How to make fine hair look thicker and fuller | Tips and Tricks

To all you guys out there struggling with fine or thin looking hair, I’m with you. My hair is blonde and super fine, because of this it often looks transparent or thinning and is difficult to maintain voluminous styles. 

Some of the best ways to make your hair look thicker is to look after the health of your scalp, protect your hair from damage, style with clean hair, use thickening tonics/powders and use matte finish products.

Throughout my hair styling endeavors, these are some of the tips and tricks I’ve learnt to make my hair naturally seem thicker and fuller. In this post I will explain in more detail how and why these tips can help you too.

Use a thickening tonic 

If you’re struggling battling fine limp hair that is hard to manage and maintain styles? Well… let me introduce you to the world of thickening tonics! 

Typically sold in liquid form, by spraying the product on the roots of damp hair and spreading it with a comb before blow drying, it will coat the strands of hair help to protect them and give them a thicker fuller look.

I personally use Label.M thickening tonic, and over the years it has become and essential part of my hair styling routine. Using about 4-7 sprays (depending on length and desired matte finish), it is great value, lasts quite a while and has an affordable price (usually under $25). 

If you want to learn more or try it yourself, click here to read my detailed review on the Label.M thickening tonic, and here for a link to the product on Amazon: https://amzn.to/37Beaih

FAQ: Can I make more hair grow back?

The short answer is probably not.

There’re a lot of expensive treatment and devices that claim to prevent baldness. But from what I’ve seen, a lot of them use models and public figures that don’t have any problem with balding, so of course those results aren’t going to be negative. 

Hair loss can’t always be stopped. A lot of the time it occurs from male pattern baldness (MPB), which can’t really be prevented. And a word of advice, there is no definitively proved cure for male pattern baldness, but at the end of the day it’s just hair and you can live without it.  Nevertheless, there are times hair loss is induced or MPB is accelerated by stress or poor nutrition. 

In reality, whether or not you can grow make your hair depends on your individual situation. And if you can grow back some of your hair, you should be able to do that by looking after your scalp and promoting healthy hair growth. Not because of those unproven gadgets. If you are worried, and are willing to spend the money, see a specialist who can advise you if there is anything you can do.

Your success may depend on the condition of your hair follicles. It may be possible to promote some hair growth if they’re are in good shape. But if they are damaged or closed up, it’s less likely. And there aren’t any treatments that will guarantee regrowth. So just look after it and your health while you’ve got it, but don’t worry about it when it’s gone. 

Aim for a matte finish

Avoid greasy or shiny products.

Shine and oils make the hair look more transparent and thinner. So if you struggle with thin looking hair, try to avoid products with a shiny finish or excess oils.

Aiming for a matte finish will help the strands of hair to look thicker and fuller by blending together more.

Some great matte products for a matte finish are Templeton Tonics Oasis Clay and Arcadian Clay Pomade. If you want to learn more about these products, my reviews are linked below:

If you still can’t shake the greasiness or transparency of your hair, try a texturizing powder. They can work wonders for adding volume to fine hair and absorb excess moisture for a dry matte finish. Just make sure to gently apply in small amounts to the roots evenly across the head.

Avoiding oily products when styling

While natural oils are great for promoting healthy and strong hair, there is no such thing as a matte finish oil. All oils cause hair to appear additional shinier and greasier. Oils also reduce the hold factor of your styling products.

If you currently use oils or oily products in your hair, try to balance when you use them when you don’t need you hair styled. I like to use oils in my hair on days at home or evenings when I know I’m going to wash my hair the next day.

FAQ: Is there such a thing as too matte?

While it is good to reduce oils and use matte finish products, there is such as thing as too matte. It’s good to have a bit of balance since oils are good for your hair and if you’re hair is too matte and dry like straw which makes styles fall apart and the hair more prone to breakage.

Use a pre-styler

Pre stylingIf your thin or fine hair feels a bit lifeless at times, try applying your styling product to damp hair before blow drying into shape. It can help to boost the volume and structure of your style, while making you hair look more natural. 

If you find the right product, you might even be able to get away with not using a post styler. I find Oasis Clay is particularly good for this. 

Keep your hair clean

Invest in a decent shampoo and conditioner to look after your scalp and promote healthy hair growth.

Shampoos strips your hair and scalp of its natural oils and nutrients, and a conditioner helps to re-nourish your hair to keep it healthy.

It is important to find a good balance that works for you, your lifestyle and hair type. 

WHY?

It is important to wash your hair things from going off in your hair. Most things and products when exposed to water have a chance of going rancid. If you mixed oil with water and let them sit for too long with no preservatives it would become prone to microbial growth, bacteria, mould, fungus, etc. If you use lots of products it’s often good to wash them out at least every few days. Water might often do a lot of the work, using a shampoo that cleans the hair strong enough important. 

An Example:

I have seen cases where people were so over worried about hair health and not washing their hair that they all natural oils with no preservatives and only used light cleanser which never fully washed out the oils. The products ended up going rancid in their hair causing bad irritation that lead to their hair falling out. 

HOW

If you don’t want to use a heavy cleaner all the time, then that’s fine. Some people prefer using two shampoos. A heavy cleanser once a week, and light cleanser other days. But in my opinion if you have a decent quality shampoo suited to your hair and you don’t wash it every day, then that’s also fine… And a bit simpler.

Another thing. Since shampoos clean oils, dirt and some nutrients from your hair and scalp, it’s good practice to always follow with conditioner. A good conditioner helps to replenish nutrients, helping to keep hair healthy and promote growth.

MY RECOMMENDATION TO TRY:

One brand that I love using is Nioxin. They have 6 hair systems made to suit different hair types. People claim they are designed to thicken your hair. While I don’t think using Nioxin system 1 over the past 2 years has made a dramatic impact, it has helped keep my hair feeling healthy and appear fuller. It makes my hair feel clean and it’s not full of nasty ingredients that strip it completely. If you want to check it out, the Nioxin systems and Amazon links are below:

 

FAQ: How often should I wash my hair?

There’s a lot of information out there saying that you shouldn’t wash your hair every day. And while in some ways it can be beneficial, it’s not a rule. If you’re hair is getting dirty or too greasy, then just wash it. It doesn’t matter if you only washed it yesterday, if your hair is dirty and you want to wash it, then do it. 

The amount you need to wash your hair is entirely dependent on you and your lifestyle. You might have an active lifestyle causing your hair to get sweaty or dirty regularly or you might have days where your hair is a bit more sheltered in an office and doesn’t get as dirty. 

Anyway, my point is, it’s ok to wash your hair daily if you need to. If you can get away with going a day or two without washing your hair then that’s good too.

 

 Use dry shampoo

Click to view on Amazon Click to view on Amazon.

If you don’t want to wash your hair as much, try using a bit of dry shampoo to keep your hair looking fresh. They help to absorb the excess oils and mattify the hair for a cleaner look. Another bonus is they boost texture and can aid in the styling process.

Batiste dry shampoo is popular one because it is effective and a good price.

 

 

Those are some of my tips and personal techniques for managing my fine and slightly transparent hair. I hope some of these can help you in your hair style journey. Let me know how it works out for you or if you’ve got any more questions below in the comments. If you like articles like this, check out my article on time saving grooming hacks.