7 Easy Hacks for Fine, Limp Hair

Listen up, because today we are talking about fine hair hacks, and I have feelings on the subject. I was born with a cloud of fine, soft hair, and, growing up in the South, where you can make sun tea in May and humidity is so high I'm surprised the turtles haven't learned to swim in it, I learned one truth: living with fine hair is challenging. You know how it is. In low humidity, it's full of static; in high humidity, it lays flatter than a pancake, or if it's curly, it frizzes, and no amount of hairspray will fix the problem. Looking back, my hair situation wasn't as dire as I thought — although the individual strands were very fine, I had a lot of it. While I had difficulty coaxing my hair to hold a curl, at least it made a decent ponytail.

That changed when I developed alopecia areata in my teens, which resulted in about half of my hair falling out, taking my decent ponytail with it. Although I've since moved on to wearing wigs and can order any hair I want (aka, not fine hair!), I now work as a stylist and see women struggling to style their fine hair all the time.

Fine, thin hair presents several unique challenges. First, it's fragile, and is more likely to break from rough handling, excessive heat styling, or inappropriately formulated color and texture services. Next, if the fine hair in question is also thin, or there is very little on the head, the goal is to make the hair thicker and fuller than it is. Finally, because the hair strands themselves are so thin, its own weight tends to cause fine hair to fall flat. But fear not! There are solutions to these problems. Without further adieu, here are seven hacks for fine, thin hair that will seriously improve your game.

1. Play With Your Part

If you've always parted your hair on the same side, switch it up — if it's always combed the same way, hair will start to fall flat. Changing your part could give you a quick boost of volume on top.

2. Cut It Short

If you're afraid to cut your hair off, I promise that it's not as scary as you think. Remember what I said about fine hair collapsing under its own weight? Cutting it shorter will remove that weight and allow the hair to move more freely.

3. If You Must Wear It Long....

Stick with blunt ends, as they'll make the hair appear thicker. Ask for surface layers that won't take too much hair away from your ends.

4. Be Selective With Your Products

Redken Powder Grip 03, $12, Amazon

If you don't color your hair, seek out a volumizing shampoo (if you do color your hair, keep in mind that these shampoos will strip your color). Stick to mousses instead of gels, which will just weigh your hair down. Experiment with root boosters — my favorite of the moment is Redken's Powder Grip 03, which is pictured above. On that note...

5. Fall In Love With Dry Shampoo

Caring for fine, damaged hair can be a balancing act: if you shampoo it too often, it feels dry; if you don't shampoo often enough, it becomes greasy and glued to your scalp. Enter: dry shampoo. It soaks up the oils that your scalp produces while giving your ends a break.

6. Don't Condition Your Hair As Often

I know, it goes against all we've been taught about personal hygiene. If your hair is in good shape, skip the conditioner completely, and just use a spray-on detangler to comb out the knots. If your ends need the extra care, stick to detangling conditioner, and only apply it to your ends.

7. Take Your Color Lighter

If you absolutely cannot get your hair to behave, consider going a little lighter than your natural color. Although bleaching can do major damage to your hair if done incorrectly, gentler processes, such as Kate Hudson's highlights and base bump, performed by a professional will give fine hair enough texture to hold a style—without frying it. Again, I recommend visiting a professional you trust for any chemical service.

Want more hair tips? Check out the video below, and be sure to subscribe to Bustle’s YouTube page for more hacks and tricks!

Images: Giphy (4)