How To Style Your Fine, Slippery Hair

Styling fine hair can be such a struggle. I feel as if I'm constantly searching for new ways to make my hairstyles stay in place. To solve this problem once and for all, I turned to some of New York Fashion Week's lead hair stylists for tips on managing my fine, slippery hair. I figured if anyone knew of to tame my mane, it would be these professionals. After all, it's their job to get ever hair type under the sun into the same, on-trend do for multiple shows each season. So, I asked every hair stylist I saw backstage at NYFW for ways to make hairstyles last on fine hair. Their answers were surprisingly simple!

When it comes to styling my own strands, my goal is to give it as much dimension as possible. My hair is naturally thin, straight, and boring, so I'm always looking to give my locks some extra oomph. However, it's creating oomph that lasts that is my ultimate challenge. It never wants to stay! No matter how much hairspray or how many bobby pins that I use, it always seems to fall flat after a couple of hours. It's completely infuriating. But no more! When asked, these hair stylists knew exactly what to do to whip my hair into shape. Wondering what you can do to style your own slippery mane? Here are seven tips from New York Fashion Week's top stylists on how to manage and style fine hair.

1. Sandwich Products To Create Grip

For Rebecca Minkoff's Autumn/Winter 2016 show, the models sported textured rope braids and tipsy ends. As a girl with slippery hair, I assumed my fine hair would never hold this type of style. It would fall out eventually, right? Wrong! According to the show's key hair stylist, Tommy Bucket, any hair type can pull off this fun braid. You just have to layer your products accordingly to create grip and texture. For the show, Bucket used Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Beach Chic Texturizing Spray, Full & Plush Mega Full Thickening Lotion, and Texture Tease to create the perfect foundation for a long-lasting hairstyle.

Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Beach Chic Texturizing Spray, $3.47, Amazon; Garnier Fructis Full & Plush Mega Full Thickening Lotion, $7.30, Amazon; Garnier Fructis De-Constructed Texture Tease Hairspray, $4.49, Amazon

2. Use A Hot Tool To Create Texture

If you aren't a fan of loading up your hair with extra product, then Bucket suggests creating texture by using a hot tool. Before braiding, Bucket used a flat iron to create small bends in the hair. These bends allowed the strands to be more pliable without adding extra product.

Try: Babyliss Pro Ceramic Flat Iron, $37.95, Amazon

3. Use Mousse On Dry Hair For Volume

Redken Guts 10, $15.87, Amazon

This next trick blew my mind. Backstage at Banana Republic's A/W 2016 show, I witnessed a stylist adding small amount of mousse to various sections of dry hair. After the mousse was applied, the stylist used a blow dryer and round brush to seal in the product. At first, I thought it was completely insane, however, I discovered that many hair stylists use this trick to create extra volume and hold.

4. Spray Your Hairspray Everywhere

After curling our hair, we typically only focus our hairspray around the top layer (I'm totally guilty of this). While this will secure those top sections, your bottom pieces are left to fend for themselves — which, in my case, means giving up all that curl you worked so hard to achieve. A great trick that I learned from the Banana Republic show is to lift the hair and spray as it falls. This ensures that each piece is coated in the spray, and will hold the curl longer.

Try: L'Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray, $11, Amazon

5. Don't Style On Clean Hair

In order to avoid falling hairstyles or limp locks, avoid styling your hair when it's clean. Redken and Cutler Salon stylist Brian Buenaventura suggests to style hair when it has extra grip. So, if you're planning an elaborate hairstyle for the day, then skip the shampoo. Your natural oils are your best friend when styling thin, slippery hair.

6. Choose Lightweight Products That Layer Well

TRESemmé stylist Jeanie Syfu warns against using heavy styling products in fine hair. This can weigh the hair down even further, and cause it too look oily. Syfu suggests to use more lightweight products when styling like the TRESemmé Perfectly (un)Done Wave Creation Sea Foam and the TRESemmé Perfectly (un)Done Sea Salt Spray. These products are meant to give the hair texture and dimension without heavy buildup.

TRESemme Perfectly (un)Done Wave Creation Sea Foam, $5.49, Amazon; TRESemme Perfectly (un)Done Sea Salt Spray, $5.49, Amazon

7. Secure Your Ponytail With Extra Material

Having slippery hair means constantly readjusting your ponytail. Make it last once and for all by securing your ponytail with extra materials. This was a huge trend during New York Fashion Week. Models at shows like Rebecca Minkoff, Kate Spade, and Banana Republic were spotted with either cord or suede wrapped around their ponytails. Not only is this super chic, but it also gives the style extra stability, so it won't fall out by lunchtime.

See? Fine hair doesn't have to be boring.

Images: emilymc712/Instagram