5 Tips To Get Volume For Fine And Low Density Hair

Truth moment: I do get jealous of those with thick, voluminous hair while my fine and wispy hair lays flat against my scalp. 

My natural hair is not the same as your natural hair, quite frankly not all naturalistas have thick, voluminous hair! Some of us have fine, less dense hair that causes us to look for helpful information to keep our hair moisturized, supple, and retaining length.

Fine hair is referred to a skinnier (thinner) thickness or width of the individual hair strand. To determine the thickness of your hair, just take one of your shed hairs and measure it against a regular sewing thread for thickness. If your hair strand is wider than the piece of thread, your hair strand is thick. If your hair strand is thinner than the piece of thread, your hair strand is fine.

Dense hair is referred to how close the individual strands are to each other. To determine the density of your hair, part your hair with your fingers (or with a comb) to separate the sides. Check the individual strands on your scalp and look at your roots per square inch. If you don’t see much scalp, you have thick/high density. If you see lots of scalp, your have low density.

Welcome to the fine and low dense hair club!

Here are 5 tips to get volume for fine, natural hair:

Start On clean, fortified, and stretched hair

For those who have fine, natural hair, be sure to start with clean hair. Using products throughout the week will weigh your hair down with product build-up. Use a clarifying and sulfate-free shampoo to rid your hair from product build-up.

Be sure to add protein treatments to your regimen to give your hair strands more strength can be an extra step that most do not want to take, but your fine hair will love you for it! Protein treatments are used to strengthen the hair shaft and to reduce the damage to the hair, which is very important for fine hair health.

Allow your hair to dry in bantu knots, which will keep your hair detangled and stretched. If you are patient and have lots of time, try the African Threading Method (heatless method) to allow your hair to air dry at optimal length. When your hair is stretched for styling, your style will achieve more volume.

Use light products and apply your products lightly

When styling your hair, use light leave-in moisturizers and creams. If you like to use light oils* for your ends, use oils* like sweet almond oil* or coconut oil* that do not weigh your strands down.

When using your products, be very light with the application process. Since your hair strands are fine, your products will reach all of your hair.

If you add too much product, your hair will fall victim to one, taking a long time to dry, and two, the end result will look weighed down. Additionally, the wave/curl will not last for a few days so there is no need to overwhelm your hair with product for your style to look fierce.

Start With “Big Hair” Practices

If you want to fake big hair, you have to start with big hair practices! If your style for the week is a twist out, try not to make your twists too small. Smaller twists may give you a crimped look, but larger twist will give you the volume.

You can achieve volume with perm rods* sets as well. Instead of using the smallest perm rods* to achieve the cutest, little curls, use the bigger perm rods*/flexi rods* to get more volume with your style.

Once your twists/rods are ready to be taken down, separate your hair as much as you can without ruining the curl pattern. Separating will give you a full and voluminous look.

If you are more of a wash and go naturalista, you have to start big! After your washing regimen, rinse your hair upside down to have more volume in the front. If you do use heat, use a diffuser* at the roots to create volume as well. Continue to scrunch the hair to achieve the look you are wanting. Then allow your hair to air dry without further manipulation.

An afro pick is your best friend

Once you have your style in place, it’s time to bring out the Afro pick. Lifting the roots with your pick will create the illusion of voluminous hair. Be sure to not pick from the roots to the ends, so you won’t loose your curl pattern/specific style. Be sure to fluff your hair with your fingers at your scalp by shaking your hair for more volume.

Frizz is good, but be sure to be gentle with this method to cause too much frizz. Focus your technique more at your roots to achieve fullness and volume.

Shape your hair to look voluminous

If you want to create more volume, have your stylist (or yourself) to create and shape your hair. Adding layers will give your fine hair more a boost to create a voluminous look. Take pictures of certain cuts and shapes you are going for to ensure the stylist gives you what you want.

How do you achieve volume with your fine hair?