After a truly epic homemade pupusa recipe fail today (I’m officially leaving that one to the experts!) I decided to scrap a dinner post in favor of sharing a fantastic tip for adding tons of volume to otherwise flat hair via, what else, Pinterest.
I realize this is primarily a food blog, but hey, variety is the spice of life! Pun intended.
A Ridiculously Easy Way to Add Volume to Flat Hair:
(Pardon the fuzzy iPhone pic!)
Backstory:
I have the most ridiculous hair in the world (is it just me, or does every girl feel this way?!) Each hair is fine, but there’s lots of it, and my mane will hold a curl for approximitely 13 seconds before becoming flat and stringy. Therefore I can wear it straight, straight, or – wait for it – straight.
Because of my hair’s texture, it’s also really hard for me to achieve volume at the roots and crown of my head without a wicked teasing sesh and half a can of hairspray. It works, I suppose, but then I’m walking around with crusty hair all day, you know?
Anyway, last week I was surfing Pinterest when I came across a post for giving straight hair, lasting volume. The post (which I can’t find now) was great, but a lot of the tips had to do with blow drying your hair upside down. This worked really well for the gal in the post, but I have wicked baby hairs and flyaways that stick straight up in the air all day if I blow my hair out upside down.
Still with me?
The moral of the story is, there was one tip in the post for achieving epic volume at the roots of your hair that I had never heard before, and was positively giddy to try.
The Tip:
Shampoo your hair with volumizing shampoo, then rinse clean like normal. Next, condition your entire head – roots to tips – with volumizing conditioner. Before you rinse the conditioner out, squeeze a bit of shampoo into your hands, then add a little water and work it into a lather. Work the lather into just your scalp, then rinse the shampoo and conditioner out. Blow dry and style like normal.
I am telling you, with no other changes made to my hair routine, I have gone from nearly no volume at the roots and crown of my head, to this (which is a lot of volume, for me!)
(Pardon the same fuzzy iPhone pic!)
I was leery about putting conditioner into my roots, because I’ve always heard it weighs hair down creating the dreaded flat-head effect, but from just this one, teeny-tiny change in my shower routine, my hair now has oomph like it’s never had before. Plus it lasts all day! I just had to share. :)
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Do you have “challenging” hair? What products and tips do you love?
Thanks for the variety I loved this post! I have exactly the same problem.
If you decide to give pupusas another try I really liked this how to blog: http://blog.cookingchanneltv.com/2011/05/11/how-to-make-salvadorian-pupusas/
I haven’t tried the farmer’s market version so no idea if it compares, but here’s the dough mix I used and I liked them:
1 T EVOO
1/4-1/2 t salt
1 cup Masa
1 c water
My hair is also pretty fine and frizzy. I’ve been trying Moroccan Oil products lately with a lot of success. It really keeps the frizz down!
I have curly hair and it can either get frizzy or just doesn’t look right. I don’t really do much; I just put on a hat :P
Opposite… frizzy, curly, craaazy summer hair! I can’t do anything to stop the curls, so May – October, I generally go with the curls. I am always bugging other curly-haired girls about what they use for products.
If I don’t condition ALL of my hair, there’s no way a comb will go thru it… Root to tip every time! And if I even think about using one of those 2-in-1 products, it’s like I didn’t even use conditioner! UGH!
I’m with you! I have to “pick” the conditioner through my hair while I’m in the shower, or I would never get a comb through it afterwards.
As a hair stylist I suggest using a professional product from a SALON! Being in industry for 5 years it truly makes the difference. I love Pureology the best but Redken is a very very close second.
It is a huge investment but with a high quality product you use a fraction of the amount for each wash and it ends up being only a small amount more in $$!
I am definitely going to try the volume trick though! I have the same hair as you!
PS: Don’t use pantene…..a huge hair no no!
Agreed! I’m also a stylist, and you never want to use Pantene, yes, it will make your hair shine…because it covers your cuticle in a thick wax, which equals very unpredictable hair coloring! Invest in professional products especially for shampoo and conditioner!
You must not know much about ingredients. Pantene does not contain wax. I’m on the science side of things and all this salon product pushing is ridiculous. Most salon products ate loaded with silicones.
I would also highly suggest you stop using tresemme shampoo, but mainly the conditioner. It is a wax based product (if you don’t believe me, try heating it up on the stove…..it will harden once you let it cool) and over time will create a build up on your hair. This will make your already fine hair behave even more fine…another reason your hair likely doesn’t hold curl well. Sure, it makes your hair soft, but is killing any potential volume you could be getting by weighing it down. It’s cheap, but I agree that salon producrs really are best for your hair!
I have very fine but also very thin hair, so I definitely feel your pain and will be trying this neat trick!
Okay, what about the salon products at Target? You know, on the other side of the shampoo aisle. I use Sleek Look by Matrix. Is that any good?
The only place you should buy salon products is in a professional salon!!! Places like Target, or other stores will find a palett of professional products somewhere, get a good deal, then dilute them before putting them on their shelves. Therefore you are paying a highprice for a diluted product. Lots of professional product brands are starting to require a signed agreement when purchased (by professionals) at a distributor that they will only be sold in a professional environment.
salon professional products almost always say on the bottle that they are only meant to be purchased from a salon, so when they are in target/walmart. they are diverted products. most times they are contaminated, counterfeit, expired, etc. look at your matrix sleek.look from target for example… matrix completely redid that line and it’s no longer called “sleek.look” or even the same colored bottle. so that is really old product (if it’s in an orange bottle still.)
WOW! So good to know! I won’t waste my money trying to get a deal from now on. Thanks!
What about that tool you blogged about once (maybe like a funny hairbrush or something?) Do you still use that too???
I do use it if I’m going out and want a true “hairstyle” but I mostly used it when I had short hair!
I have naturally curly hair that is also unruly. I tend to wash it at night, sleep on it while it’s still a little damp and of course, tossed behind me so I’m not laying on it. I use a little mousse and a little gel, scrunch it – and voila, in the morning it usually looks pretty good. Usually..
(incidentally my hubby and I love papusas too, and he has a good recipe for them!! I’m trying to get it out of him..)
My hair is fine but there’s lots of it, like yours! My volume is “meh” but a big brush and a lot of muscle help. I like Ouidad for humidity proection, and dry shampoo works WONDERS for volume on fine, thin hair… have you tried that yet?
I haven’t! I’m always too scared to try it – but maybe I’ll make the leap! :)
I have very CURLY hair and the more I mess with it the frizzier it gets. I put some product in it and leave it alone. Hate it…
Two summers ago when I left college, I started to bleach and dye my hair crazy colours every few months, sometimes every few weeks and it’s WRECKED my hair! I’ve dyed it a normal colour and treat it very nicely, but it’s still unruly and broken :( And now, after all that, I’m craving bright, crazy hair again!
Thanks for the post, definitely trying this :)
Have you ever tried hair chalk? That way you could still have the bright crazy color hair but not damage it. Also, you never want to bleach hair that has already been bleached. Doing just once could damage it so much that it will just pull out like cotton. It happen to my sister just a few months ago.
I have the exact opposite problem – I have too much volume! Oh, oh, and frizz. I have super long, thick, curls. If I do nothing but wash it, I have a big frizzy fro. But I’ve found that products for African American hair work great on it! I just had to learn to use a very small amount on my non-African hair otherwise it’s really greasy!
I’m with you, crazy curly, thick hair! I am IN LOVE with the Redken straightening shampoo/conditioner. It helps calm stuff down and I can blow dry with a brush and it is straigh enough that I dont need to straighten if I dont need pin straight hair. It is a maroonish/purple bottle. Its kinda pricey but I buy it when liters are on sale at Ulta or other stores.
Have either of you used Deva Curl products? I just started using them and they are awesome! Curly hair is definitely an art and I think Deva Curl finally has me mastering the art!
Lexi, reading your comment was fate! My mom texted me the other day and said she had seen an add for Deva Curl products in the latest Oprah mag! I went on the website, but I’m always unsure about trying new products, especially expensive ones, because I have A TON of hair. And I mean A TON. It’s curly and ultra-thick, and is currently halfway down my back (straightened it almost touches the top of my pants!). All that hair constitutes having to use a boatload of hair products. I’m glad to hear you like Deva Curl…I’ll have to try it out! As a kid I hated my curls, but now I love them.
I have been in love with Keratin products for my hair. It really does make such a huge difference.
On a totally separate note…are you going to the HLS this year hun?
I’m not (as of now, anyways!) When is it??