Advice for "we with the thin hair"

[lynnala]

I'm sure this was on the old site, but now I can ask: PLEASE give advice on how to thicken VTH (VERY thin hair). My full gathered hair is about the size of a nickel! (and that may be a generous assessment) I think each strand is probably in the 'nearly transparent' category. I've been taking really good care of my hair since I joined the board, and it is looking great, but still so thin! Is there any way to bulk it up?

[BlndeInDisguise]

Some of the things I've heard.

MTG (Mane-Tail-Groom) www.shapleys.com. There's also a human form of it. It does contain sulfur, so if you're allergic to sulfur, you might want to stay away from it. It also has mineral oil, which there is some controversy over, from what I've heard.

Castor Oil--I've been putting it on my thinnish hairline, but I haven't done it enough to say for sure whether it helps or not.

Monistat. Never tried it myself (Not sure what my mom would say if I got it, especially when she found out it was for my HAIR! ) but a lot of people say it's great.

[Kirin]

Oh yes, F/1b here. I feel your pain. My hair hardly has enough substance to hold a ponytail holder or scrunchie. I can give a few ideas how to thicken it up, that tend to work for me, but may not work for everyone.

Clean hair is thicker hair. If i went a day without a wash, we're talking utter transparent. I may as well be bald. Many do not like to wash to often for damage reasons but i find, washed hair is present hair!

Silicone is thy enemy! Eghads silicone of any kind (check ALL your products) will make the hair "smooth" and lie "flat". Thin hair needs this like it needs to be sheered like a sheep!. Check shampoos, conditioners, hair styling products, and leave ins. Avoid it, at least IMHO at all costs.

I use henna, it bulks up my hair......... but not everyone wants red hair. Instead try a cassia treatment. Cassia like henna from what i understand bonds to the keratin in the hair shaft, and will make it feel thicker. (and look that way too), its also a great conditioner.

Moisture is a double edged sword, be careful in using TOO much conditioner. Condition the length not the scalp or head.. and use only what you need, rinse well. Too much can make hair almost too soft, and flat, making it look and feel thinner. However, a good leave in conditioner (again silicone free) can add volume and thick feel to the hair.

Let your hair dry up in a towel for a bit longer than usual, and dont comb out until its nearly dry, or all dry. Fingercomb only, to get a straight part, then "tousle" your hair while damp, to give it "fluff".

During the day as my hair seems thin and flat, i "mist" with a mister with water and a few drops of vegetable glycerine, while my head is upside down and scrunch/fluff to give volume and body.

None of these things will actually make you have *more* hair, but it will help make the most of what you've got.

[NightingaleLHC]

Thanks for the advice, Kirin. I also find that my hair looks a lot better freshly washed because then it is fluffier. Henna is great, but I think next time I will try the cassia. I don't think henna looks too great with my skin tone. Hopefully it will have the same thickening effect.

[Kirin]

From what i understand, cassia works in very much the same way, without the color. Also I use amla with henna, amla in a treatment is supposed to give body and wave to hair (it does to mine, so at least for me it works). You could look into both of those. Amla however might give your heir some beigy tones.

[Unnamed]

Not sure I can help too much...other than, if you've got a nickel's worth, as mine's right about a dime, apparently (I would have guessed nickel, too), and, yep, superfine!

There's henna that might thicken, not sure if cassia does or not. I think it does a little? I've not tried either.

Very, very temporary, but I found, er, Elyce's?? HALO mix or a similar variant (I think I used citric acid instead of the lemon/vinegar, and I don't think I used any oil) really made things feel and seem thicker. I even measured (because I just didn't know what to do with it...felt so...weird, and I was having trouble putting it up lol) and I got 3.5" pony circ. Given I was hitting right at about 2.25", that's a HUGE difference--literally 2 x the volume, at least. It went away rather quickly (day or so, I think?), as it's just from the honey/aloe/etc. I don't know what the recipe was, though, specifically, and it's been a while since I had tried it.

I do want to ditto the suggestion of not using conditioner toward the scalp, if your hair's okay with that. Dilute your shampoo if you're worried about the lack of conditioner being drying. I haven't used conditioner above my shoulders for many, many years (except for treatments from time to time, which I always shampoo out), but I also have an oily scalp, so there's no worry of anything drying out.

I don't know how long your hair is or how straight/wavy/curly, but if you're on the straighter side waves/curls (braid waves/bun waves/sock curls/etc.) seem to add the appearance of thickness.

ETA: Wanted to add that I don't do anything on a regular basis....I've more or less accepted that it's just gonna be the way it is.

[FrannyG]

I also have very fine hair without much in the way of volume. Honestly, I have just learned to love my hair the way it is.

I agree about silicones. They really flatten out my hair. I do suggest cassia, because it does add a bit of volume to your hair, as well as giving really good conditioning benefits. It does need to be done every month or so, but you only need to leave it on for an hour, so it's not a huge commitment.

There are many beautiful heads of hair here at LHC with lower volume, and in my case my hair is perfectly straight, so it appears even thinner.

All I can tell you is that every hair type is beautiful, and I hope you learn to love your hair just the way it is the way I finally have with mine.

[TessieAnn]

I also have very fine hair without much in the way of volume. Honestly, I have just learned to love my hair the way it is . . .

All I can tell you is that every hair type is beautiful, and I hope you learn to love your hair just the way it is the way I finally have with mine.

Yes, yes, yes!

It's important to start with acceptance of the traits we can't do much about changing. We are who we are.

Yes, try the different tricks to create volume. Most of them essentially make more space between the individual strands so overall the hair looks fuller. I'm an advocate of doing the best we can then forgetting about it.

About condish on the scalp if I don't use it all throughout my hair it's much harder to detangle and I get more shed in the shower. Can't afford to lose any more strands than I have to. As always, each of us is different.

The 1fis among us are actually pretty lucky that right now the trend is away from big hair. The 1980s would have been a nightmare, trying to make my tresses "big." Fortunately, I just didn't much care what anyone else thought.

We all need to find our own accommodations

[Melisande]

I have fine hair, too, and try to give more volume to my hair on a daily basis.

I use Jessie's hair oil (base oil: jojoba, essential oils: cedar, grapefruit, lemon, rosemary, patchouly, juniper, lavender, sage, geranium, clary sage, thyme, and bay) every third night in a bottle with a tiny tip and massage well. This has helped my hair to grow and has reduced shedding noticeably.

I use very little conditioner, only on my ends, and dilute shampoo. A citric acid rinse helps, too.


After washing, I use dabur vatika oil which gives strength to my hair, and I also use cassia every couple of weeks.

While my hair dries, I keep it in little claw clips, clipped with lifted roots to add volume and fluffiness. Sometimes I sleep with little buns, not twisted too hard, and then I wake up with fluffier, wavy hair that looks good in an updo.

I keep my hair up most of the time to keep it healthy and strong. I damp bun it a lot, I feel my mixture of rose water, aloe vera and jojoba oil (only a tiny bit of oil!) helps to strengthen my hair, too.

But I have to say that for the first time in my life, since joining TLHC I made inner peace with my hair. I used to heap styling products on my head, I don't do that any more. I find my fine hair reflects the light nicely, and I can make updos earlier, with less length, than the thick-haired friends.

Sock buns add illusionary volume, so do braided buns with silk scarves woven into the braid. Beautiful hair toys adorn hair and show it's valued and loved.

I found that investing in good hair care, the way you do and I learned to do, too, is really the best solution. Healthy, natural hair that is loved by its owner has its own rewards and beauty.

[lynnala]

I like the little claw clip idea! I've at times made a little braid on my lovely cowlick (read: almost bald spot) to give it lift when it dries, never thought of those little clips! And I haven't figured out a wash routine that works great for me, I've been doing the CWC, but I'm going to experiment with shampoo only (on the scalp) and then a dab of shea butter to smooth it down when dry. That's the other problem, no conditioner=frizzy 'finger-in-the-electric-socket' hair, while with conditioner=flat hair. Can't find just the right combo! Plus, I've let it get very straggly on the ends, I think a nice trim will give it more body.