Thin/Fine Hair Thread

[shwankie]

Siava,

Hosery is a great idea, thanks! I am going to give that a try!

Ohio Lisa, another fine hair sister! Your hair is stunning! Isn't it odd how we can all have similar hair types in many ways, but find different things work and don't work? I love hearing other people's ideas and hair care regimines (I gave up spelling that right today).

Cones have been essential for my hair up to now for detangling, but I'm going to give no cones another try this year. Seeing that so many other fine haired folks have issues with them has strengthened my resolve to see if I can find an alternative. I have to comb my hair wet, very, very gently (I use a very wide-toothed, smoother pic), or I get HUGE snarls that involve hours and lots of mayonnaise to get out. I also can't wear most kinds of hats for this reason I am definitely going to try the DW now that another fine hair has recommended it (thank you for enabling, I've been drooling about this stuff since last night).

I do pretty much everything to my hair either wet or damp. My braids stay best if done right out of the shower with some oil. Same thing with buns. I can do buns damp, but they don't stay as well. Dry is a total loss unless I've got some waves from braids, etc. Braid waves fall out within an hour on their own (bunned they don't seem to as badly). Maybe using no cones, if the DW and/or 'poo bars work well, will help this.

I'd never heard the fairy tale ends and updos thing. That's really interesting, and something I may have to give some thought to. I currently have a u hemline that I'd thought to blunt eventually, but perhaps I should rethink that.

[Siava]

You're very welcome! I hope it works for you.

p.s. I'm going to enable you some more and also recommend the Dairy Whip. It's great stuff.

[MsBubbles]

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.

Ohiolisa: you are lucky to have wavy hair and I can see how you don't need to envy.

Some of these things that work with your fine, wavy hair make my fine, dead straight hair a complete mess. Fairy tale ends make my hair look an unkempt, moth-eaten disaster. Sulfates stop my oily scalp from breaking out in flakes and pimples, and it makes no odds as to my oil-production. Cones were fine with my hair and helped me comb out afterwards with minimal tangles and tugs.

[OhioLisa]

Siava,
Ohio Lisa, another fine hair sister! Your hair is stunning! Isn't it odd how we can all have similar hair types in many ways, but find different things work and don't work? I love hearing other people's ideas and hair care regimines (I gave up spelling that right today).

Cones have been essential for my hair up to now for detangling, but I'm going to give no cones another try this year. Seeing that so many other fine haired folks have issues with them has strengthened my resolve to see if I can find an alternative. I have to comb my hair wet, very, very gently (I use a very wide-toothed, smoother pic), or I get HUGE snarls that involve hours and lots of mayonnaise to get out. I also can't wear most kinds of hats for this reason I am definitely going to try the DW now that another fine hair has recommended it (thank you for enabling, I've been drooling about this stuff since last night).

I do pretty much everything to my hair either wet or damp. My braids stay best if done right out of the shower with some oil. Same thing with buns. I can do buns damp, but they don't stay as well. Dry is a total loss unless I've got some waves from braids, etc. Braid waves fall out within an hour on their own (bunned they don't seem to as badly). Maybe using no cones, if the DW and/or 'poo bars work well, will help this.

I'd never heard the fairy tale ends and updos thing. That's really interesting, and something I may have to give some thought to. I currently have a u hemline that I'd thought to blunt eventually, but perhaps I should rethink that.

Thanks so much for the compliment. It's good to experiment before really settling on a good routine, IMO. Just remember to try one thing at a time, so you know exactly what is and is not working. Keep us posted.

Ohiolisa: you are lucky to have wavy hair and I can see how you don't need to envy.

Thank you. Honestly, I don't think anyone here needs to envy. We all have hair that is beautiful in its own way.

Some of these things that work with your fine, wavy hair make my fine, dead straight hair a complete mess. Fairy tale ends make my hair look an unkempt, moth-eaten disaster. Sulfates stop my oily scalp from breaking out in flakes and pimples, and it makes no odds as to my oil-production. Cones were fine with my hair and helped me comb out afterwards with minimal tangles and tugs.

It is interesting how such seemingly similar hair can be so different. I suppose wave or lack thereof would definitely play into a lot of it. Just throwing some ideas out there.

[missy60]

My hair is also very fine and thin. I would like more volume but what are you going to do. I have what I have so I might as well accept it. Fairy tail ends dont work for my hair either, I also get the moth eaten look. I just love the suggestion on the kids socks though for the sock bun. My bun is just so itty bitty and I dont have enough hair to cover a sock without it showing through. I cant stretch out my washings because my hair get so flat and stringy looking. I dont have an oily scalp and I could go a long time without washing if my hair was thicker.

[ssjhotau2]

My hair is also fine/thin. I generally don't have a problem with it being fine- I love how soft and shiny it is I could pet and play with it all day .
I just wish it wasn't so thin. It hangs in strings if I have it down for any amount of time. Plus I shed like crazy- I honestly don't know how I have any hair left on my head. It gets damaged very easily and I haven't helped it any with chemical dyes. I'm preparing to grow out my natural blond, but with purplish hair I want to dye it once more so its not such a contrast... which means I may not have hair to grow out lol. Good thing its not that long yet.

What I do:
My hair responds very well to cone-free products and usually doesn't tangle. I can even go a week or so of just CO before it gets oily enough to warrant shampoo. I use V05 Tea Therapy Nourishing products- with barely a drop of shampoo for my scalp and back of my head once a week.
However every so many weeks my hair starts to tangle at the ends pretty bad- for this I have Organix: silk serum which has cyclomethicone. I apply it to the ends of my dried hair before combing. Once a month I use the Tea Therapy Clarifying shampoo (if needed-sometimes I can wait longer).

I use coconut oil several times a day. I oil from my jawline down with special attention to my ends. Coconut oil has done wonders for strenthening my hair- it doesn't break nearly as easily as when I first joined- even though I've dyed my hair twice since then. I apply it to dry hair- somehow if I put products in wet hair it dries kinda crunchy. Jojoba oil was way too heavy for my hair and CO wont wash it out. I'm hoping to try shea butter in the near future.

I try not to touch my hair when its wet/damp. Hairs break far too easily when dry and this is doubly so when wet. I cringe when I think how I would comb conditioner through in the shower before joining.

When I comb I always finger comb before hand- never brush. I start at the very ends and work my way up slowly. Usually I don't have the patience for this, though, so I just tie it up in a scrunchy bun uncombed. Once again my hair desn't tangle much so this isn't an issue.

Once my hair is long enough and the ends even I'll wear it in a braid day and night. Thats the only way I've ever been able to grow it. If I leave it down the ends break off and I can't get past BSL.

[GlennaGirl]

Sign me up. Any tips to make my hair appear thicker would be much appreciated!

I'm a finey too and I find that bunning my hair overnight gives me very slight wave and hence, the appearance of "body".

When I don't do this, my hair literally hangs in tiny strings around my head...a la Medusa.

[Alethia]

Hi, my hair is not particularly fine, but it is thin. My pony tail barely measures 3", which doesn't sound too bad until you see my hair thin rapidly below that point. The reason for this is that the first 2" of hair from my front hairline doesn't grow very long. My back hair grows like a weed. My hair is now thigh length, but it looks really thin and weedy when loose because my hair is about 1-1.5" circumference from about a third of the way down, and thins more from there. It tangles easily too.

My hair looks better when it's blow dried straight or is ironed, but I rarely do anything like that. It also looks halfway decent with braid waves. I rarely wear it down though because it's impractical.

I do infinity buns (LadyGodiva style) most often as they are stable and hold well with a Ketylo or 60th street fork. Gibraltar buns are OK too. I cannot get a cinnabun to hold unless I use loads of pins as I create it from the centre (it always turns into an unstable beebutt bun if I don't). Braids and rope braids end up looking fuzzy very quickly, even with oil or Kimberlily's defrizz spray. I can't do a French roll or similar to save my life. I think it's very hard to make them look nice when you don't have a lot of scalp hair.

I use a wooden comb once a day. I fingercomb after washing my hair. I have tried loads of different cleansing methods on my hair: egg, soap, shampoo (sulphate), conditioner, cornflour, bicarbonate of soda, water only, and sebum only (only for 2 months though because it never got past the completely slick and waxy stage. It was hideous!) I have got down to washing once a week and alternate just now between CO and egg. I think I shed a little less with the egg - maybe the sulphur in the egg is helping a bit. My scalp has been less itchy with the egg washes (I blitz a whole egg with a banana and some honey in the blender), but it starts to look greasy on about day 3. I just put up with it.

I shed a lot, and always have. I'm shedding noticeably less at the moment, but I think that may be because it's winter and I cycle to and from work - this is giving my body the message that it needs to grow a thick coat, I hope!

[kwhitchurch]

Joining the club here (thanks mom and dad for the fine thin hair) anyway...I have been doing CO for about 2 or 3 months and love it. My hair gets oily pretty easily if I don't wash it but I don't need any shampoo to clean it and I never use any products like hairspray or gel. It has gotten much softer since CO, but I still have problems with it being very fragile and breaking easily. I have stopped using the flat iron and only blow dry every other day or so which has helped stop the breakage. Any other ideas or products out there recommended for fine hair to prevent breaking that wont make hair weighed down or crusty?

[rhysiana]

I've got fine hair, although the whole mass is not particularly thin right now. I've recently been attacked by a vicious case of splits, though, so I've just tried a cassia treatment for the first time. I think it had a small effect on strength, but I'll probably have to try doing it regularly to see a great improvement. I'm also intending to try catnip, as that reputedly adds strength too.

Beyond this, my regular routine is shampoo above the ears, (only occasionally on the length,) cone-free conditioner below the ears, usually 2 times a week. CWC gave me too much slip and made updos pretty much impossible, as did deep conditioning. Damp bunning/styling helps, as does the use of forks rather than sticks. I comb once my hair is mostly dry with a wide tooth wooden comb, then apply camellia oil to the ends and a little to the length and comb that through with a fine-toothed peach wood comb. My BBB is now used mostly for getting a smoother beginning for updos.

Also, as a straightie, I can't do fairy tale ends either, I've always gone with a blunt cut, because anything else leaves a ridiculously long tassel on my braids and causes ends to stick out everywhere in updos.