How to break the CURSE?

[mbaker223]

I have an affliction.... and I believe that a great many of us here at LHC have.

My hair is weighted down. It's so heavy and I have no curl, so my hair lies flat against my head. Ugh I really don't like it, I want some volume.... some root uplifting... but the only ways I know to achieve this are by backcombing (teasing) the hair which I REFUSE to do... we all know how horrid that is. And I guess the other way to achieve it is to use drying products.

I was wondering if any of you have any idea how I can get lift at my roots without damaging my hair.

[Kris Dove]

When your're wearing it down, turn your head upside down and give your hair a shake every time you comb it to fluff it up a little.

Half-up's or side partings can often give the illusion of more volume.

[pinkbunny]

If you have a cowlick you could try flipping your hair the opposite direction ("against the grain"). For example, my hair naturally lays at a left to right angle across my face, so I part it on the right so it hangs to the left & my cowlick creates a little "flip" in the front...

[Themyst]

I'm still holding out the hope that some kind of magic mousse exists and I just haven't found it yet. I have to blow dry my hair upside down to get any lift in my roots. Of course, my hair is so long now that it drags on the floor when I do this ... :rolleyes:. One thing that does work is if I put a bunch of braids in and get them snug against my scalp. Then when I take out the dried braids it is pretty fluffy, but you must turn your head upside down to do the scalp braids, otherwise when you take them out you'll have a flat scalp and fluffy sides.

[ladycatpurrs]

I use the Ojon deep treatment as a styling aid on damp hair, flip my hair upside down,fluff my roots, do a loose braid from the crown and go to bed. I wake up with good lift and braid waves. Takes me 5 minutes to unbraid, finger comb, shake it out and go. Looks like I have been to the salon and the Ojon holds my moisture in, hence the curl, all day.

[Carolyn]

It seems like we often want what we don't have. I'd kill for straight, heavy, weighed down hair. Trade ya!

[Kaileida]

Turban it all up at night? Mine has crazy volume if I do that. (Yes, I have a picture for proof. It's in my albums :D)

[manderly]

Have you considered a Bumpit? :D

There's a big thread about them and you can get them at Walgreens now.


For me, getting volume always consisted of a volumizing root spray, flipping my hair over and blasting just the roots with the dryer. Cool the roots well before you flip your hair back over. Look like a lion for a few minutes until it dies down.

[spidermom]

Some ideas I've heard of:
Use a little mousse at the roots and blow-dry damp hair on cool upside down.
Use clips at the roots to scrunch hair up so that it doesn't dry hugging the head.

My goal is to weigh my hair down so that it doesn't float around all over the place!

[Delila]

I wrap my hair up in a towel after washing it, just long enough to let most of the water soak into the towel. That way I do get a bit of lift at the roots.

I've tried the idea of using clips right at the roots, and it does sort of work, but I seem to have quit doing that one, so maybe the effect isn't noticeable enough for me to bother with.

Another idea is to part your hair, all over your head. Dianyla had a picture of a diagram and a tutorial in her journal on the old forum, not sure if it's still around. Basically, I'd just take a pointy hair stick (or knitting needle) and from the front, move the point across the top of my head, left and right, down to the nape, from ear to ear across the top of my head, etc. I'm probably not explaining it very well, but it did seem to give my hair a touch of lift.

I haven't used that technique in a long time because I've gotten in the habit of wrapping my hair up in a microfiber towel for a while, then letting it down to finish drying, then finger combing. I basically don't touch it while it's drying.

[ravenreed]

When my hair was shorter, i.e. BLS to waist, if I wanted lots of lift I would blow dry upside down and scrunch. However, when I was using SLS shampoos, I always had crazy volume anyway. My hair was just poofy and unruly. The downside to going CO is that I have lost that volume.

[piratejenny23]

i checked your profile before offering my 2 cents, but it doesn't have your routine or length, so, sorry if this doesn't apply:

i went CO about a month ago and--bizarrely, unexpectedly--i have MORE root lift than when i was shampooing.

part your damp hair ear to ear (like a headband) and twist this section and push it forward/tuck it under so you have a sort of '50s style poof on top of your head, then pin it & let dry. i think you could also drape it over curlers or a bumpit while it's drying.

(i've tried using the long clips-air drying method, but the sections fall over and the clips slip out, so it's too awkward for me).

ok please don't yell...
if you're willing to lose a little length, get a face frame or a deep U-cut. that way the hair on top of your head is shorter and lighter. again, go ear to ear and see if tampering with this amount of hair would bother you.

i'm growing this out right now, and it's making me a little crazy because i have too much taper for some of the updos and braids...BUT it looks very nice in a ponytail or when i do rag curls and pull up the sides in barrettes; it really "cascades". my shortest pieces are at my collarbone and my longest are 9" longer.

[Quixii]

One of the things I didn't like about plopping was how much volume it gave me at the roots. I don't know what it would do for someone with straight hair, but you could try it...?

[longhairedfairy]

I guess you could get/make a hair rat, but you might only be able to use it when your hair is up.

[piratejenny23]

I don't know what it would do for someone with straight hair, but you could try it...?

oh yes! good suggestion!

i plop my straight hair :p i didn't really start doing it for volume but i like it because there's some pulling from the weight of my wet hair & wet towel when i twist my hair in a turban--i've tried both "upside down" and just wrapping at the nape. so i think that plopping could contribute to root lift.

[Demetrue]

Go to sleep with a twisted scrunchie-held bun on top of your hair, then let it down in the morning. Or bend over and make a lose braid from the top of your head and undo the next morning.

[Rhiannon7]

I had the same problem for years, one day i started combing the hair wet, and back from the front and kept doing it at the roots until only damp, voila! got some volume, not much but i don't look like i just came out of a shower anymore. (or escaped cher 70's camp.) also changed products until i found one that gave moisture without weight. I love pantene but after some time it makes my hair straighter and more weighed so i change every 3-4 weeks to suave and problem solved.

[Clarisse]

Curling the hair gives it good volume.
Spongerollers and ragrolls for the straighter-haired ladies and scrunching/plopping/put the hair up to dry in a messy bun after washing for the wavies and curlies :)

[LaurelSpring]

Stay away from cones and sls!!!!!

These have been the curse of my volume. Now that I am using baking soda washes with minimal conditioner I have volume and waves like crazy. The borax washes worked also but that is more controversial.

[ericthegreat]

Mbaker, I wouldn't call having your hair type or any kind of hair type a curse. We all have beautiful hair. :) What makes a person the most beautiful is when they recognize their best features and they know how to work with them.

For example, I have very straight hair. As a kid I really and I mean really envied the kids who had natural spiral curls, they looked so cool. Actually even now from time to time I still feel that way. But, from talking to them I hear back that a few of them wished they could have my straight, 'easy to care for' hair. I've also heard from a few curlies on this board who have told me the same exact thing. So whatever we think we want out of life, someone else may actually want what we already have!

[Katze]

I would trade with you in an instant! Oh, to have hair that lays flat, instead of sticking up! I am wearing it down today and it is so poofy at the crown that I feel like a Kennedy...seriously... :silly: I can't get it to lie smooth along my head no matter WHAT I do...

Sleeping with my hair damp in a towel or hoodie (loosely, what is known here as 'plopping' really helped me get volume when my hair was feeling flat. As others have suggested, scrunchie buns, drying upside down or pinned up, lots of little buns around the top of your head when your hair is wet...all help get volume.

Too bad we can't trade. You could have fun with my volume, and I could enjoy smooth sleek hair... :)

[plainjanegirl]

I had the same problem for years, one day i started combing the hair wet, and back from the front and kept doing it at the roots until only damp, voila! got some volume, not much but i don't look like i just came out of a shower anymore. (or escaped cher 70's camp.) also changed products until i found one that gave moisture without weight. I love pantene but after some time it makes my hair straighter and more weighed so i change every 3-4 weeks to suave and problem solved.



So basically you are alternating cones with no cones? I'd do that too but with co none stuff like suave then I get too many tangles in my hair.

[plainjanegirl]

Stay away from cones and sls!!!!!

These have been the curse of my volume. Now that I am using baking soda washes with minimal conditioner I have volume and waves like crazy. The borax washes worked also but that is more controversial.



Minimal conditioner for me would be a tangle disaster!

[nougat]

First of all, the hair in your avatar looks fantastic!!

I have straight, heavy hair too. There are a couple of things I do when styling to give the illusion of more volume. When you gather you hair for an updo, if you gather just the top half first, give it a half-twist and push it up a bit to make it poof slightly, gather up the rest of your hair and twist that in, and then secure the bun above the twist so that it doesn't weigh it down. I find this gives a bit of lift on top. When I braid, I find that strategic loosenings help plump up the hair around my head. French braids are particularly good for this because it's hard for the length to weigh the hair down, since it's held down close to the head.

These are just what works for me, though. I should mention that I also have a small section of bangs that I can flip back into a tiny fake pompadour, so that might be a factor...