Tips For Low Density, Thin Curls, And Fine Hair + Wash Day Routine

Everyone it's gina and welcome back to my channel today, we're talking all about how to care for and style your thin curly hair or your low density curly hair. So i'm going to take you through lots of tips and tricks, styling techniques, and even what to ask for in a haircut if you have low density hair. Also, if you are new to my channel, i make videos all about naturally curly hair and i try and break it down in simple easy to follow steps. This video is part of the curly hair care for beginners playlist, where we go back to the basics, and i really walk you through how to take care of your curls and just try and make it easier, because i know first learning how to take care of Your curls can be very overwhelming and there's so much to know, so i hope to make this easy to follow so first off. How do you know if you actually have low density or thin curls? My hair is somewhat borderline between low density and medium. So all of the hair that i have is already in front there's nothing behind. This is all the hair that i have so it's just naturally a lot thinner than some people that have higher density, thicker hair. So i've just really learned to embrace my natural texture. I really encourage you to not try and focus too much on everyone else that has very thick hair. I really just try and accept the fact that my hair is never going to be super thick and you can still get really pretty natural curls. Even if you have thin curls or low density hair, i definitely think that's what makes curls so beautiful is just how unique everyone's hair is. Everyone has different textures, there's a difference between hair density and hair texture, so density refers to how much hair is actually on your head. So if you have low density hair, you can see more of your scalp. Your hair is just a lot thinner in general, whereas hair texture, whether if you have fine, medium or coarse hair, refers to the actual thickness of individual strands, so my hair is actually medium to coarse, which might surprise some of you. It definitely surprised me. I always thought that i had fine curly hair just because it was thinner and it just looked like it was fine, but i actually had a hair analysis done from my main bio. I will put that link in the description for that video. It'S so fascinating. Just to go through the science of my hair, but they basically look at your hair under a microscope. Send you pictures give you a full report back and come to find out. I actually have 50 medium and 50 coarse, but the density of my hair is low. So i don't have a lot of hair on my head, but the individual strands are medium to high thickness of the actual strand. Also, your hair can change density over time. When i was a teenager, my hair was twice as thick as it is now and just over time with age, i'm now 27 going on 28 and it's already gotten, probably half as thick just with age. It could be genetics and i've just accepted that and, like i said, really tried to just embrace having thinner, hair so another way to actually test your hair's density is to put your hair up in a low ponytail. So all you do is pull it right back. Like this and then actually measure the thickness of your ponytail, so you can use a flexible measuring tape like you would use with clothing and depending on how many inches around. If you have hair that is two inches or below, then you have low density hair. If it's two to three inches, you have medium hair and if it's four plus, then you have high density hair. So now i'm going to take you through an actual styling routine and show you tons of tips and tricks to get fuller, looking more voluminous curls. So my first tip is to make sure that you are clarifying frequently and you don't have any build up on your hair. If you have fine curly, hair or low density curls, it can get weighed down and get build up on it very easily, which can really just stretch out your curls and just make it look even flatter. I recommend clarifying at least once a month. It just depends on the hair products that you use, whether if you have hard water or not, but i usually clarify about every two weeks, but you can do it once a month, it's just good to do regularly. I also recommend not co-washing every single time that you wash your hair if you're not sure what co-washing is. I have another video all about the differences between co-wash, shampoo, low poos and clarifying shampoos. All that, because i know it can be kind of confusing with all the different terms, but basically a co-wash is like using a conditioner to wash your hair. So if you strictly follow the curly girl method, then that kind of teaches you that you're only supposed to co-wash your hair, but i personally think that that can lead to a lot of build up. I think it's important to still mix in regular lathering shampoos. They can totally be sulfate-free, the only shampoos that i use are sulfate-free, but if you're only co-washing your hair might get weighed down because some of those oils and the product residue will just build up on your hair over time. So what i like to do is a combination of both, so i sort of alternate, i guess, between shampoo and co-washing. I always swear by deep conditioning and i think it's very important, especially if you struggle with dry hair. I love deep conditioning. I usually do it once a week. If you start deep conditioning religiously, you will definitely see the benefits in your hair, but if you've ever deep conditioned - and you notice that your curls just look really weighed down afterwards or if they feel too soft and kind of just like wispy, looking or you're. Having a hard time getting curl definition, then you might have too much moisture. So it would be a good idea to try deep conditioning before you shampoo, so apply your deep conditioner first to dirty, hair and then shampoo, and then you can use the regular conditioner afterwards. But that is a great way to not have your hair get weighed down from deep conditioners. I also recommend incorporating some protein deep conditioners in your routine, so i usually alternate between a protein deep conditioner and a moisturizing one. I also have a video all about how to balance protein and moisture, because that's extremely important, no matter what your hair type is, you can also try out damp styling. This is probably my biggest tip in this video if you have low density hair because it makes such a difference, i recently did a video all about damp versus wet styling, where i compared the two side by side and damp. Styling is basically where you wring out a lot of the water. That'S in your hair before you apply your styling products. So after you finish rinsing out your conditioner or your deep conditioner, you put your hair up in like a hair, repair towel or a microfiber towel, and let some of that water get absorbed. And then you go in and style your hair with your products and diffuse. It really cuts down on your drying time, which is a bonus, so it's great in the summertime when you don't want to be diffusing forever, and it also gives your hair a lot of fullness. So that was one of the biggest differences that you all notice in that testing, video that i did, but the inside just stayed a lot fuller. It made such a difference. So ever since i did that video, i have been only damp styling and it's totally changed. My routine, it's cut down on my styling and drying time, and it's just been such a game changer for me, so my next tip is to look for styling products that are more lightweight. Sometimes it can be as obvious as right on the label. It'Ll say lightweight or volume, or something like that, but i highly recommend turning the product around and actually reading the labels and seeing what's in the product if the product is heavy and coconut oil or shea butter, any type of butter or oil. Sometimes that can be too heavy on fine, curly, hair or low density hair, so those would be better suited for more coarse hair types. If you have fine, curly, hair and or low density curls, it might be a better option to look for products such as mousse or foams or gels, or even leave-in conditioners. You can use some creams as long as they're, not super heavy like with coconut oil or shea butter. You might have noticed that i do sometimes use styling, butters and creams, because my hair does have more of that coarse texture to it. So it doesn't get weighed down as easily as somebody with fine hair, so another way that you can still use, creams and butters or just with any styling product that you don't want to get weighed down, is to actually dilute it with some water. So i would first wet your hands, make sure your hands are good and wet and then apply a little bit of the product and kind of rub it together and that's one way to sort of dilute it. So it's not quite as potent it's not quite as thick, and it's not going to weigh down your hair as much so then i just wanted to show you the stylers, which would be a better option if you have fine, curly, hair or just low density hair. That you don't want to get weighed down. This is the innocent sweet spirit, leave-in conditioner. So this is a spray leaving conditioner. So it's a lot more lightweight perfect for fine curly hair. It doesn't weigh your hair down. This has aloe vera leaf juice in it. I don't see anything in here that would be super heavy, it's full of different oils, but i don't find it to be heavy at all on my hair and it's in that spray form. So i know it's already going to be more watered down and water is the first ingredient. So it's a lot thinner, then for the main styling product. I actually use this foam. This is the inner sense. I create lift volumizing foam, but this is a very lightweight foam, so foams give your hair a lot more moisture, sometimes than mousse. Does foams are usually a lighter hole, though than mousse, but i will show you how i still get hold in just a second, but this has water, as the first ingredient also has aloe vera leaf juice in it, which is very hydrating. It has glycerin to help with moisture, it does have hydrolyzed rice protein and some other natural oils that are lower on the list, but i don't see anything too heavy in here, so this is great to use even directly on your roots for more volume. So this would be a good option if you do have fine curly hair, so my next tip is to try styling your hair in the upright position instead of upside down. If you watch a lot of curly hair videos, you'll see a lot of people like applying their products upside down to help give them more volume at the root, and it definitely helps with that. But i've always noticed when i style my hair upside down. The back. Always looks awful, even if i kind of lean to the side and try scrunching it. It always just looks like i have no hair and the roots always just look weird. So try doing your hair upright. I have tons of different tips on getting volume at the roots. That'S a whole nother video that i did. I recommend checking that one out as well as all the other ones that i've mentioned. I know there's a lot, but i've done full videos on these topics where i go into depth on things like how to get volume at your roots, so there's lots of tips in there. So you can still do your hair upright and incorporate those tips to still get volume at your roots. The other reason i recommend upright styling is you can actually place your hair to avoid your scalp showing. So this is something that i always do when i'm finished. Styling, my hair is i just kind of take a look at my hair using a handheld mirror, so i can see the back and i just really work on placing my curls to where it's covering my scalp, especially if you have any areas that are really thin. Like around the crown area, or if you have a cowlick, i really recommend just placing those curls by kind of situating them. You know, because how your hair looks when it's wet is a lot of times how it's going to dry. So if you can see a ton of scalp when it's wet, then you don't want it to dry that way. So i would recommend just like kind of going over with your fingers a little bit and sort of situating the curls, so they sort of hide it and look a lot fuller. So, along with placing your curls when you're styling, you can also sort of avoid creating a super defined part. So that is one thing. I'Ve been doing a lot more of recently is sort of zigzagging, my part, or just trying to have more of a messy part and kind of angling, my hair backwards. If i have a super straight defined part, then you can see more of my scalp, as you can see when i lean over, the part is not super defined, so it looks like my hair is a lot fuller. I get more volume at the root instead of having a super defined part it'll. Just look a lot flatter and you might get more of that triangle shape if you have a straight middle part. Another styling tip that i recommend, if you have low density or fine hair, is avoid applying product directly to your root. So a lot of people only like applying styling products like from their ears down. You can totally try that too, but the more products that you put directly on your scalp, the more weight down that it's going to get and the more product build up. You might get so, especially with things like leave-in, conditioner and curl creams. I would really only focus those on the lower half things like gel and mousse. You could definitely probably put those closer to your roots, especially if you want to have more hold up there, but just be mindful of how much product is actually getting on your scalp when you're applying your products. My next styling tip is to really be careful when you're scrunching your hair, because if you're scrunching your hair up or you're pressing your hair up with a towel to scrunch it a lot of times that product can end up on your scalp too, which could weigh It down so just be careful when you're scrunching, they're kind of leaning, your head to the side and you're, not just pressing all that product directly up onto your scalp and that could weigh down your hair. My next styling tip would be to avoid creating a lot of large curl clumps when you're styling, your hair. If you like to use the denman brush, which i definitely do when i'm styling my hair, because it gives me really great ringlets and curl clumps. But if you're trying to get a fuller look, then you might want to try having a more separated look, the more that your hair is clumped together, the thinner it's going to look because then you end up with just a couple curls on your head versus having A lot more that are more separated, so i know a lot of you really like getting curl clumps. I definitely do, but there are ways to do it to where you can still get good definition, but also have volume, and i've talked about this in so many styling routines. So i do show a lot of tricks in the last video that i did all about how to use the denman brush, where i compare it to a routine, not using the denman brush. I compared those side by side so in that video you'll see tons of tips on how to use the denman brush without getting clumps that are super large and make your hair look a lot thinner and if you opt for a more lightweight product like that, but You don't find that you have enough hold, you can top it off with a hairspray like this one. This is the inner sense. I create finish so this is a hairspray that provides shine and hold. So you can spray this on when your hair is still wet and then diffuse your hair, you can also use it after your hair is dry. I just sprayed a little bit of this to help tame the frizz. So that's one way to kind of customize. The amount of hold that you have is use a lightweight styling product like a foam and then add in your hold with a spray like this. On top, i do recommend, though, really minimizing the number of products that you use. If you don't want your hair to get weighed down, so i wouldn't layer on a ton of products, i wouldn't add in a ton of oils in your routine, just keeping it very simple, even just using one styling product, because i have high porosity hair, which that's A whole nother video - i also did one on that. If your hair is high porosity, you might find that you need more moisture, so you can't get away with just using a gel or mousse, so i always have to start off with a leave-in or cream. First to add moisture, so my hair doesn't dry out and then i usually finish off with a gel or mousse to help seal everything in and give myself some hold. So i almost forgot to mention fluffing and scrunching out. The crunch makes the world of a difference. If you have thin curls, it just adds so much volume instantly. You want to make sure your hair is completely 100 dry before you go and do this because you don't want to cause frizz, but i always shake out my roots fluff. I didn't really scrunch out any crunch here, because i wanted to keep that hold in my hair. I also wanted to add that if you diffuse your hair you're going to have so much more volume than air drying, air drying is obviously healthier for your hair, but there are ways that you can diffuse by hovering the diffuser around your head. I have a video all about how i diffuse and how i also plop. At the same time, i will put that video linked down below, so my next tips are about getting a haircut if you have low density hair. So just getting a haircut in general is the easiest way to make your hair look fuller. So i recently got a haircut where i got several inches cut off and even though it doesn't look like my hair is a lot shorter than it used to be. It looks so much fuller on the ends compared to having kind of stringy ends. So in the video that i posted recently all about the haircut, i showed the differences between my hair before i got the haircut and after and it is such a difference on the ends, even just getting a little bit of a trim can make your ends. Look so much thicker. I was really trying to grow out my hair and i really wanted longer hair, but i came to find that my hair just looked thinner the longer it was so having more of a blunt cut, where your hair is more straight across, really helps your hair. Look. Fuller on the end - and it just gives you a lot more volume on the end, so in general i have just found that having shorter haircuts with low density hair always tends to make it look fuller. So another tip for haircuts with low density hair is avoid. Having layers i've had layers in my hair before i've even had longer layers that really help to give your hair more volume at the top, but they can make your ends. Look so thin because if the top section of your hair is going to be sitting up, a lot shorter, like you're, getting a lot more fullness up here, but look how much thinner my ends. Look when that length is taken away, whereas if i lay it down where everything is all one length, it's so much fuller on the end, and it just looks more even overall. So that is all the tips that i had today for low density hair. I would love to hear your tips if you have learned any throughout your journey of having low density or thin hair, definitely leave them down below for other people to see. I'M also going to summarize all these tips on the blog post. That goes with this video, which is always linked in the description box down below. If you go over there, it kind of serves as a cheat sheet. If you want to save it on pinterest refer back to it, it just kind of summarized what we talked about here in this video and that blog post also includes all the product links of the products that i talked about today. So you can see where to get them there. Thank you all so much for watching. Don'T forget to subscribe to my channel. If you have not yet already, and i hope to see you back next week, bye everyone