Create Cute Hairstyles for Long Thick Hair

Long, thick hair is naturally beautiful and versatile, with the texture and length easily lending itself to a variety of cute hairstyles. Whether your hair is naturally long and thick or you’d just like to accentuate the length and volume of any hair, learn how to cut and style it to the best effect.

Steps

Styling Long, Thick Hair

1. Do an easy half-up style. Separate just the top section of your hair and pull it back to secure it at the back of your head, leaving the rest of your voluminous locks to lay loose.
   • Pull back the top of your hair, or small sections from each side, starting at about the level of the tops of your ears. You can use just your fingers, or a comb or pick for straighter sectioning.
   • Secure the top section of your hair into a small ponytail with a hairband, use a clip, or twist it into a small bun at the back of your head.
2. Try a single side braid. Use your length and thickness to your advantage to create a loose braid that falls over one shoulder.
   • Create a typical three-strand braid by sectioning the hair into three pieces. Cross the piece on the right over to the middle so that the middle piece becomes the new right-side piece. Then cross the left piece over to the middle in the same way. Continue in this way, alternating left and right, to the ends of the hair.
   • Smaller braids can also be done throughout the hair, or go for a full head of braids that will still remain full-looking because of your thick texture.
   • Experiment with other types of braids in your hair, like French braiding, fishtail, or cornrows.
3. Try adding volume to the crown of the head. Blow dry and tease hair to create volume at the top of the head for a cute retro look that will also keep hair from looking too weighted down.
   • Start by blow drying or just brushing back a section of your hair from the very top of your head. Then use a fine rattail comb to tease the section by combing in the opposite direction, toward the roots.
   • Those with kinky or very curly hair can skip straight to teasing, or simply brush or comb out sections normally to create volume.
   • Those with straighter thick hair can keep a section toward the front of the crown unteased, then lay that section back over the teased area to create a sleeker look.
4. Go for a volumized updo. Pull hair up into a dramatic bun, chignon, or ponytail to create a look that can be both casual and formal.
   • Create a bun by securing your hair into a ponytail with an elastic, then twist and wrap the length of the hair around the elastic to create a spiral shape and secure with pins. You can also use accessories like a hair donut or even a sock to make sleek rolled buns, or leave it intentionally messy for a casual look.
   • Gently roll your hair as you would with a bun and pin it low on your head for a classic chignon. Tease a section at the crown of the head to show off some more of your impressive volume.
   • Try a sleek ponytail by securing your hair with an elastic high at the crown of your head. Wrap a piece of hair around the elastic and place pins underneath the ponytail to create extra polish and volume.
5. Add scarves, bandanas, and other accessories. Break up your thick hair beautifully with a colorful or patterned head scarf, a bandana, or fun bow or flower clip.
   • Try items like hair sticks and bun pins to easily add some interest to thick hair with accessories that can handle even the thickest mane.
   • Wrap a scarf, headband, or folded bandana around your head and knot it at the top for a classic look that also keeps your hair in check when it’s up or down. You can also try using a wrap around a bun if it won’t span the circumference of your entire head.

Cutting and Coloring Long, Thick Hair

1. Get layers. Ask for a layered haircut at your next salon appointment to achieve less bulk or greater definition of your curls or waves.
   • Get layers to frame your face and allow the back of your hair to taper gently. Layers can accentuate volume in long and straight or gently wavy hair.
   • In naturally coarse, kinky, or curly hair, go for layers to reduce bulk or create overall shape. A long layered look can also complement a narrow face shape.
   • If you’re looking to thin out your thick hair, ask a stylist if they can use thinning shears instead of the typical scissors for your haircut.
2. Remember to get your hair trimmed regularly. Trim your hair regularly, even if you want it to remain long or keep growing, as this is key to hair health.
   • Tight, coarse curls and longer styles of any kind should typically get a trim every 12 weeks (3 months). Trim more often if your hairstyle has a lot of layers that you want to keep in place, or you have a lot of damage from heat treatments, chemical relaxers, or other products.
   • Ask for just a quarter of an inch to be taken off each time you get a trim if you are trying to preserve length and grow out your hair further. Or, make sure a stylist takes off enough to remove split ends or other damage each time.
3. Try bangs. Go for blunt, straight bangs or a sideswept style for a great contrast to the length of the rest of your hair.
   • Thick hair is suited very well to cutting bangs, which will appear fuller and more dimensional. Bangs can also help to reduce the bulk of hair overall.
   • You can get bangs even without naturally or artificially straight hair. Complement an afro or ringlets with a short fringe at your forehead, or allow side swept wavy bangs to transition into your layered curls.
   • Remember that bangs typically need to be trimmed more often to maintain their shape and length.
4. Go for ombre color or highlights. Add some color at the ends or throughout your hair to create dimensionality and lighten up a heavier style.
   • Ask for ombre hair color at your next appointment with a hair colorist. The ombre technique uses one or more lighter shades at the ends of your hair, which can help balance length and thickness by making the ends look less heavy.
   • When highlighting hair, make sure to use or ask for color that is only one or two shades lighter than your own, and combine several shades for a more natural and dimensional look.

Accentuating Length and Thickness

1. Show off length with straight styles. Straighten your hair with a straightening iron for a temporary look or with a chemical relaxer for a longer-term treatment. Make your hair look even longer than it does usually with this sleek look, especially if you have very curly or kinky hair.
   • Make even a curly or wavy ponytail appear longer by creating two ponytails, one right underneath the other at the back of your head for an illusion of extra length.
   • Quickly accentuate the length of hair by creating a straight center part, which instantly appears to narrow and lengthen a hairstyle.
2. Add volume with teasing and styling. Accentuate the volume you already have or create the illusion of more by teasing sections of your hair or parting it on one side.
   • Try out products meant for volumizing, or tools like curlers or blow dryers, but use them with caution and sparingly, as heat and products will have cumulative negative effects on your hair over time.
   • Wear your hair up overnight and/or while wet to achieve greater volume when you let it down.
   • Switch up your part from where you normally wear it to get more volume from the roots.
3. Try hair extensions. Go for extensions in the closest possible shade to your own to add both volume and length to your hair.
   • Find clip-in, tape, or weave varieties of extensions, depending on how you’ll use them and how permanent they will be.
   • Try gently teasing the hair above where you apply extensions to help hide them. Also avoid sleeping with wet hair to prevent tangling.

Tips

• Keep your hair healthy by moisturizing it and not using too much heat or other products on it. Healthy hair will be easier to style.

Related Articles

• Get Thick Hair
• Make the Most of Your Wavy Hair
• Have Healthy Hair and Skin
• Do Pin up Hairstyles

Sources and Citations

See also

• Ask for the Haircut You Want
• Wear Extensions with Short Hair
• Razor Cut Your Own Hair
• Style Your Hair for a Workout
• Man Braid
• Crinkle Hair
• Use Clip‐In Bangs
• Do Ruby Rose Hair
• Point Cut Hair
• Wear Your Hair with a Hat

Read more ...

What links here

• Get Thick Hair
• Care for Naturally Curly or Wavy Thick Hair
• Thicken Your Hair
• Tease Your Hair
• Air Dry Thick Hair
• Do Pin up Hairstyles
• Do Simple, Quick Hairstyles for Long Hair
• Do an Ariana Grande Curly Hairstyle
• Have Healthy Hair and Skin
• Get Sleek Hair

Read more ...