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?
Your hair is def straight and fine, but it’s great that the straight style looks so nice on you!
My lotsa straight, fine hair works best when I wash + condition (Aussie or Suave, usually), then use Aussie volumizing gel, then let it air dry in a giant pouf held by a claw clip on top (think sister-wife style). After 30-90 minutes of drying time, I blow it dry–usually upside down–and it has more oomph. Plus Aussie Sydney Smooth hairspray to keep it in place without too much crunch.
Can’t wait to try the detox salad from yesterday. Yum!
As a salon professional in one on Des Moines top salons for over 13 years,I can tell you if you are using Pantene that could be part of your volume problem. It has the highest concentration of wax as any “drug” store product. Your hair may look good at first but over time that wax will build up and leave a heavy residue that most people don’t even realize is there it is very “flattening” for fine hair texture, and as a fine hair girl I totally understand your problem!
That’s what clarifying shampoos are for.
This is false. Where are you getting your information? Show me the wax ingredient.
Your hair looks great! My hair is just like yours, so I cannot wait to try this tomorrow.
Have you ever tried Kenra setting spray to curl your hair? It is awesome! It protects your hair from the heat and helps the curl stay!
My hair is exactly as you describe yours!! When I was in high school (a hundred years ago) I was so desperate to have my hair hold a curl that I would SLEEP IN ELECTRIC ROLLERS (which back then was akin to sleeping on a pillow made of metal spikes). I was insane. In homeroom I would forbid anyone from opening the windows as the humidity would cause my hair to go straight after I had spent hours in electric curlers. But no matter, within a short time, hair was flat and straight. I find it hard to believe that the method you describe here actually works but it is certainly worth a try!! Thanks.
I love that you use regular drugstore brands!
I’ve tried Pureology, Aveda & Redken – along with ones from Ulta like Biolage – and find that they are not really any better for my hair. I do love the way Aveda smells though, so earthy, so I do sometimes use their purple conditioner, but for the most part I have switched back to drugstore. I am going to look into that Pantene Split End stuff. My hair is also very fine, yet very thick (lots of strands) and since I’m letting my hair grow out again I need to make sure it stays nice!
I have thick, wavy hair. I used to fight it as a teen, but I’ve grown to love it and work with it as an adult. I don’t wash it as often–usually every other day unless I’ve gotten in a workout–and I let it dry naturally. What a difference.
One other thing–Wonder why hairdressers are always telling us not to use Pantene? One minute they’re admiring the condition of my hair and the next warning me off the “horrible” product I’m using. Hmmm, maybe because it works as well as those expensive salon products.
I have the exact same hair – it doesn’t want to be anything but STRAIGHT. I need to try this tip!
I have the same hair you do – really fine, tons of it & super straight! I am definitely going to try this tip. I’ll try just about anything to get some volume!
Thanks for the tip, my hair is the same as you described and I can’t wait to try this!
Girl, I hear ya on the straight, flat hair. Same thing here…very fine hair, but lots of it. Curls that last longer than, umm, 10 minutes are a miracle.
I would have thought the same thing as you with the conditioner on the roots, but I think I’m gonna have to try this now. Ooooo, I’m giddy! :)
I have long, curly hair. For the most part, I’m grateful because (with the right prep), it’s easy for me to style. I believe in washing it at night (going super-heavy on the conditioner), sleeping on it slightly damp, piling it under my head while I sleep, and then scrunching with gel the following morning. But honestly, as any true “curly head” will tell you, working with slightly dirty hair actually works best for us. Very true!
I’m guessing you saw the same blog I did! It was from a blog called pink pistachio. I followed her tutorial step by step yesterday and it was Ahmazing! I too have flyaways, but the blowdrying was key. I am on day 2 now and still have tons of volume
I have extremely thick, long hair. I spray a bit of the Johnson & Johnson “No Tears” detangling spray (yes, the kind little girls use) and some Kenra Leave-In Conditioner. It’s helped a lot to tame down my MASSIVE volume.
Also, Pantene Restore Beautiful Lengths Replenishing Mask is awesome. It works so much better than any other high-quality salon product that I’ve used. I try to use it once-to-twice a week. I’m one of those people that wash my hair every day during the week because it looks horrible at work if I don’t. I try to skip days on the weekends if I’m just hanging out.
I used to be one of those people who thought “over the counter” shampoos and conditioners were horrible. I spent a lot of money on Aveda, etc and really feel that whatever works for you during your time of need (i.e. budget concerns, etc) is fine. I always wait for Ulta’s big sale on liters of shampoo/conditioner and stock up on Matrix (Biolage and their Smoothing line are my favorites). $15 a bottle for a liter? Yes, please! I try not to buy them any other time because I like to feel thrifty.
Oh, and once a month… I put olive oil in my hair when it’s dry and let it soak for 20 minutes. Then I shampoo it extremely well. Make sure you really wash it out, otherwise your hair will be greasy the next day and you might be turned off by the process. I feel like it helps condition my scalp. :)
I spent $6 at Wal-mart on Nourishing Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum about two years ago. I also use this once a week or whenever I remember, too. Another great, inexpensive product.
Sorry to ramble! I love talking hair products.
(A body tip, just because I want to mention this: 100% Olive Oil soap — that I buy on Etsy from a lovely lady — is ahmazing. My skin hasn’t felt this good in, well, ever. I have super sensitive skin, so it’s just wonderful.)
Happy Wednesday!
Wow, don’t know why that didn’t post…that was supposed to say I love homemade soap too. I have a friend with a soap business and she’s got me hooked. It’s the only thing I can wash with now.
I like olive oil based soaps as well and usually buy from DHCcare.com. They have a lot of olive-oil based facial products that are AWESOME for sensitive skin.