RSSFighting Flat Hair
January 27, 2009
My hair is fine, pin straight and entirely flat. Believe me I say that, left to its own devices, it is a swim cap. You have no idea. However, go near it with a blow drier and it turns into a mushroom-shaped puff, like a cross between a soufflé and a helmet. Since I have to let it air dry, I’ve devised other ways of getting some lift.
1. The cut matters, of course. I’ve learned that the more texturized (chopped into, broken) the whole head is, the lighter the pieces. They’ll lift up or back and stay put with very little product. The length isn’t really affected, just the weight.
I could cut big chunks out of my head and they’d be invisible, like scooping a cup of sand off a beach. If your hair is thicker, the chunks will show up more. The blunter the ends, the heavier the look, the flatter it lies.
Here’s a haircut that I’ve loved for years and always go back to. You may remember it from an old John Frieda ad.
by John Frieda
It turns out different each day, but with no particular styling, it looks like this.
2. Shampoo that doesn’t add weight. My 2 favorites are made by TIGI. They are BedHead Control Freak Shampoo Frizz Control and Straightener and Catwalk Thickening Shampoo for Fuller Hair, which I can’t find on the website. I don’t think they’re any different from one another really. The hair is gently cleaned and that’s it. Long ago, I stopped believing that any shampoo made for colored hair really does a better job at preserving color than a good gentle shampoo, and many of them are worse.
From left, Catwalk Thickening Shampoo, BedHead Control Freak shampoo, and Catwalk Root Boost (in 4. below).
Because they leave no film, these two shampoos are also great for handwashing sweaters.
Edit April 18/09 : I’ve been using the Control Freak more lately and have decided that it must have a stronger detergent in it because it strips the hair much more than the Catwalk shampoo. I’m trying to get the red-orange out of my hair so I can change my hair color to a more neutral brown, appropriate to my newfound Dark Winter status, and this product is doing quite a good job. You might try Paul Mitchell Instant Moisture Daily Shampoo if you want another option for a gentle cleaning shampoo that neither strips color nor weighs down the hair.
3. Light conditioners. Products that noticeably coat the hair never work well for me. I have found more lifting success with light conditioners. Typically, they are easy and fast to rinse out. They are also hard to find.
For years before finding the Joico product below, I used John Frieda’s Daily Nourishment Leave-In Fortifying Spray. This is a great one if you’re short on time. You will not feel it in your hair. It’s a very light conditioner and a detangler.
The best conditioner I know is Joico Body Luxe Thickening Conditioner, which delivers more than just detangling but rinses almost instantly and leaves no weight but some great smoothing. Your only need a tiny amount, smaller than a dime, really just a drop. It is wonderful.
4. Volumizing root lifters. TIGI Catwalk Root Boost, shown with the shampoo picture above, is a good product. It does what you expect it to, putting it in the category of a rare find. It seems like a spray mousse. So why not just use regular mousse? Well, it’s easy to aim at the roots only. It doesn’t leave flakes. The hair looks like hair, not crunchy or enormous. The effect lasts the day. Here’s the only use I make of a blow drier, to lift the Root Boost sections at the back and crown.
I love Root Boost best when my hair color has grown out a little and the roots are flatter than the rest of the head. It’s easy to just spray along the part and anywhere else I want some lift.
My stylist has recommended TIGI BedHead Superstar. It looks like a liquid which seems gunky but she thinks it’s great. And I can vouch for hair lift. Hers is 4” higher than her head.
5. A light defining styling cream. Wet looking hair in men or women is not attractive. Ditto crunchy, oily, greased, or immobile hair. Manipulator ( see the article Product Review : Bed Head Manipulator) is a good pomade but can get heavy. It produces a more texturized look, a little less like real hair.
Try got2B Playful. It’s weightless. Your hair will be better behaved, the texture will be more defined making the whole head look thicker. I don’t find it does much in wet hair. It’s best when applied to dry hair, then it gives a little lasting lift and a great real-hair dry finished look.
6. Play with a stick wax. TIGI BedHead A Hair Stick for Cool People is good though too heavily scented. Like all wax, it softens with heat and stiffens with cold. You can put a touch at the roots for direction/lift, shape it with the heat of a blow drier, then when it cools, it stays. You can give the ends direction in the same way, or just add chunkiness and straightness to ends. Remember that stick wax isn’t applied to the whole head or the whole length of the hair. It’s used in spots, no area more than about 1” around.
I don’t use it routinely because of the smell but for dealing with a cowlick or controlling a certain spot, it is very good.
7. Hairspray? Hate the stuff. Maybe it works for you though.
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4 Responses to “Fighting Flat Hair”
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Got a new (well, new last fall) product that lifts. Osis makes it. Called ‘Dust it’.
Comes in what looks like a salt shaker. Invisible stuff…. they call it a liquefying powder (whatever that means) but actually lifts the hair up.
Kati has fallen in love with it and her hair is straight and fine and lots of it. She sprinkles it in the roots and then simply messes it up a bit and it stays up there…. shiny ends even if the roots are a bit of a matte finish and not producty.
Check it out.
Love the suggestions and although I have far too much hair I still want a condtioner that does not weigh my hair down.
Thanks as usual
Hi! You can find all those great hair and makeup products you have been talking about on your site at the Ulta stores or on their website. Ulta carries just about every name brand shapoos, makeup, and perfumes. They even have a salon in their stores! Way bigger than Sephora and they always have deals and lots of specials. Dont know if you can purchase the salon shampoos at a supply store without a license, but at Ulta till tomorrow, you can purchase liter sizes at the supply store prices! Thought I would share this with you! Love your site!
Hi, Gina,
Dust It sounds like Aveda’s Pure Abudance, which is a good product but at $30 for a little bottle? Nope.
But I remember being impressed with what a great product this would be for men who want to thicken the look of their hair and give the top some lift and direction, the way it’s worn today…like who? Matthew Perry when he was Chandler on Friends? I tried some in Patrick’s hair and it worked perfectly.
Interesting Kati uses it, because that’ s a total different application, more like what I’m looking for when I use Root Boost. I shall remember this one. Thanks : )
Mila,
Great information! As a Canadian, I have to REALLY want something to go through the shopping process on these sites so I don’t know them well. The place Ulta occupies in my head tells me it’s smaller than Sephora, but obviously I have to look again. WAY bigger than Sephora?? and these amazing sales? I’m going to take a look for sure.
Hello,
My name is Jillian and i ahve flat hair. I thought, just like you, that volumizing was something done by product, or perm…not any more! Ladys introducing j-clips! go to http://www.youtube.com and search for them! they are amazing volume on the faltest, thinest hair and it can last for days! chemical free! **NOT A BUMP IT insert clip at the root, dry hair, remove clip and smooth over the top they create texture at the root to give lift! they make me look like i have tons of hair, when really my thin flat hair has akways really been embarissing
jill
marquishair@gmail.com