Give Flat Hair Volume

Flat hair may be weighed down by natural oils, hair products, or the simple weight of long hair. It may be relaxed too far with chemical treatment. Or it may just have rolled the wrong genetic dice. No matter what the immediate cause is, there are techniques available that can add volume to any hair type.

Steps

Changing Your Washing Routine

1. Reduce your conditioner use. Conditioner restores hair health with beneficial oils. If you have naturally greasy hair, however, the extra weight of these oils can make your hair limp. Minimize this effect with this approach:
   • Use a small dollop of conditioner.
   • Apply conditioner only to to the tips of your hair, not at the roots.
   • Rinse it out thoroughly.
2. Try more radical changes to your conditioner. These approaches are not one-size-fits all, so it may takes some experiment. The results can be well worth it if you have naturally oily hair. Here are a few options:
   • Switch to a volumizing or lightweight conditioner, or a light oil such as jojoba.
   • If you have healthy hair with no breakage problems, try skipping conditioner completely, or at least every second or third wash.
   • If you have fine, oily hair, try using conditioner first, then removing it by applying a small amount of shampoo. This strips away most of the heavy conditioner, without entirely removing the benefit. This may work best with a deep conditioner or a special "pre-shampoo" product.
3. Switch to a volumizing shampoo. The effect is most noticeable on fine hair, although it's unlikely to solve the problem on its own. Leave the shampoo in a few minutes before rinsing.
4. Switch to a dry corn starch shampoo. Some people find they get more volume from a dry, leave-in shampoo. Instead of shampooing while you wash, just apply corn starch to your hair and tousle it in thoroughly.
   • Mix the corn starch with cocoa powder first if you have dark hair.

Drying Your Hair to Add Volume

1. Flip your hair upside-down. After washing your hair, lean forward and flip all your hair over your head. Now your hair will dry away from your neck, instead of hanging flat against your skin.
2. Blow dry the underside of your hair. Still leaning forward, blow dry from above, pointing at at the underside of your hair. At the same time, brush from the other side using a round brush. Brush from the roots to the tip, gently pulling your hair in a curve as you move the brush opposite the blow dryer.
   • You can brush dry hair the same way, without the blow dryer.
3. Scrunch your hair. Instead of blow drying, towel-dry or air-dry until your hair is slightly damp. Then "scrunch" your hair by cupping a small amount of volumizing mousse onto a section of your hair ends. Lift this section up to your scalp, gently squeezing and "crumpling." Repeat with each section of hair and let air dry into a wavy texture.
4. Back-Comb. Teasing or playing with the hair at the nape of your neck can encourage it to dry in a stiffer volume. For a more pronounced effect (although one that can damage brittle hair), back comb by brushing the "wrong way," from the tips to the roots. Do this with small sections of hair at a time, especially the top layers of hair at the top and sides of your head, so it stands up with a much larger profile.
5. Preserve the effect with hairspray (optional). Spray your scalp and roots with hairspray to retain the volume longer. If your hair is short, volumizing gel or mousse will work instead.

Trying New Hairstyles

1. Do-a-Layered-Haircut. A layered haircut adds more shape to your haircut, and reduces weight that can drag your hair into a flat style. Flip through a book of layered cuts at a salon to find a style you enjoy.
   • This works best on thick hair.
   • Even a front or side fringe can make it easier to add volume. Just blow dry the fringe while wrapping it onto a round brush.
2. Curl-Hair. Put your wet hair into rollers, or section into ponytails and wrap each one into a bun against your head. Leave them there for 3-6 hours or overnight. The resulting waves or curls add a great deal of volume compared to straight hair.
   • For maximum volume, create large barrel curls, then loosen them with your fingers to create the desired shape.
3. Texlax your hair. If you have relaxed, Afro-textured hair, try switching to a "texlax" style. This just means using your relaxer product for a shorter amount of time, or diluting it before use. The result is a semi-relaxed hairstyle that is looser than your natural hair, but still has plenty of texture and volume.
4. Apply-Hair-Extensions. If you have thin, flat hair, extensions may be the easiest way to add volume and length. Clip-in hair extensions are easy to try out, so there's no need to make a big commitment.

Tips

• Try parting your hair more to one side to add volume.
• Too many hair products of any kind can weigh your hair down.

Things You'll Need

• volumizing shampoo
• hairspray or volumizing cream/ curling gel
• corn starch and cocoa powder
• hair dryer
• round brush
• curlers

Related Articles

• Wash Your Hair
• Style Curly Hair
• Brush Your Hair
• Get Curly Hair to Turn Into Wavy Hair
• Avoid Damaging Your Hair

Sources and Citations

See also

• Prevent Hair from Frizzing After Shower
• Make Your Hair Grow Faster
• Do a Deep Treatment
• Get Rid of Dry Hair and Dry Scalp
• Get Rid of Tangles in Your Hair
• Get Rid of Greasy Hair
• Use Lemon Juice to Lighten Hair
• Remove Hair Build up Naturally
• Use Mayonnaise as a Hair Conditioner
• Turn Dry Hair to Healthy Hair

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What links here

• Be a Girly Girl
• Create Volume in Your Hair
• Flat Iron Your Hair With Volume
• Tease Your Hair Without It Going Flat