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. :)
~~~~~
Do you have “challenging” hair? What products and tips do you love?
Stacey Hoffman 11.17.2013
If your hair is damaged, you need Joico k-PAC conditioning treatment, you can find it on amazon- try it for a few months, I promise!
Tips to Add Volume to Hair - Renewed Style 11.05.2013
[…] 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. Read More […]
Taylor 10.24.2013
I have hair just like yours, and I hate it! Nothing seems to hold.. I can’t wait to try this out :) great post!
Megan 10.15.2013
I ran into this website while trying to find ways to add volume to my extremely flat hair. I was somewhat speculative at first, but I tried this and it has actually worked, every single time. I just do exactly what she says (shampoo, rinse, then condition the roots to the ends and add a little shampoo in the roots and lather, rinse) and once my hair dried there was volume I’ve never seen before on myself! I was also worried that the conditioner in my roots would make my scalp oily, but it didn’t, and I naturally have pretty oily hair. Anyway, this is awesome, and my hair looks great.
Stacey Hoffman 11.17.2013
That is great Megan, I am going to try this. I have the same hair type as you do !
Karen B. 09.25.2013
I just washed my hair. I did just like you said….,..shampoo as usual, rinse, then condition all over, rinse, then just shampoo roots and rinse. This really works! I used a moisturizing shampoo because my hair is so dry. Before when I used this shampoo I would shampoo then rinse then add conditioner only to ends. It always left my roots oily….,.,, ewwwwww! My hair including roots are clean and shiny and I can definitely see the added volume!
Jane | Curls Hair Prodcuts 08.24.2013
Thanks for sharing! I have very fine hair and is naturally straight, so that’s so obvious that it really looks very flat and weighed down. I want my hair look full but i didn’t find any product worth trying. May be i should give these products a try.
http://tatescabinets.com/ 08.08.2013
Hmm it looks like your site ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any tips for rookie blog writers? I’d
genuinely appreciate it.
Christa 07.20.2013
I have the exact same hair issues as you do. I began using sea salt spray instead of mousse and my hair is amazing. Lots of volume, and the best part, I can go two days between shampoos! My hair is healthier because of only washing it 1/2 the time, and the spray adds all day volume and texture.
Traile Meyer 06.26.2013
Got a sample of the Shielo Volume shampoo and conditioner and I swear its the Best thing that ever happened to me!!! I have alot of naturally wavy hair, that I was told was thin…and doesn’t do well in humidity. Ive practically tried every shampoo and conditioner out there and Shielo was IT for me!!!!!! Makes my hair feel soft and silky! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!!
Eugenia 04.08.2013
OMG i loved this post cause my hair is just as straight as yours!!! there was nothing ont the world that could make it last on the hairstyles and it always look so so so flat!! people says it’s shiny and nice but sometimes I want to get out of the same hairstyle and look a little different, for once!! I’ll try to do what you’re suggesting and see if it works, cause i’ve tried everything and had no good results :( Thanks for sharing!
Beki 03.24.2013
You should try Big shampoo & conditioner from Lush cosmetics, I will never go without it now! Also I use their Roots treatment before shampooing and have never had so much volume in my hair! I use it at least once a week now.
ellen 12.17.2012
i have very long straight string hair.when i wake up its in a frizzy knotted mess.my sister has straight long hair as mine but her hair has bounce to it. when we went for our half updos for my wedding,even the owner of the salon who was doing our hair was shocked at how hard my hair was to curl. well to keep it is virtually impossible.however he did the best he could and i had alot of product on my hair to try to keep the curl in.it turned out nice enough and the curl lasted,but my sisters hair was so much better with lots of bounce.my was stiff and glued to my head.i alternate with different shampoos.however to date the only one that seems to come close to making my hair nice is pantene.ie tried every shampoo and conditioner out there and have spent a fortune.ive read and done every tip to no avail.pantene still isnt the best but for me better than most.my hair also gets knotted so much through out the day.if i dont keep brushing it a huge ball of tangled mess.my hair is no better short or mid length.been there done that.just sits there flat stringy and boring. over the years ive tried different cuts and have paid minimal amounts to huge amounts for cuts.most hairdressers have a very difficult time curling my hair. twice ive had perms done at salons that did not take and they had to do it a second time. at this point, i truly give up.
Cindy 07.06.2012
I have flat hair as well. Most of the time I don’t comb my hair just letting it dry on its own so it won’t look as flat.
ToddG 07.03.2012
I have thin, flat hair that has always gotten greasy fast, so I have pretty much never used conditioner. However, after some pretty serious bleach/dye jobs and almost daily flat-ironing, my ends have become fairly fried. I started loving soaking my ends the SHielo Hydrate Conditioner. When I saw the amazing reviews on the Shielo Hydrate Conditioner, I thought I would give it a shot–wondering if it would be perhaps TOO good (read: heavy, greasy) for my fine hair.
I was happily surprised after my very first use– the conditioner was so thick and creamy and my hair was sooooo soft and shiny and smelled delicious! I absolutely can’t stop running my fingers though my hair after using Shielo Hydrate Conditioner, it’s like silk. Split ends even seem mended! I have literally never noticed as significant a difference on my hair after using any other product. Does NOT weigh my hair down one bit or feel greasy at all, even when I sometimes use it sparingly on my whole head and not just the ends.
SECRET TIP: I even use it on my legs for and amazingly close and moisturizing shave (just be careful because it does turn the shower floor into a slip and slide!)
Friday Favorites | Iowa Girl Eats 06.22.2012
[…] was too short then to do my whole head, so I need to revisit the idea now that it’s longer. Not that it’ll hold, but still…it could be cute for the first 17 […]
A Slice Of Kiwi » Blog Archive » Latest Obsessions. 06.07.2012
[…] This tip from Iowa Girl Eats on a ridiculously easy way to add volume to flat hair. […]
April 06.06.2012
Sadly I am also cursed with fine hair. But there are some tricks I’ve learned that have helped. For the most volume I do the following:
I use Big Sexy Hair volumizing mouse, blow dry, and immediately put my hair in velcro rollers. (It is best to use velcro rollers right after blow drying because the heat makes it last longer.) After getting a section of hair ready I tease the roots, add a little bit of hairspray at the roots and then quickly roll it up. I put rollers on my entire head for better volume. After taking the rollers out I use more hairspray to set it. The longer I leave the rollers in, the better volume I get. So, if there is a Saturday evening event and I have the time to leave the rollers in for a few hours, I have great volume.
Other than that I’ve tried tons of products, teased, blow dried with my head upside down, etc. I have yet to find a miracle solution but the one I described works best for me.
P.S. There are different sizes of velcro rollers. The small ones are great for a wavy style but I usually use the bigger size (about 2 inches in diameter).
Jen B 06.06.2012
This works! Thanks for the tip and love the blog.
Jill 06.04.2012
I have similar hair issues – you may also want to make sure that none of your hair products contain silicone which attaches to fine hair like glue and weighs it down. I found this out when using a friend’s shampoo / conditioner at her house. My hair was fluffy, I thought it was the water but it was the silicone free products. Thanks for the tip!
Shannon S 06.02.2012
So I have the exact same hair type as you…. fine but THICK! For my whole life my hair has never kept a curl well, but I have found a tried and true method that works time and time again. First I spray my (clean or dirty– this works on both) hair with beach spray (like Bumble and Bumble surf spray– you can make your own for much cheaper… I found the recipe on where else, pinterest), then blow dry it as it will be slightly damp. This will give volume and texture. Then I brush my hair and spray a little dry shampoo all over as well. Next is what really makes the difference… a curling wand. You can buy them on amazon and they are amazing! I take 1” sections, wrap around the barrel, hold for 8 seconds then release. when my whole head is curled and cooled I lightly pick through it with a wide tooth comb and spray it upside down then right side up with loreal elnet hairspray. Sorry for such a long comment, but trust me this really works. The best part is now that I’ve gotten the hang of the wand I can do my whole head in under 10 minutes! Be careful though because I burn myself EVERY time I use the wand and it sure hurts. Good luck!!!