4 Tips for Fine Hair Happiness

Let’s take a moment for the girls with the fine strands. For those of us born with a follicle diameter of just 70 microns (instead of the average 90-plus), hair maintenance takes a lot of work. Daily washing, increased frequency of trimming appointments, and styles that refuse to hold longer than an hour. Some days, it seems like there's barely any hope but to let hair kind of hang limp and do its thing. But wait — that's just not true. You can infuse life back into your locks — you just have to take the right steps for taking care of your type of mane specifically.

Here’s exactly what you can do:

Keep it blunt

Layered cuts rarely suit a fine-haired girl. Transparency through the lengths equals the appearance of raggedy ends. Assess your current situation: Where is the thickest point before strands start to look tapered? Trim at that point and your hair will have the illusion of added thickness and volume.

Choose either the blowdryer or straightening iron

Never both — at least not every day. Thin hair is an exercise in self-control. Set yourself boundaries: detox from the hot tools for a fortnight and pay attention to the subtle improvements. Then ease back slowly into styling, and never iron three days in a row. Your M.O. is all about protecting those ends, otherwise you’ll be scheduling a cut every other week. (And that can get expensive, time consuming, and just frustrating.)

Powder, not spray

Dry shampoo rarely works for us, does it? I can go through half an aerosol and still have my oily roots sticking to my head. Enter the volume powder. It mattifies, lightly texturizes and grips onto oil to give you that extra day of wear you need. Hold your product horizontally, and using one finger, lightly tap the product onto strategic points along your part. Rub in gently using a circular motion.

Stock up

On vitamins. Take your pick — fish oil, biotin, Vitamin B, and zinc all help to stimulate follicle growth and rev up your hair cycle for thick, luscious lengths.