Flat hair

[maaria]

Hallo thin hair friends!
What do you do when you´re hair is flat and just dont have any "life", the hair is just laying on the top of you head!!:(

[Fractalsofhair]

For me,it generally means I weighed it down too much. Before I went cone free, my hair would look flat fairly often, or poof up amusingly. (The top at my crown was flat, and the rest stuck out.). I have a lot of very thick hair though.

You can blowdry your hair upside down for special occasions, or use a round brush when it's dry with a light gel for a similar effect though.

[ademtce]

depending on the type of products you use, i would say you could use a good clarification.

[kwaniesiam]

For me, that means its just another wash day :rolleyes: My hair will never be not flat due to its type unfortunately so I've just learned to live with it. I rarely wear it down anyway :shrug:

[maaria]

Okej, thanx my hair friends:)

[nyemelis]

Okay--I know some people would gasp in horror, but I take out a comb and "rat" the hair along my hairline and pull it back in a pony-tail when I feel my hair is getting flat. YMMV.

I have the same problem with flat hair...it's really annoying, I know. I figure a bit of damage in the front is better than just washing my whole head of hair again.

[GlennaGirl]

Hallo!

I do a half-up and just barely "pouf" it up. Just barely...I don't want to look rockabilly or anything. It looks like just regular non-flat hair that's been put into a half-up. It's a good disguise and my go-to style.

[Nevermore]

This is a trick I used before I cut bangs, since my hair is so long/heavy that I can't poof it by doing a loose bun, I separated out a section from the front (roughly ear to ear) and clip aside for a minute. Put remaining hair in ponytail. Smooth front section loosely over the top with a BBB and ponytail that as well. When you're done, it should feel like a typical secure ponytail (which can then be braided/bunned/whatever), but it'll look looser/less flat in the front.

edit: Was this clear or should I do some of my infamous paint diagrams?

[Elvi]

If you choose to blow dry, you should find a better quality dryer that can blow cool air, too. Or you can have two or three large soft rollers on the top of your head when the hair is drying.

[Bellalalala]

Even though my hair is wavy, it used to be flat on the top of my head, but I don't have that problem since I started WO.
Have you ever tried WO? A lot of people like me say it makes their hair seem a lot thicker.

Other than that, which I know is a pretty extreme measure just for some thickness and volume, have you tried velcro rollers?

[JamieLeigh]

I don't do this anymore, because my length will just pull it flat, but when my hair was shorter, I'd apply a bit of mousse to my roots before it dried fully. Even back then, I'd air dry, and I'd rub mousse in my palms and just apply it all over my scalp. Then as it dried, it wasn't sticky or anything, just looked much fuller. Even with a ponytail. :)

ThermaSilk is what I always used, even though I didn't use the heat styling tools that are supposed to "activate" it. :rolleyes: But it always felt very weightless, which was what I wanted.

[lambhair]

Flat hair is a daily happening with me, and one reason I decided to grow my hair long. That might sound odd but...I figured that since even with a short hair style my fine thin straight hair stays flat anyway, why not let it grow and have some fun with it? Anyway, since I try to avoid putting extra products on my hair I try to find simple styles that give it a little lift at the top but fall short of the *poof* look thats so popular. It can be hard to do. I usually bend over and flip all my hair over my head and give it a good brushing while its upside down, then use a teeny bit of aloe vera gel on the roots, flip hair back over rightside up then style. This gives some lift even as a base for a bun or braids and is easy to redo later in the day if it goes flat. I just hate it when my hair looks like its pulled so tight that my part shows up as a big white line.
Good luck!

[linda g]

If I'm not going to be seen while my hair is air-drying, I will use a few jaw clips to pull my hair up on the top of my head where I normally part my hair. I don't let them stay in the whole time, just for part of the time.

I do this to help direct my hair toward the back of my head, but it seems to give it a little bit of lift as well.

[MsBubbles]

Hi Maaria! Sigh. I wish I had some great solution for you. Back when I was trashing my hair on a daily basis (pre-LHC, pre-trying-to-grow-it-to-tailbone!), I washed it every day and used velcro rollers plus a blowfryer. The velcro rollers were great because they let a lot of air (heat!) through underneath my hair and gave it some lift. But on humid days this did me no good whatsoever because it would all just fall flat within ten minutes. So basically it only worked in the middle of winter on bright, cold sunny days :-).

Now I am embracing my flat hair (when I wear it down) because the length sort of compensates for the lack of personality at my scalp. On my non-wash, or updo days, I just walk around with a little tiny head, hair plastered to my scalp.

My hair is too fine to withstand any backcombing or heat styling - if I want to grow it long - for the sake of some floofiness.

[Katze]

gosh, I wish I had your problem! My hair will never lie smoothly no matter what I do...:D

If it's volume you're looking for, simply clipping parts of the crown up while air drying might help. as might finger 'fluffing' the roots of your hair upside down while drying.


Okay--I know some people would gasp in horror, but I take out a comb and "rat" the hair along my hairline and pull it back in a pony-tail when I feel my hair is getting flat. YMMV.

I have the same problem with flat hair...it's really annoying, I know. I figure a bit of damage in the front is better than just washing my whole head of hair again.

uh, no. I see you are new here so maybe you haven't seen the pics of backcombed hair.

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=79

Washing gently, with water only as many have suggested, is far kinder on hair than teasing and ratting it. Your choice, of course, but most people on LHC want long healthy hair so that is the focus here.

To the OP, I hope you find something non damaging that works well!

[Anje]

Not much help -- for me, flatness usually means wash day is approaching. I usually just pull it back and describe it as "sleek" rather than "flat". I may need to try clipping my roots a bit, since I don't tend to have much volume even on freshly clean hair.

[florenonite]

My hair gets flat if I comb it when it's wet. I wait to comb until it's dry, and just gently finger-comb when it's wet, so that I can retain some volume at the roots.

[heidihug]

maaria, I see that you list yourself as 1a/f/1. I am inclined to think that your hair is "flat" because it is straight, fine and thin. Drying it with cool air upside down might help, as some have suggested, but do be careful. Your hair type generally is very easily damaged. High updos do help disguise flat hair, too. Good luck!