at the crown while retaining bulk at the sides and back.

Balance this with a fade or taper cut.

23. Get a Layered Cut

Short layers will give you movement, texture and volume at the crown, which is exactly what you want, whether you’re thinning or have fine hair.

If you prefer to wear your hair longer, you’ve probably noticed that length weighs down the crown. Long layers can lighten it up and add texture. It’ll also be easier to style.

But don’t get too many layers or your hair will look thin, which defeats the object.

24. Change Your Part

Since childhood, my hair was trained to part at the left. When my crown started to thin, I decided to contradict this with a right part. And Voila! Instant volume.

Coloring

25. Swell Your Hair With a Chemical Coloring Product

On the advice of barbers and hairdressers, I experimented with color when I was in my early 20s.

Chemical coloring products swell fine hair by lifting the scales of the cuticle. This makes hair appear fuller and builds friction to bulk up style.

If you dye your hair to a color close to your own for it’s volumizing effect, nobody will notice you’ve done anything.

26. Choose Rich, Highly Saturated Colors

A rich, highly saturated variant of your natural shade will accentuate the volumizing effect of chemical coloring products. But it will only look natural if you are still quite young.

By the time we reach middle-age, our complexion and hair tone have usually faded somewhat, which causes over-saturated colors to appear artificial.

27. Use Temporary Coloring Products

If your hair is too thin and fragile for chemicals, temporary wash-out products add a light, tinted coating to the hair without weighing it down, which improves condition and body.

Such products are intended to enhance natural color with interesting reflexes, so choose a shade close to your own.

If you have more than a few grays, the “reflexes” will appear unnatural.

28. Color, Condition, and Strengthen With Henna

Henna is a vegetable dye that conditions and strengthens hair, lending magnificent shine and body.

In case you’ve only ever heard of red henna, it actually comes in various shades including gold, brown, and indigo black—these nuances are created by mixing henna with other vegetable dyes.

You cannot use colored henna on white, gray, or blonde hair, nor on chemically dyed hair. But you can apply colorless henna, which has the same benefits.

It’s also not advisable to apply chemical dyes to henna-treated hair (colorless or not), as results will be unpredictable.

Instead of growing out, henna fades over a period of about eight weeks, but you can freshen it up as often as you like without causing damage. In fact, the more you use it, the better.

In some countries and cultures, henna is used exclusively for men’s hair.

29. Get Highlights and Lowlights

Strategically placed highlights and lowlights add dimension and texture, creating an impression of depth and body. But only a professional colorist can achieve such an effect, so don’t try to do this yourself.

Personally, I wouldn’t be seen in a hairdressing salon with highlighting foils on my head, but every man to his own.

© 2024, J. Richardson. All rights reserved.