If you’re lucky enough to have thin hair like me, you’ll know the misery of making it look, well, less dead. But, do not despair because I have come up with an easy guide to ensuring you have gorgeous thick hair after every wash. So here we go:

Shampoo and Conditioner

Firstly, you need a thickening shampoo and conditioner. There are loads of these on the market but you need to make sure you buy a decent one to get its full effect. I recommend either Pantene Pro V thickening shampoo and conditioner or John Frieda volume shampoo and conditioner. Both of these will prime your hair for the other volume products you’ll be applying later on. Few pointers about shampoo and conditioner though; firstly, don’t condition every day. I recommend every other day. I’m not sure why, but conditioning thin hair every day will make your hair more limp, so try to avoid conditioning every day if possible. Also, be sure to only use the amount of shampoo you actually need. Using too much shampoo and condition will only act against you in your quest for thicker hair.

Moose

Okay, so you’ve just washed your hair with your new shampoo and conditioner. Next up is to towel dry it – so just give it a rub so it isn’t soaking wet but is still damp. You now want to apply a good quality moose. I highly recommended John Frieda volume moose. At just under £5, it isn’t cheap but it’s fantastic stuff. I tried the Tresemme equivalent (which was about half the price) and found that it did very little in making my hair thicker. I haven’t tried any other brands of moose so if anyone else can recommend some decent volume moose, I’ll add them in here.

With moose, you want to squirt a blog into your hand and then rub it into your hair, making sure you cover all your hair from root to tip. Again, only use what you need.

Thickening Lotion

After applying the moose, you’ll want to apply a thickening lotion of some variety. Now, again I personally use the John Frieda thickening lotion but I am sure there are similar products out there but I can’t speak for their effectiveness. Thickening lotion usually comes as a spray, you spray it over your hair with focus on the roots of your hair, ensuring you have a full coverage. You may want to comb it through along with the moose you applied before.

Other ideas

For even more volume, try spraying a strong hair spray at the roots of your hair. Tresemme freeze spray works a treat for doing this. Just spray it at the roots and then blow dry in the same fashion shown below. Another extra is thermo-active gel. You rub this into your hair and it becomes active when you are blow drying so you can style your hair as you dry more easily. This is useful if you have a certain area of your hair that is very badly behaved. Be careful not to use loads of this though, it can make your hair greasy very easily.

Blow Drying

Okay, so once you’ve got all that in, you’ll need to blow dry it. Blow drying is the key here. First off, you need a hair dryer with a concentrator nozzle. While one without will still get it done, it just doesn’t do it as well as one with a concentrator nozzle. I recommend the Nicky Clarke Ionic hair driers which dry your hair quickly and also help to reduce frizz and static.

When blow drying, you’re going to want to hang your head upside down. Yes, it feels silly but it’s the easiest way to get the volume into your hair. Some people say that this isn’t the best way to get the volume but I have found it far more effective than using a roller brush to lift the hair while drying.

Finishing touches

Once you’ve dried your hair, you should notice a major improvement in your hair’s volume. If you want more volume, I recommend you apply some hair spray. I personally opt for Tresemme hair spray which costs around £3 for a very large can that does last quite a while.

In terms of styling thin hair, if you’re like me, you’ll find your hair gets greasy very easily when using certain products. I used to use quite a bit of wax but found that made my hair extremely greasy. I have found fibre putty to be excellent in styling but at the same time not making your hair too greasy. I use Tresemme fibre putty personally, but most branded ones will be as good. I’d avoid shop-branded ones though, they tend to be very low quality.

If you’re wondering about straightening, you find that for thin hair, straightening can make it seem even finer. I recommend minimal straightening if you can and be sure to use a protector of some sort (make sure it’s a light spray and not a gel because it’ll weigh your hair down. Be sure to use the spray conservatively for the same reason.)

I hope this helps some people, please let me know if it does or if you’ve found other methods of dealing with thin, fine hair.