most important thing for thickening and strengthening?

[enshallah]

hi guys

I have very very thin hair (kinda genetic but also from stress, the hard water of living abroad in third world etc etc etc god knows what) i am endlessly trying to thicken and strengthen my hair.

What has changed your thickness or strength game more than anything else?

I do henna (its wonderful have been doing 8 yrs)
I do coconut oil w fenugreek (maybe just need more time with that)
I'm starting chebe tea

What are your tips? x

[Sarahlabyrinth]

I don't have any tips apart from eating as healthily as you can, drinking water, getting good amounts of sleep and some exercise most days if you can.

[cestlavie]

I agree with Sarahlabyrinth. When I really started to pay attention to my food/water intake my hair improved a lot!

[purple_omelette]

hi guys

I have very very thin hair (kinda genetic but also from stress, the hard water of living abroad in third world etc etc etc god knows what) i am endlessly trying to thicken and strengthen my hair.

What has changed your thickness or strength game more than anything else?

I do henna (its wonderful have been doing 8 yrs)
I do coconut oil w fenugreek (maybe just need more time with that)
I'm starting chebe tea

What are your tips? x

I may be in the minority here, but I would go easy on the henna. Even though it is plant-based and therefore marketed as 'gentle', it contains extremely strong compounds that can be very damaging if used long-term (after all, poison ivy is also 'natural', and that doesn't make it any less toxic!). That being said, plenty of people here use henna regularly and are very happy with it: different people get different results. It's just a word of caution. Alternatively, you could invest in better-quality henna (they are not all made the same).

The rest is probably common sense: take care of what goes into your body (as stated by Sarahlabyrinth) and avoid chemical/heat/mechanical damage. The rest is really up to chance and varies from person to person: some of it is genetics, some of it is stress/environment/hormones/whatever medications you may be on/seasonal. Try a few different things to see what works, but it may be best to accept your hair as it is if you feel you are already giving it lots of pampering :)

[draysmir]

Protective styling has helped me gain thickness down my length over time. While protective styling doesn't increase your thickness at the root, it will help maintain your thickness from damage and breakage as your hair grows. Buns are quite a protective style, as almost all of your length is contained and kept safe from environmental and mechanical damage. I usually wear braids though, as they are more comfortable for me. :)

In regards to hard water, is obtaining a water filter for your shower an option where you live? The filter makes the water a lot more soft. I find hard water noticeably damages my fine hair more than soft water. I think they are worth it if you have the money. Unfortunately I haven't been able to replace the filter for a couple years so mine doesn't filter much anymore lol.

[enshallah]

I eat like an angel.

[Kalamazoo]

I buy bottled spring water, & heat it on the stove.

[Clollii]

I agree that diet is very important. I've been vegetarian for a year and during that time I lost almost half of my hair because I wasn't really watching what I ate and I think I wasn't getting enough fat and protein.... Now that I'm back on a normal diet I am amazed by how much new growth I'm seeing and by how much faster my hair is growing, so I think being on a healthy and balanced diet is key.

[Feral_]

My hair used to be quite thin, the sort of thinness where I’d notice the top of my ear poking out from underneath it if that makes sense lol. I think the previous advice is spot on with regards to diet and hydration. Eating enough protein, essential fatty acids, sleep and stress levels all affect it. Also being gentle with the hair when brushing, combing too.

For me my hair changed considerably when I went water only, my hair is a LOT thicker now. I know this because a spiral hair tie would have to go three times around in a pony tail and now it only needs two, so that’s quite a good outcome measure I think?My diet and exercise is the same so that’s not affecting it. Now I honestly don’t know if the new thickness is because my hair is getting regular scalp massages, or the sebum is coating the hair length, or the cessation of hair products is allowing my hair to thicken. Maybe all of those!

[ari123]

When my hair was much longer I used to plait it loosely most of the time. I have lots of fine hair and I have to make sure that the roots aren't being put under pressure otherwise I can get some hair loss at the temple. High pony tails and tight buns used to be a no no due to the weight of my hair when it's long. I just did a hair mask using Amla powder and Olive oil last night and my hair feels great. According to the packet Amla is mean to be good for improving hair thickness so that could be something you could try. I also take lots of vitamins, use a good probiotic that markets itself as being great for hair and skin and since lockdown began i've been drinking lots of water.

[0xalis]

For me personally, swearing off protein in my hair products (shampoo, conditioner, etc) has done the trick for keeping my hair strong.
My hair is apparently protein intolerant. Moisture is very important in keeping your hair from breaking! I no longer get split ends easily, and my hair stretches more before snapping.
HOWEVER just because I am protein sensitive does not mean you are, it could be the exact opposite for you!

Basically my advice here is figure out what your hair wants from you, and keep doing whatever makes it happy. Experiment with different products and log the differences!

[momao]

hi guys

I have very very thin hair (kinda genetic but also from stress, the hard water of living abroad in third world etc etc etc god knows what) i am endlessly trying to thicken and strengthen my hair.

What has changed your thickness or strength game more than anything else?

I do henna (its wonderful have been doing 8 yrs)
I do coconut oil w fenugreek (maybe just need more time with that)
I'm starting chebe tea

What are your tips? x

Keeping in line with the advice about overall health, I would also reccomend iron and vitamin D suuplements, as it's very easy to be defficient in them and they both contribute to hair health.

[Ylva]

Keeping in line with the advice about overall health, I would also reccomend iron and vitamin D suuplements, as it's very easy to be defficient in them and they both contribute to hair health.

It's also very difficult to get rid of excess iron (especially for men), so I would recommend against supplementing it unless you are actually in need of it.

[elfynity]

I have very very fine hair that is about medium thickness. When I stopped using sulphates on my hair, little hairs grew back all over and thickened my hair everywhere. I thickened my hemline, now over a 2 year period by diligent upstyling day and night as much as possible and microtrimming. Oiling has helped me to gain length quite quickly in the past, so I've started that up again. If you by any chance have a deficiency in your body that bone broths / collagen / gelatine could fill, I'd get eating all that - it works wonders for hair, teeth and bones.

[MusicalSpoons]

elfynity I remember when you'd not long joined and were trying to work out a good routine for your hair - your April 2020 picture is amazing! :thud: it's like a totally different head of hair! Testament to it very much being worth working out what your hair truly likes :D

enshallah I wonder if your hair truly is as thin as you think it is, or whether it's just thinner than what appears to be average wherever you live - lots of us have gone through life being told we have fine, thin hair then when we find LHC learn that it really isn't as fine or thin as we thought. Have you measured your ponytail circumference? (Incidentally also a lot of us initially thought our hair was much straighter than it actually is and was just frizzy or 'unruly', but as you don't mention it being hard to manage or anything like that this may very well not be the case for you.)

[stephy190]

Honestly the one thing that makes my hair thick is just blunt cuts with no layers straight across. That's what works for me makes it a really blunt thick hemline

[lapushka]

I don't know if you know this, but you are born with a set limit of follicles on your head. No way in your life time can you "add" to that, so you can't actually physically thicken your hair.

I mean yes, there's tricks like perhaps some sprays (dry shampoo?) or henna (which can thicken individual strands), but that's about it.

[elfynity]

elfynity I remember when you'd not long joined and were trying to work out a good routine for your hair - your April 2020 picture is amazing! :thud: it's like a totally different head of hair! Testament to it very much being worth working out what your hair truly likes :D

Aaah! Thank you so so much! It seemed so slow to progress going through it, but now looking back it feels like massive leaps in a very small space of time!

[Feral_]

I don't know if you know this, but you are born with a set limit of follicles on your head. No way in your life time can you "add" to that, so you can't actually physically thicken your hair.

I mean yes, there's tricks like perhaps some sprays (dry shampoo?) or henna (which can thicken individual strands), but that's about it.

What about WO ? My hair has got thicker since not using shampoo. It’s noticeable when I put it in a pony tail as the elastic goes twice around snugly now instead of three times. Also my ear would stick out from my hair on one side and it doesn’t anymore. It is not my imagination, these are measurable outcomes. I’m assuming it’s because there is a coating of sebum on the hair length. To me this is not a ‘trick’ as it is my natural hair! I just wish I had not wasted so many years shampooing and using products to make it thicker when it was there all along :-)

[lapushka]

What about WO ? My hair has got thicker since not using shampoo. It’s noticeable when I put it in a pony tail as the elastic goes twice around snugly now instead of three times. Also my ear would stick out from my hair on one side and it doesn’t anymore. It is not my imagination, these are measurable outcomes. I’m assuming it’s because there is a coating of sebum on the hair length. To me this is not a ‘trick’ as it is my natural hair! I just wish I had not wasted so many years shampooing and using products to make it thicker when it was there all along :-)

Henna coats the hair, individual strands, as well. I used to use it.
Never knew WO could do that! Neat. :)

[momao]

It's also very difficult to get rid of excess iron (especially for men), so I would recommend against supplementing it unless you are actually in need of it.

You're very right! I should have mentioned that. An estimated 1/3 women are iron deficient, but iron, "overload," is also very common, specifically in men. It's so common, actually, that some doctors reccomend, "blood-letting." Not like medieval times blood-letting, but more in the area of donating to Red Cross once a month. Cool and kinda creepy! Sorry for the ramble, just thought it was an interesting fact!

[Ylva]

You're very right! I should have mentioned that. An estimated 1/3 women are iron deficient, but iron, "overload," is also very common, specifically in men. It's so common, actually, that some doctors reccomend, "blood-letting." Not like medieval times blood-letting, but more in the area of donating to Red Cross once a month. Cool and kinda creepy! Sorry for the ramble, just thought it was an interesting fact!

Here, you're not allowed to donate blood more often than around every 3 months. For women, the "ban" is slightly (like some days?) longer than it is for men, but yeah approximately 3 months. I don't know where in the world you are, but at least in the US, I think added iron can be an actual bother. It looks good when you look at food and see that yeah, it contains iron, must be good for me, but a lot of people end up getting too much. :/

[MidnightMoon]

I eat like an angel.

:lol: sorry, that just made me laugh (in the good sense).
Though, joke aside, I don't think angels eat at all.

[Lunnafindel]

:lol: sorry, that just made me laugh (in the good sense).
Though, joke aside, I don't think angels eat at all.


I was just about to ask that too! I love the phrase, but... what DO angels eat?
Now I'm wondering...do angels eat all super healthy and moral food -like paleo vegan or something - because they're the embodiment of "good" and better than any of us can aspire to be, or do they eat ice cream all day because they're in heaven and they deserve it? or is it just rainbows and baby's laughter? I'm so curious! :p

Ok, back to lurking on this thread to help my husband who's an aspiring longhair with much finer hair than me, so I don't know the strategies...

[enshallah]

Girrrrl what a transformation. Could you go into detail about the changes you made from 2018 to now xx sadly my hair is even thinner than yours was its crazy

[BleachedBerry]

I don't know if you have access to supplements or conventional hair products or not where you are?
I have had good results with Biotin, Also the Nioxin products work well on thin hair and hair fall.

Distilling the water you wash your hair with could help. Simply bring the water to a boil and allow to cool.
Maybe fermented rice water would be a good option for you, it will defiantly strengthen your hair.

[elfynity]

My hair used to be quite thin, the sort of thinness where I’d notice the top of my ear poking out from underneath it if that makes sense lol. I think the previous advice is spot on with regards to diet and hydration. Eating enough protein, essential fatty acids, sleep and stress levels all affect it. Also being gentle with the hair when brushing, combing too.

For me my hair changed considerably when I went water only, my hair is a LOT thicker now. I know this because a spiral hair tie would have to go three times around in a pony tail and now it only needs two, so that’s quite a good outcome measure I think?My diet and exercise is the same so that’s not affecting it. Now I honestly don’t know if the new thickness is because my hair is getting regular scalp massages, or the sebum is coating the hair length, or the cessation of hair products is allowing my hair to thicken. Maybe all of those!

I have been thinking so much about this post over the last week and have really taken it to heart. I was doing WO and then cornstarch washing only and my hair was also much thicker and more substantial than before. It wasn't fly away and less static. I have cut back drastically on the shampoo and have adopted cornstarch washing, with conditioner afterwards. For two reasons, the static firstly, and also to get a bit of weight back into my hair. Thanks Feral for mentioning this, it has changed my course of action for the better I think.

[Feral_]

I have been thinking so much about this post over the last week and have really taken it to heart. I was doing WO and then cornstarch washing only and my hair was also much thicker and more substantial than before. It wasn't fly away and less static. I have cut back drastically on the shampoo and have adopted cornstarch washing, with conditioner afterwards. For two reasons, the static firstly, and also to get a bit of weight back into my hair. Thanks Feral for mentioning this, it has changed my course of action for the better I think.

It will be interesting following your journey :) Have you tried conditioner only washing? Some people get good results with that. I’ve not done cornstarch washing, only WO. For my hair it seems less is definitely more.

[elfynity]

It will be interesting following your journey :) Have you tried conditioner only washing? Some people get good results with that. I’ve not done cornstarch washing, only WO. For my hair it seems less is definitely more.

Yeah, CO is ok, I have no problem with that, but I find that cornstarch is just wonderful stuff, especially mixed into water and poured over your head. I want to save my conditioners for the body and ends.
I have been down this whole road before of WO and then cornstarch washing and you know, it is just so easy to shampoo that I landed up not even diluting my shampoo anymore, I feel like my hair has just really been stripped too much. I need to calm it all down and go back to that balance where my hair oils are doing more work and not being constantly removed.

[MeganAimee]

Drinking enough water, getting proper nutrition, doing oil treatments, wearing protective hairstyles, and no heat. These are the ones that affect it positively the most imo.