Feeling like your hair is thinner and flatter than it once was? You're not alone. As we age, our hair changes. Not only in texture, color, and porosity, but also in density. Generally, we just don't have as much hair on our adult heads as we did when we were younger. The good news is, this is totally normal. And with a little know-how, it's easy to pump up the volume. 

Things that can cause thin/flat hair:

• Heat styling

• Color damage

• Delicate hair

• Length (not getting trims often enough)

• Putting hair in a bun/twist/ponytail daily (hello breakage!)

• Overusing product

• Medical Issues (thyroid problem, hormone imbalance, alopecia, stress)

Important note: Sometimes there are legitimate health reasons for hair loss and hair thinning, so if you've noticed a big change or feel concerned, we recommend consulting your doctor. But don't worry – more often than not, hair thinning is due to regular wear and tear that can be remedied in a variety of ways.

HOW TO PREVENT IT

• Minimize Your Heat Tool Usage
  Most people who have issues with breakage or have trouble growing their hair are using heat tools more than once a week. Regularly combining friction and intense heat causes the hair to break down and become brittle. ALWAYS make sure to use heat protection, but honestly, the less heat at all the better.

• Fortify Your Strands
  Coloring your hair may look amazing, but unfortunately it makes it weaker. And the greater your transition from dark to light, the more stress you've put on your hair. As the hair gets longer, breakage and brittle ends become more noticeable, causing the hair to look thinner overall. Get on your mask game to help it feel strong again. Also, make sure to lay off of over-shampooing.  

• Trim Ya Ends
  Everyone needs regular trims. For curls and delicate hair textures, every 3 months is a must to keep the hair growing full and healthy. Yes, even if you are growing your hair out. When you don’t trim off your split ends, they continue to split up the hair shaft leaving your ends looking raggedy and sad. No one wants crispy bits on the bottom, so plan for 4 trims a year. That's just one for each season.

• Change Up Your Style
  If you’ve been known to wear your hair in the same high ponytail or twisted bun daily, then you’ll likely experience breakage and thinned ends where the twist or ponytail starts. We get wanting your hair out of your face, so try loose braids, a low ponytail, or a bun with a giant scrunchy.

• Less Is Sometimes More
  If you have a tendency to be heavy-handed with product, cut your use in half. Overusing product can lead to stringy ends and flat roots. Always apply creams from the ponytail area down to the ends and pull the remaining product through the roots area.

• Silk It Up
  Grab yourself a silk pillowcase and never look back! Silk creates less friction on the hair and skin while you sleep. So not only will you have less bedhead and breakage in your hair, you’ll also wake up with less pillow lines and future wrinkles, which is an added bonus.

HOW TO ENHANCE WHAT YOU’VE GOT

If You Have Waves or Curls

It’s time to embrace them! Curls automatically make the hair look thicker and fuller by creating space between the hair strands.

• Use a mousse (always after a lightweight leave-in conditioner) instead of a styling cream or gel – mousse creates hold and plumps the strands so that they bounce up. Creams and gels can elongate the curls which can make the hair look flat or thin.

• Try diffusing your curls! If your curls tend to be lazy, it could be from gravity pulling on them as you air dry. Diffusing the hair creates instant volume and encourages the curl pattern. Always start at the root and make sure not to move the diffuser around too much since that will just create frizz. When the root is fully or mostly dry, move on to the mids and ends and lightly scrunch as you dry.

• Try pineappling your hair at night! This is basically just putting your hair in a loose bun with a large scrunchy on the top of your head while you sleep. It helps keep your curls intact at night and creates volume for when you take it down in the morning.

• In the morning, mist your hair with a light layer of H20 and re-scrunch if the ends look scraggly or wispy.

If Your Hair is Mostly Straight

Straight hair can be full and bouncy too! It’s all about the right products and techniques.

• Try a mousse at the root, or for less overall hold, use a root spray.

• Blow drying is your best friend! Blow dry upside down and focus on the root to create lift and volume. Of course, it’s important to remember that excessive blow drying and heat styling can lead to breakage and make the hair feel thinner, so always use a heat protectant. 

• Use a round brush to give yourself more body by creating bend and movement in the hair.

• Try a texturizing spray like this, this, or this on dry hair to create more body and volume. These can be used on any hair type!

Still have questions? Email us at beautydummyblog@gmail.com. And feel free to send us pictures!

Cover photo by Victoria Palacios on Unsplash

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