I’ve always had very fine, very damage prone, and fairly dry hair. When I tell people that my hair is baby fine, they usually don’t believe me because I do so much to create the illusion that I have lustrous, flowing locks. My natural hair isn’t “thinning” meaning, I’m not losing hair, its just fine in texture. Basically when pulled into a pony tail, I can wrap the hair tie around it about 4 times! The ends of my hair are usually the most difficult area since thats where they are the thinnest and can get pretty wispy looking. This being said, I’ve learned how to deal with my hair and how to make it look the best it possibly can. It seems there is so little information or advice online for fine hair so I want to share my best tips and tricks with all you fellow fine hair peeps. Many of these tips can also be used if you don’t have fine hair, they’ll make your hair amazing no matter your hair type.
Daily Products:
Finding products that moisturized my dry, damage prone hair while also not weighing it down, took a whole lot of trial and error. These are my most loved everyday products for giving fine hair the volume, moisture and protection it needs.
Living Proof PHD 5-in-1: This is such a great leave in conditioner for fine hair. It provides moisture, shine, seals the ends of the hair and does so without weighing it down or making it greasy. After I blow out my hair with this product it literally looks like I have a different head of hair!
Umberto Volume Boosting Foam: This is honestly a great volumizer for the roots! One of my best tips for fine hair is to bump up the volume on your roots as much as you can while blow drying and this does just that without making the hair crunchy or stiff.
Bed Head After Party: This product is the BEST shine product I’ve ever used! It makes your hair super shiny and actually helps seal dry ends, not to mention it smells like candy. Apply it on dry hair, working it into dry ends to seal them.
It’s a 10 Miracle Moisture Mask: When I had blonde hair I got pretty severe damage even though I did everything right to ensure my hair stayed healthy. If you have fine hair, you know that even a little bleach can wreak way more havoc on our hair than on thick hair. I tried so many masks and treatments and this one actually helped provide moisture and nourish my dry, damaged ends. I actually used this every time I washed my hair in place of conditioner which is a great trick if you’re dealing with damage or dryness.
Dove Oxygen Moisture Shampoo & Conditioner: I kid you not when I say these are some of my all time favorite shampoo and conditioners. They give your hair moisture without weighing it down, making your hair feel like silk by the time you wash it off. These are seriously way better than many high end shampoos and conditioner I’ve tried!
Marula Oil Hairspray: I’ve never really been able to use hairspray without getting horrible crunchiness and added frizz to my hair. I’ve tried so many and they all had this problem until I tried the Paul Mitchell Marula Oil hairspray! It holds hair in place and actually adds a little shine without causing ANY crunchiness or frizz. You can find it here
Treatments:
Having dry or damaged fine hair is a double wammy because trying to heal it or at least make it look better can be almost impossible. You need all the moisture and healing you can get but most products that do this are way too heavy for fine hair and will make you look like a grease ball. In my experience trying to heal for damaged hair and even just dealing with dryness I have now, these products really do work and are great for fine hair.
Rare Marula Oil: I’ve tried every oil there is for healing my hair and honestly none of them really did much until I tried this Marula Oil. This oil is pretty sticky and heavy so I definitely couldn’t use it to style my hair, however when I applied it on my hair and left it on overnight, my hair felt better than ever in the morning! This honestly works great for damage and dryness on any hair type (My sister, who has the thickest hair ever, used it on her hair after lightening it and it worked wonders).
Olaplex: I can’t talk about healing treatments without mentioning the magic that is Olaplex. I started getting Olaplex treatments when it first came out and am still a huge advocate of it to this day. Olaplex done in the salon can either be mixed with bleach when lightening to prevent initial damage or done as a treatment in salon to heal damaged hair. I did both of these things when I had light hair and they seriously helped save my utterly damaged blonde locks. You can also buy Olaplex #3 from your salon or now at Sephora! Olaplex #3 is a lower percentage of the actual healing product in Olaplex #1 and #2 (which are used in the salon treatments) used as a sort of leave in conditioner. If you’re trying to heal your hair I highly recommend getting both the in salon treatments and using the at home treatment.
Extensions:
Having fine hair that doesn’t grow past my mid upper arm, and dreaming of having long, thick hair, I decided one day that I wanted to try hair extensions. The first thing I tried, which was the WORST thing I have ever done to my hair, was keratin fusion hair extensions. I only got twenty little pieces or 1 bundle. It added a little length and some volume but it caused horrible matting between where the keratin bond attached the extensions to my natural hair and my actual scalp. You cant brush between this area so it matts up horribly. I had them removed and basically lost a lot of the hair that was attached to the keratin bond. I left the salon with thiner hair than I ever had and it took two years to get in back to normal. I don’t recommend more permanent extensions like this to anyone due to the risk of hair loss and damage but to each their own. I next tried clip in extensions.
It took me a little while to find a brand I really liked but once I did I was in love! I’ve been using Bellami hair for years now and wear my extensions every single day without the risk of damage. I started out wearing them just for volume and getting them cut to my natural length but I now wear them for both length and volume. I use the 20″ Bambina clip ins in the shade Mocchacchino brown. The extensions aren’t too pricey and they last me about 5-6 months wearing and styling them basically everyday. You can find the extensions here.
Tip: Once I get a new pair, I like to use the old set for braids so I can still get some use out of them.
Styling Tips:
Blowdrying: Always blow dry hair on medium heat, not hot. This is very important in preventing damage in fine hair. After applying leave in product and root volumizer, rough dry hair upside down then flip hair up and hold up roots in sections (I do the front and the crown of my head). Dry with blowdryer then move dryer away and hold the hair up for ten more seconds, letting it cool. This adds a ton of volume into the hair. My hair is usually standing half a foot tall after I do this. Now go in with large ceramic round brush to blow out hair.
Heat Styling: I keep my hot tools no higher than 360°F. Any hotter risks damage on any hair type but especially on fine hair like mine. Also try not to apply hairspray or any oils or serums until after you’re done heat styling, otherwise the hot tools can fry your hair much easier with the added oil/hairspray.
Extension Application: Applying extensions the way outlined in most guides never worked for me because they would suggest added them in layers with a section of your own hair between each weft of extensions. By the time you get to the topmost extension weft you only have a small layer of hair covering it, and with fine hair, that top extension is definitely visible.
What I like to do instead in layer two 4 clip wefts of extension one on top of the other pretty far down the head in the back (about 4in from the bottom). For the side pieces I place them a little above the ears on the sides of the head. I put one 3 clip weft on each side at a diagonal angle. This is enough hair to cover the clips while still allowing your natural hair to blend with the extensions.
