Hair Matters

Fine Hair Care can be a tricky topic to navigate. Are you struggling with your fine hair? Do you wish you had more volume? Is it impossible for you to find a hair style for your fine hair that makes you look amazing and feel great? We understand! And more importantly, we understand your fine hair care needs! Continue reading for tips, tricks, and product recommendations to make your Normal, Fine Hair looks its best.

Understanding Fine Hair
With fine hair care step #1 is keeping it clean. This means you end up shampooing, conditioning, and styling your hair every day and every time you shower-up if you shower more than once a day. It is important to first understand what we mean when we say, fine hair. Fine hair is not necessarily thinning hair. The term "fine" is referring to the actual diameter of a single strand of hair. If you were to count the pieces of grass (number of pieces of hair) on your plain (head) you would most likely discover that you have lots of grass, but all the blades are small, or skinny in diameter. Small diameter means each piece of grass can bend and fall over very easily. To keep the grass standing up you must remove any snow, dust, smoke, or other material that your hair collects, every day.

If you have "double trouble" you have both fine-hair and thinning-hair, or "fine, thin hair". When we refer to hair in this way, we are talking about the diameter of the hair (fine) and the amount of hair as well (thin, thinning, sparse, or low density hair).

Hair Cuts / Hair Styles for Fine Hair
A general rule for fine hair care, the hair style itself works better, and give you and advantage, when it is short. By keeping your fine hair short, with a Fine Hair Hair Cut you accomplish two things. You reduce the weight of the  hair so it can stand up more easily, and you avoid a "wispy" look, which would thoroughly expose your hair for what it is: fine. With a layered hair cut and the proper styling aids, you can fix your short fine hair to look thicker than it actually is. (Check out Hair Products for Fine Thin Hair) This will takes a little practice if you haven't had short or layered hair before. If you get frustrated, ask your hair stylist to show you how to style your hair at home. Open communication between you and your stylist will play a vital role in your daily fine hair care regime. Your hair stylist can help you train your fingers to style you hair more efficiently, or adjust you styling aids, for your specific fine hair care needs. So don't be afraid to ask, go back  or review everything with your hair stylist.

Tired of the Illusion?
There are certain ways that you can cut and style your fine hair so that it doesn't look fine, to make your fine hair look fuller, why not do something to actually thicken your hair? Hair product manufacturers understand your hair's needs and have created hair products that will actually work to thicken, or plump up your hair shaft.

One key ingredients in hair thickening products are water & protein. In many of today's hair products, wheat proteins (and more recently Quinoa proteins for those allergic to wheat) are used to help fatten up and support the hair strands. One way these proteins can do this is by penetrating into the hair strand. Most women noted that when they used these products they worked better when heat is applied to help open the cuticle layer of the hair and let the protein in. The heat, from an overhead drier or heat processing cap, actually helps to expands or opens the hair shaft to allow the protein molecules in the hair product to enter the hair shaft. Then, when the hair cools, the cuticle layer closes to it's original position, sealing in the the body building proteins. Lanza Ultimate Treatment offer deep conditioning fine hair care treatments that markedly improve your fine hair care by boosting the volume, of your hair.

Hair product companies have devoted entire product lines to the thickening of fine or thin hair. Finding the right product line for you depends on your hair and scalp needs. Determine what you want and need for your hair (example: "I want thicker, fuller hair. My hair is fine and color-treated, but not damaged"). Below we've recommended different solutions for different fine hair types. If you still have questions, feel free to email us.

Top Tips for Fine Hair
1. Give your hair Texture!
Adding layers to your fine hair gives your hair cut texture, or movement. Combine this with J Beverly Hills Beach Spray to accentuate the texture and make the hair look thicker gives your to style it with more volume. You can also highlight your layers to enhance their appearance. Ask your stylist what kind of layers would be right for your hair type and length.
2. When it comes to products, Less is More!
Using hair sprays and smoothing creams is perfectly alright with fine hair, just don't over-do it. If you use too much product it can weigh down your hair causing it to appear dull, lank and overdone. Start with a very small amount of product and then add more as needed. It might take some practice and time to figure out the perfect amount of product for your hair.
3. Add Volume
Duh! Of course you want to add volume to your fine hair! One quick trick for adding volume is to blow-dry your hair while your head is turned upside down. If you do this, make sure you don't pull down the volume this created when you flat iron your hair. See our Flat Iron Tips for Fine Hair (just below). Another way to blow-dry volume into your hair is to lift the hair from the root, with a brush or your fingers, and blow-dry the root while you're lifting the hair. In addition to Beach Spray (which actuates texture you see at the ends f your hair) try adding, or starting with, root lift by using  OSIS Dust It or Lanza Powder Up Textureizer. They both are amazing especially when you hair just went flat or you need volume the "next day" and don't have time to start with a fresh shampoo. Easy to take in your purse for quick volume too.
4. Buy Volume Enhancing Products!
Remember the wheat proteins we talked about earlier? Look for products that contain wheat proteins, or other proteins, to fatten up your slim strands. Companies have complete product lines devoted to the thickening of your hair. It's important to remember that it will take some time for these products to work their magic, be patient. When applying your conditioner, don't use too much and try to focus on applying it to the tips and middle of the hair shaft rather than at the root. Try Roffler Protein Normalizing Lotion.
5. remember - Light hair color Lifts-Out (giving the illusion of volume) - Dark hair color Pulls In
Light hair color highlights your hair and makes it look like you have more hair. This illusion is more pronounced with the highlight (light hair next to  is next to darker hair). So if you hair is already light - add darker "Low-Lights" to you hair. If dark a splash of light on the ends will add the illusion of volume and thickness to even the finest hair.

Flat Iron Tips for Fine Hair

Always use a thermal protective spray before using any hot tool.  It will aid in keeping your color, and will protect the hair shaft from damage.

Divide hair into thin sections (about 1/4 inch).  Comb them smoothly and hold them 90 degrees away from your head. Begin at the scalp and quickly and gently close your flat iron, moving down the hair shafts to one inch from the ends.  Repeat twice.  This prevents lines and creases near the scalp. Then go back to one inch from the scalp and iron the mid-shafts and ends.

Remember, volume comes from the root of the hair at the scalp. To add volume while using a flat iron, arch the flat iron in an upward C shape, starting at the scalp. The C shape should move up, then around and down. To flip the ends of the hair up/out, simply iron the ends of the hair, turning the iron in a reverse C shape. Try to avoid flat ironing your hair in a straight downward motion, as this will cause the hair to appear limp.

Apply hair spray to all layers of hair, not just the top of the hair. To do this, hold hair up by section and spray underneath. Try to use a fine mist aerosol with a medium hold, as this is the best type of hair spray for fine hair types.

Be sure to use volumizing shampoos and conditioners that won't weigh down the hair; they should include wheat proteins to strengthen and fatten the hair. Both Hair Volume Booster Treatment by Kevin Murphy and Lanza Ultimate Treatment offer deep conditioning treatments to fortify fine hair by boosting the volume.