How to Add More Volume & Make Your Hair Fuller
Hair fullness is what many women see as the pinnacle of beauty. You’ve seen the magazine covers and Instagram posts of women flaunting covetable voluminous hair, but unfortunately, it’s not accessible or realistic for many women with thin or fine hair.
Trying to achieve ample volume can feel impossible when your strands go everywhere but up. This is an emotionally straining experience that can lead to comparison and disappointment for missing the mark on unattainable hair.
And the research shows how difficult the struggle is. Women who suffer from androgenetic alopecia, or female pattern hair loss, tend to have a lower quality of life, according to a 2017 review of studies on the topic.
What can you do?
If you’re one of these women, remember that you’re not alone. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, hair loss, thinning, or shedding affects about 40% of women, and in the US alone, over 30 million women struggle with female pattern hair loss.
Whether you’re struggling to achieve desired hair volume or are suffering from a form of alopecia, we have good news. There are plenty of practical solutions for getting volume for fine hair, and we’re excited to share them with you today!
But first, to truly understand how to add more volume to your hair, we have to understand the science of hair volume.
What is Hair Volume?
We can divide hair volume into two aspects involved in the anatomy of hair structure: hair texture and hair density. Hair texture (or hair thickness) is how big your hairs are individually, and hair density is how much hair is on your head.
To clarify the difference between fine and thin hair, “fine” hair refers to hair texture or thickness, while “thin” hair refers to hair density. That said, you can have a lot of thin hair, a smaller amount of thick hair, or vice versa.
Imagine holding a pile of sand in one hand and a cluster of small rocks in the other. While there may be more “fine” grains of sand than “thick” rocks, the rocks tend to look larger in mass despite there being fewer.
With fine or thin hair, the key to attaining hair fullness is knowing how to protect your hair with the right lifestyle and hairstyling routines. You’ll also want to grab trusted hair volume products and follow our hair volume tips.
Are you ready? Let’s plump up those locks!
Our Best Tips for Fuller Hair
Learning how to get full hair isn’t universally accessible to all hair types, despite the ample general tips available online. Tips like minimizing stress, getting the proper nutrients, and avoiding too much heat can benefit everyone. However, when you have fine or thin hair, it’s especially crucial to know which habits to avoid, which products to use, and which ones to avoid like COVID.
Because the truth is that some advice for getting fuller hair does more damage than good. General advice like washing your hair every day or using heavy hair volume products can rob your hair of precious volume because it strips away the scalp’s lubricating oils and nutrients.
Washing your hair less frequently and choosing the best volumizing products for fine hair is the first step toward volume. Using a crimper and dry shampoo at the roots of your hair can create fullness as well.
Ready to pump up the volume on your hair? Here’s what you can do.
Change Your Hairstyle
One of the simplest ways to add volume to hair is to switch up your hairstyle! Thin or fine hair tends to lay flattest at the crown, so wearing a side part can redirect the follicles and create more fullness.
Additionally, if one side of your head has thicker hair than the other side, choosing that side for your part will create the illusion of volume for fine hair.
Certain hairstyles can damage fine or thin hair. Pulling hair back with tight elastics should be avoided. Instead, the best hairstyles to conceal thin spots and add volume to hair include a short bob, bangs, layers, textured cuts, loose braids, or low, loose ponytails.
Feeling bold? Why not go for a layered shag or shorter, textured haircut to lift the hair and add volume around the crown and facial features.
Make Dietary Adjustments
Eating nutrient-dense foods is a great way to add volume to hair naturally. Stress and diet issues like deficiencies can strip the hair follicles of vital nutrients like amino acids, vitamin C, and omega fatty acids. The result? Hair becomes brittle, discolored and prone to falling out.
You can rectify this issue by loading up on lean proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals that’ll keep your hair strong, protected, and full of volume.
So, what should you eat? Based on findings from recent studies, the best proteins for women’s hair growth are keratin and L-lysine. Good sources of these proteins include dairy products, poultry, seeds, and nuts.
The studies also elaborate on how vitamins B, C, and D improve hair growth and prevent discoloration and hair loss. Eating plenty of green vegetables, fish, and whole grains will ensure your follicles get adequate nutrients and vitamins to put you on track toward healthy hair fullness.
Lastly, the minerals zinc and iron are helpful for growing and strengthening hair. What are the best ways to get enough zinc and iron? Experts at Harvard suggest shellfish, meats, and whole grains for zinc. The same foods will give you iron, along with beans, spinach, and dark chocolate. Yum!
Looking to stock your cabinets with the best foods for hair growth? Head to our guide.
Go Easy on the Heat
We all love the convenience and versatility of heat tools, (who can resist beach waves or sleek bangs?) but using too much heat on your hair can create problems, especially for fine or thin hair.
According to a 2020 study, women using heated tools like blow dryers, hair straighteners, and hair irons were more likely to show microscopic changes in their hair chemistry like thinning and discoloration. Over time and repeated exposure to hot tools, the damage compounds and starts to show by way of flat, dull, and lifeless hair.
Another aspect to consider is your heat protectant. In a study from 2011, researchers found that wet hair suffered “more structural damage” than dry hair with the use of heated styling appliances. In other words, a dry heat protectant or a heat protectant spray with less water will help keep damage to a minimum.
Instead of relying on heat tools every day, switch up your styling routine. Let your hair air dry on days you don’t need to rush out. Try wearing loose braids overnight and unspooling them the next day for relaxed waves.
Upgrade Your Brush
Have you ever cleaned your hairbrush and stared in shock at the amount of hair accumulated? The average person sheds about 50-100 hairs per day, but using the wrong brush can lead to excessive shedding far beyond this healthy range.
The natural oils your hair produces are essential to protecting your strands. Besides getting rid of tangles, brushing or combing can help spread these oils throughout your hair, protecting the hair from shaft to end.
The right brush can be one of the best volumizing hair products you add to your beauty counter. What is best for fine hair? Bristle brushes are the way to go. Some say rounded brushes are the best, but these can lead to unnecessary pulling and breakage for fine hair.
We suggest using our sensitive scalp brush, which combats tangles with enough gentleness to keep those delicate hairs in place. In additions, our detangling pin brush gently detangles towel-tried, damp hair after washing and conditioning. It can be used on wet or day hair for daily brushing. Suitable for all hair types.
Less strands on your brush, more in your gorgeous mane!
Keep Your Hair on Your Head
It may seem obvious, but hair shedding and hair loss can mean having little to no volume for fine hair. Anyone who has dealt with excessive hair fall knows how stressful it can be, but why does hair fall out in the first place?
Genes, stress, diet, and hormones are some of the main causes of women’s hair loss. While genes and hormones are harder to manage, you can take back control of your hair fall in a few ways.
Now that you know which nutrients are crucial for hair health, you can keep a food diary or use a nutrition logging app like MyFitnessPal on your phone to ensure you meet your hair’s nutritional needs. In terms of what to avoid, a literature review from 2015 points out that tobacco use, over-exposure to UV rays, and harsh bleaches or dyes can all cause weak, dull hair that’s more likely to fall out. And you don’t have time for that.
Beyond daily habits, using the right hair volume products can keep your hair strong, healthy, and intact.
INTACT Scalp & Hair Treatment
For women with fine, thin, or shedding hair, INTACT is the best product for hair volume. INTACT is a pre-wash treatment that prevents hair fall by securing hair strands at the root, adding moisture and shine, and protecting against traction and damage.
INTACT is clinically proven to reduce hair loss by up to 77%, making it one of the best volumizing hair products on the market and the only of its kind to protect hair on a follicular level by activating the arrector pili muscles to tighten around the hair strands during washing and styling.
What’s the science behind INTACT? Think of it as therapy for your hair: You get to the root of the problem, strengthen from within, and create a safe, nurturing environment for growth. Nourishing ingredients like Sevilla orange extract strengthens the hair follicle at the root, and coconut fatty acids maintain a moisturized, balanced environment for healthier locks and greater hair fullness.
Are you ready to get fuller hair? Take it from one of our satisfied customers, Alisha:
“If you're like me and you suffer from hair shedding, INTACT has got you covered. I have been using this for 2 weeks now & my hair has barely shed! INTACT has saved my hair!"
Nurture Your Hair Today!
Are you ready to get beautiful hair and say goodbye to dull, lifeless locks? Now that you know how to get full hair, you’re on your way! Follow the hair volume tips we shared in this guide, grab the best volumizing products for fine hair, and let your hair and self-esteem rise! Learn how INTACT can give you fuller, more voluminous hair today!
