Thin/Fine Hair Thread

[Siava]

Hiya! My hair is fine and thin, too. The curls make it look thicker than what it is so that's a plus. Yep, I'm another one that has come to realize less handling and washing keeps away the greasy stringies. Oiling just the ends and finger combing helps, too.

I've come to terms with my hair out of sheer laziness. I don't have the motivation and already spend too much money on other stuff to have an upkeep routine in order to add some bulk. As long as it's clean and healthy, I'm happy. I do empathize with others that hate thin/fine hair. Sometimes it can be frustrating to deal with and other times it's downright depressing, especially if you play with someone else's much thicker hair.

[Jeni]

I have fine, rather thin hair (2.75" ish pony). I have fought with my hair for years, always wishing it was thicker or curlier. I've given up, my hair is fine and thing and flat and that's the way its going to stay BUT I cant make it the shiniest, prettiest flat/thin hair!

I have been using cassia and a mix of cassia and henna since March I cant say I have ever noticed it making my hair look or feel thicker, but maybe it will for others. It does make it feel stronger and smoother and I highly recommend it for people with fine "delicate" hair. When I was still using a blowdryer I would do the upside down blow drying thing. It did make my roots look puffier, for a few hours at least. I tried cone free for a month or 2, it did give me more body but my hair wasn't has happy.

Right now I'm just working on making my hair shiny and healthy and trying to look at the bright side of thin hair= can do up dos earlier....

Sorry I don't have any tips for increasing thickness/look of thickness except treat your hair well...

[MsBubbles]

Woo hoo! So many of my hair twins in one thread!

In six months of trying, I have only been able to decently stretch my washes to every other day. Scalp oil drenches right through my hair immediately.

My whole life I grew my flat, fine, thin, straight hair to BSL, hated how flat it was and got a perm. Every time! Not gonna happen this time though. LHC has helped me love my straight flatness.

When I put my hair up in a (dry) bun so that it'll stay put, it shrinks away to a little bump on the back of my head. However, in the right humidity, I do get some light braid waves that help my hair appear more poofy - at least at the bottom. The hair on my head clings as tightly as ever.

To stop my ends flying away, I am tinkering with spritzing the right amount of camellia oil and water mix onto the bottom 4" of my hair. Too little and it has no effect. Too much and it looks wet until I wash it out again. However, that helps it lie all together and puts a bit of weight on it so that it feels more like normal, healthy hair.

[Siava]

MsBubbles, I can so relate to the tiny bun issue. Sock buns are great for making them appear bigger. I keep telling myself that when I hit waist I'll have a big bun without the aid of a sock.

[Laila23]

I don't know.

I'm about 2 inches from waist and my bun is still itsy bitsy

[shwankie]

Thanks for all the replies.

I've always had fine hair, it runs in my family. I'm also naturally platinum blond (and love my color, which rules out thickening products like henna). Apparently those two things often go together. My pony just barely hits 2" when freshly washed and dried. It grows like a weed, which is nice. Since I am "space efficient" at 5' tall, my hair is BSL at about 22", which means it's also nice that it looks longer than it is. I do things to keep my hair at the thickest & healthiest it can seemingly be, but the truth is I'll never have full locks and I've come to terms with it (albeit with years of furious resistance). My hair is beautiful, and I get lots of compliments; so, it's not too bad. I just thought that it might be nice for us to share some ideas about what we do to cope with some of the challenges (I am sure thick haired folks have hair challenges, too!).

Cones seem to make my hair much easier to deal with. I've tried non-cone products in the past, but they were always commercial products. Since I prefer natural things, I am hoping I can use the 'poo bars without cones effectively, in conjunction with a conditioner (I'm going to try the honey butter bar, but may end up with a regular conditioner). I may also see if I can use the Dairy Whip, because I spent half of last night reading that thread and drooling! Any fine/thin hairs use these things? If so, any recommendations for the rest of us?

I've been using ACV for years, and it does make a huge difference. I also oil from just below the ears down every time I wash with jojoba, which helps keep it shiny and healthy. Unf, washing less isn't an option since the medication I am on causes oiliness, so my scalp looks really greasy if I don't wash daily even if I don't oil So, I just scalp wash. I'm not even sure when the last time I did a full wash was, now that I think about it! I braid my hair to go to bed, and it's up most of the time because I am active and cook for a living.

The largest challenge I have is keeping it in updo styles. A lot of the ones here are gorgeous, but just don't work in fine/thin hair too well, or at least don't work well in mine, for various reasons. Sometimes there's not enough hair to hide the fasteners (Gibson tuck is a problem for me due to this, for example), sometimes there's not enough hair to make it look nice, and sometimes the hair just slides out. Jeni, you said you can do updos more easily. It looks like your hair is a good bit thicker than mine, but could you offer some advice on what updo styles work well for you?

Any thin/fine hairs have favorite updo styles that work well for them? I spend a *lot* of time in Dutch braids or my twisty things. Occasionally I'll get motivated and due a bun, which actually takes me a while since there's a lot of pinning involved (it slides right out if I don't bobby pin it all over).

I also have a difficult time finding nice hair toys that will stay put. I have on ficcarre that I like, and would recommend those for any fine haired folks looking for a good updo toy; but, most other things slide right out: headbands, scarfs, hair sticks, claw clips, etc. I do want to try one of the keytlo combs. Any other thin/fine hairs try those? Anyone have any favorite hair toys for thin hair?

What are you biggest challenges, and have you found any solutions?

[Carina]

I want to join you too.I have been shedding a lot this year.I can't stand my thin hair some days.I hope that my new growth will add some thickness.I feel some hair envy when I see big buns on LHC.

[shwankie]

Ms. Bubbles and Siava, I am right there with you on the itsy-bitsy bun. Mine's so wee! I've never tried a sock, but I probably should. I need to find one that kind of matches the color of my hair, because I suspect it's going to show through a bit.

My poor Chinese buns are hard to see at all! lol I've had waist length hair, and it doesn't puff up my buns much I'm hoping against reason that this time will be different :-)

[Siava]

shwankie, if you can't find a sock that matches your hair color you can cover the sock with knee high hosiery. I prefer using hosiery to cover because it's a smooth texture. I worry too much about breakage since the hair is so delicate.

[OhioLisa]

I have fine hair with a pony circumference of about 2.5". I actually enjoy my fine hair. I don't see a need for hair envy. Here are a few things I have discovered:

Cones make my hair limp and stringy... avoid at all costs
Sulfates are too drying, which makes my scalp produce even more oil
Cassia made my hair like straw
No styling products
No brushes
I only use a comb rarely. I fingercomb once right out of the shower, then leave it til dry. I fingercomb again slightly as I am putting it in my daily updo.
Fairy tale ends are your friends. They make updos hold much easier

I have tried the dairy whip. Pretty darn good stuff really. Following with a no-cone conditioner might be necessary for added slip though. Poo bars didn't work well for me. I don't want to have to rinse with vinegar and all that. I am way too lazy. I don't really have a problem with styles not staying put. My hair stays put all day. However, if you have a problem, maybe try bunning it while it is still damp (not WET, just damp). My favorite hair toys are forks. I have way too many Sticks work better for some styles, others need a fork. Flexi-8s are pretty darn good too.

Geez, I wrote a book. Hope something there helps.

ETA: On the sock bun issue, just use kids' socks. That's what I did before I grew into the bigger ones.