5 Tricks to Make Fine Hair Look More Voluminous

I have baby hair. Meaning: it’s ridiculously fine. I also feel that’s something many blonde heads struggle with. Ironically enough, we’re supposedly the ones with the greatest number of hair. But who cares about having billions of hair if your doughnut bun looks more like a Timbit?

Good news though, there’s hope! After years of writing/researching/being obsessed with beauty, I’ve developed quite an arsenal of tools and tricks to make your mane look fluffy beyond fluffy. Here are my 5 essentials.

1. The power is in the prep

Girls, you have to be realistic. You will never get full body hair unless you start acting more proactively. That’s when hair products come in.

My two favorites – I never use them at the same time, it would weigh down my strands and make them look greasy by night time – are Living Proof Full Thickening Mousse and Kérastase Voluptuous Blow-Dry Gel. The former lifts your roots whereas the ladder is like a hair thickness booster. No exaggeration, every time I use them, someone gives me a compliment. And don’t even get me started about the smell!

2. Blow dry strategically

With thin hair, blow drying is crucial. First, it lifts your roots, you just have to make sure you direct the wind oppositely to them. Second, most of volumizing products require heat to work at their full potential. So you’re basically wasting your time, money and energy if you don’t use the two together. Third… no third. Because you’re already convinced ;)

3. The fabulous world of dry shampoos

If you somehow never jumped on the dry shampoo bandwagon… What are you waiting for?? The hype was justified then, still is and forever will be. Just like a salt shaker, sprinkle it mainly at your roots and then put a small amount in your hands and distribute it evenly on your mane. The product – I use Dust It by Osis + or Prêt-à-Powder by Bumble & Bumble – will give you a coarse and matte texture similar to the one you get after spending a day at the beach or a night making lo… Just try it, you’ll know what I mean. Also, forget about its name – dry shampoo – you can use it on squeaky clean, dirty or extra dirty hair (like you’d never get out of the house like that).

4. Hairspray: hands first then your hair

Mmm… what?

Direct the spray right into the palm of your hand in order to create a small puddle of liquid. Rub it between your hands and then pass them freely through your hair, crunching and shaking. Carry a travel-size version in your purse for midday touch-ups.

5. Taming the teasing

As much as I was familiar with teasing your hair before, it’s really my Brigitte Bardot’s Halloween costume that convinced me that the technique wasn’t exclusive to proms and Paula Deen anymore. Lightly tease the roots of any helpless hair section, comb it partially – so the visible knots disappear – and finish it off with some hairspray. No more Bump It, okay?

What are your hair thickening tricks? Let me know in the comments :)

Intro photo: Vogue Netherlands