Thin hair is very easy to calculate if you consult an expert in trichology. It is more difficult to determine the “normality” of the diameter of the hair shaft on your own. It is not what thin hair looks like that matters, but how it behaves. For example, dense strands are more rigid, while thin strands are noticeably softer and lighter. They can hardly hold a voluminous styling, have a habit of tangling and bunching during the day. It is worth to use a nourishing mask – and strands have already lost volume at the roots.
Let’s also note their tendency to dryness: due to the peculiarities of the structure of the thin hair shaft the moisture leaves it faster, which means that it often lacks elasticity. This is why fine, weakened hair needs gentle care.
Thickness is often mistaken for thickness, which is not strictly true. The more hair you have, and the less translucent your scalp is in the parting, the thicker your hair is. Fine locks can be thick or sparse, the number of follicles is constant from the moment a person is born.
Tip from the experts at SalonSecret. For natural-looking volume on fine hair, use a volumizing product (like Biolage VolumeBloom Spray) right after showering. Brush out hair and blow-dry it with a diffuser.
Why hair gets thin
The thickness of the hair shaft might be genetic. But locks change and become thinner over the course of a lifetime due to a multitude of factors, both internal and external.
Why is your hair thin or fine in your case? It’s probably due to one or a combination of these factors:
- improper and unbalanced diet, vitamin deficiencies;
- hormonal changes, pregnancy and childbirth;
- lack of sleep and excessive stress, regular stress;
- unfavorable ecology in the city, bad habits, extreme temperature fluctuations, solar radiation;
- age-related changes in the body;
- improper care and regular hot styling without thermal protection.
Natural fine hair and thinning hair caused by exposure factors (i.e., environmental influences) look different: the thinning tends to be uneven, and the ends appear almost transparent, while the overall length remains normal.
How to care for fine hair at home
Fine, light hair is prone to frizz, loss of volume and temperature changes that cause it to become frizzy in cold weather and brittle in hot weather. Is it possible to treat strands with such a wide range of needs? Let’s try.
Washing
It’s a golden rule of stylists: Shampoo according to your scalp type, but if you really need it, also according to your hair type. Fine hair needs thorough cleansing without over-drying, and high oil concentrations are undesirable because they weigh down hair.
Our expert team recommends some of our favorite go-to hair care products.
- If volume is your biggest problem, our High Amplify shampoo, a silicone-free formula from Matrix, can lift strands up from the roots. An interesting effect gives the shampoo Volumetry from L’Oréal Professionnel, it can be called antigravity. With this cleansing, even the thinnest and softest hair looks lush.
- Thinned hair needs density and gentle cleansing. L’Oréal Professionnel Pro Longer Shampoo offers both. And with the entire Pro Longer range, you’ll never have to trim your ends again because you finally have a chance to let go of that length.
- Thin and sparse locks can be noticeably thicker with Serioxyl, also by L’Oréal Professionnel, with an effect comparable to that of a professional blow-dry.
- For dry, sparse and very thin hair, you can use Biolage FullDensity Shampoo. Combined with Biolage’s conditioner and leave-in spray, it reduces breakage, thickens hair and provides noticeable density.
- Mythic Oil from L’Oréal Professionnel gently cleanses dull, fine hair. It contains salicylic acid, light ginger oil and osmanthus extract for healthy shine and balanced nourishment without weighing it down.
- For those looking for a foundation for lush, bouncy styles, consider Biolage’s VolumeBloom cleanser. With it, a hairstyle with volume that lasts all day is no fantasy, but reality.
Nourishing and moisturizing
It’s been argued that fine hair doesn’t need a lot of care after washing, but what can you do if your strands are damaged? Try striking a balance between nourishment and moisture with professional conditioning products.
- Matrix’s High Amplify Lamellar Water untangles knots and smooths the cuticle in just eight seconds. A curious alternative to conditioner: its weightless, liquid texture disciplines hair, but it won’t weigh it down unnecessarily.
- L’Oréal Professionnel Pro Longer conditioner thickens the entire length of the hair, but especially the thinning ends. It leaves long hair stronger and more beautiful and conditioned.
- Another lightweight product capable of disciplining strands, providing them with elasticity and noticeable volume at the same time is VolumeBloom conditioner by Biolage. The formula with cotton extract and hydrolyzed soy protein transforms thin hair from a conditioned disadvantage into an advantage.
- L’Oréal Professionnel’s Inforcer mask thickens, protects against knotting and frizz. Its strengthening tandem of biotin and vitamin B6 fights fragility of fragile fine hair.
Indelible Care
Thicken, thicken or fluff? We recommend combining these by alternating or combining different leave-in treatments.
- Serioxyl Thicker Hair Serum by L’Oréal Professionnel instantly thickens the hair from the roots to the ends. This is how the ingredient intra-silane works: it creates a 3D hair shaft framework effect.
- The means with stemoxidine (for example Serioxyl Denser Hair by L’Oréal Professionnel and FullDensity by Biolage) work directly on the scalp. A course of care stimulates the growth of an average of 1,000 to 1,500 hairs, with formulas with proven efficacy to support both density and thickness.
- High Amplify Wonder Boost by Matrix adds long-lasting volume at the roots and along the length with a flexible hold. It’s the perfect foundation for Hollywood-style fluffy curls, French braids and tousled looks.
- The hair styler should also be specifically designed for fine hair in order to achieve a magnificent look, visible density, and extra brilliance without worrying that the style would lose its shape after a couple of hours.
- L’Oréal Professionnel’s Tecni.Art Pli heat-active spray adds texture to locks so they look firmer in the style.
- A High Amplify mousse from Matrix won’t weigh the hair down, creating a lush, thicker effect. It does not need to create a complicated hairstyle, just apply it to damp hair and blow dry.
- Full Volume Extra Mousse from L’Oréal Professionnel creates extra volume with a very strong hold, and it is designed for thin hair. It contains an UVB filter to protect hair from the sun’s damaging rays.
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What salon treatments to use in thin hair care
What to do if the hair on your head is very thin, “liquid” and weakened? The salon procedures performed by professional beauticians and stylists can help women. Which is better – you decide, and for an almost magical transformation is quite acceptable to combine them in a single beauty program.
Plasma Therapy
Injections of human own plasma helps to strengthen the roots of too thin and brittle curls. New hairs will grow stronger, stronger and healthier. The only downsides are the cost and the fact that these are injections, which can be painful.
Cold Botox
If you have thin, weak hair, what you definitely shouldn’t do is try hot Botox. Cold Botox is ideal. The procedure is performed without heating devices, which are contraindicated for too thin and damaged hair. The peculiarity of the treatment is that you will see the result instantly: the strands will become dense, elastic and shiny.
Mesotherapy
Again, the beautician will use a syringe with a fine needle, but this time not for the injection of plasma, but vitamin cocktails. On the grown length procedure will not affect, it works with the roots, or rather, the follicles. More power to the roots – new hairs will grow stronger and more beautiful.
Cryotherapy
The peculiarity of this procedure is that low temperatures are applied to the scalp. As a result, the blood circulation around the follicles accelerates, the bulbs receive oxygen and all the necessary elements for the “construction” of strong hair. Cryotherapy is suitable for girls who do not have problems with scalp sensitivity.
Laminating
The aesthetic procedure will make the hair visually smooth, dense and beautiful. A polymer-based compound envelopes and forms a thin protective film, reducing the likelihood of external damage. After lamination the hair becomes noticeably thicker, looks “properly weighted”, i.e. like silk fabric, is easy to style, does not frizz, less inclined to bunch up during the day and maintains natural volume at the roots.