Styling thinning hair can feel like a challenge and a real chore, especially when it refuses to cooperate in the ways you want. One of the biggest mistakes you could be making is relying on old habits and styling tactics (and tools!) to make your hair look its best, even when your hair has changed over the years. Meeting your hair where it’s at right now could be the best change you make — along with looking into haircuts that make hair look thicker and finding new ways to boost hair volume — all things that make a tremendous difference. Madison Dufour, a licensed and practicing barber and cosmetologist as well as owner and author of The Exquisite Find Hair Blog, offers four unbelievable ways for women over 50 to style thinning hair to boost volume. These tips won’t cost a fortune and are simple to do yourself — even if you don’t possess the skills of a pro stylist.
Push Powder
When applied correctly along the roots of your hair, some powders can really boost the amount of volume you appear to have by making individual strands look denser and healthier. Push styling powder is one of those magical products.
“Push powder is a styling product with the consistency similar to baby powder but instead of making the hair white, it gives the hair texture so as to add volume,” Dufour says. “It clings the the outside of the hair strands, making each individual thin strand look thicker, thus making the entire head look thicker.”
One to try: Surface Hair Push Styling Powder, which is made with a vegan formula that’s free of sulfates and gluten.
Sea Salt Spray
You know how the ocean gifts you with wavy, texturized mermaid hair (but also can dry you out and mess with your salon color)? Using sea salt spray gives you the benefits of the sea without the downsides — just be sure not to use it to excess.
“Sea salt spray gives the hair added texture and wave, which makes the eye fall on the direction of the wave of the hair instead of flat, falling straight hair,” Dufour raves.
Try dae Hibiscus Wave Spray, a volume and curl-enhancing spray that’s considered “clean” and free of nasty chemicals, but is rich in hydrating moringa leaf extract, prickly pear seed oil, and hibiscus flower extract.
Change Your Hair Part
As you’ve probably noticed by now, the theme of the day is “don’t be afford of change” when it comes to your hair. If you’ve been parting your hair the same way for years or decades, change it up to gain instant volume.
“For dry hair you can change your side part to the other side, which gives the hair extra boost of volume because it dried going the opposite direction,” Dufour recommends. “However if your hair has strong growth patterns going one direction, which might be why you usually part it the way that you do, even creating a diagonal part so that only a section of the hair goes the other way will create more volume than a blowout! And create the illusion that the hair is denser, thicker, then before.”
Volumizing Shampoo
It’s time to give your shampoo a quick check — what hair type is it addressing? If your immediate answer is, “Wait, don’t all shampoos do the exact same thing?” you could be missing out on opportunities to boost your hair’s volume right in your shower with a volumizing shampoo.
“There are many different brands that offer volumizing shampoos, such as Kenra, Biolage, Big Sexy Hair, Bumble and Bumble and many others,” Dufour says. “Volumizing shampoos dry the hair just enough to make the hairs stand out, reaching for moisture. You can add a smoothing oil to hydrate the hair without weighing the volume down.”
Don’t give up on your hair just because styling it has been a little frustrating. With an open mind and the willingness to change your routine just a bit, you may find yourself with the kind of hair you dreamed about!
