How to Naturally Thicken Fine Hair

It’s a simple fact that you cannot permanently change the size of your hair follicles.

They’re inherited, and if you were born with fine hair, you’ll always have fine hair. Stress, hormones, and a poor diet can all also impact the appearance of volume on your hair to start with.

As we age and the rate at which our hair replenishes itself decreases, even those who once enjoyed thick bouncy locks can find it becoming lacklustre.  

And having finer hair isn’t always a bad thing.  It dries quickly, retains its shine better than other hair types and is usually more manageable. 

Unfortunately, it also rarely holds a curl, can look thin and ratty if not cared for and doesn’t have the same ‘bounce’ as other hair types, even with a blow dry.  Without a great cut, it also doesn’t offer the same ‘movement’.

However, there are ways you can thicken fine hair by increasing the quality of your hair, so it looks fuller and more volumized. And this is possible without chemical enhancements.

Lifestyle Changes that Help to Create the Effect of Full, Healthy Hair

Get Hormone Aware:

We need oestrogen to grow full, thicker hair.  This poses problems for new mums, menopausal women, and those with thyroid issues. 

The hair itself doesn’t get thinner, but new growth slows, and hair fall increases, so overall volume drops.  

Understanding your hormone health, and consulting a nutritionist about supplements and bio-identical plant hormones, can help manage this issue well.

Alongside this, it’s a good idea to try a treatment like Organic Bhringaraj Powder, which works to reduce hair loss and early greying.

 Manage Your Stress Levels:

Almost all of us experience a degree of stress in our lives, and this can impact our hair.

The overproduction of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline put the body’s natural processes under too heavy a load.  Nutritional resources are diverted to help manage the biological crisis and your hair pays the price.

Stress can put your hair growth into ‘sleep’ mode, delaying the production of new follicles and leaving it looking thin and lifeless.

Mindful breathing, light exercise and aromatherapy can all help rapidly reduce stress levels to help keep your body focussed on working effectively as opposed to reactively.

Manage Your Diet:

One of the worst things you can do to your hair is crash dieting.  Super low calorie, low fat diets not only make you feel miserable, they impact your hair.

On the flip side, so do diets with loads of processed foods and little minerals.

Studies show that a diet rich in dietary fiber, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, folate, and vitamin B6 is ideal for overall health, and especially hair growth.  You can find this in avocados and food like Hummus.

A diet rich in fatty acids aids also aids hair and scalp health.  Look for salmon, whole eggs and if you’re vegan, tofu and soy.

You can feed your hair additional ingredients with products that nurture.  Ingredients like Organic coconut oil, Aloe Vera and conditioners with amino acids (the building blocks of healthy hair) are all useful.

Techniques and Products to Naturally Thicken Fine Hair

Alongside the internal choices we make, you need to pay attention the way you treat your hair.

1.      Always Choose Sulphate, Silicone and Paraben Free Hair Products

Sulphates are the harsh detergents used to strip the hair of grease and environmental aggressors in mainstream products.  They help shampoo foam, which isn’t necessary but strip the scalp of critical oils that keep your hair healthy.

 In turn, the scalp starts to over produce oil to compensate, and your already thin hair goes lank and greasy.  ALWAYS choose a sulphate free shampoo.

Silicones are added to conditioners to make the hair ‘slippy’ and shiney.  They’re essentially a type of plastic and they’re not water soluble so they build up and weigh fine hair down, causing loss of movement and volume.  Switch to silicone free conditioners, or go no poo.

Parabens are extremely powerful preservatives, designed to inhibit microbes and increase the shelf-life of your products.  Many studies have linked them to hormone disruption and issues with oestrogen, which as we’ve seen impacts the hair.  Choose paraben free hair care.

2.       Consider Volumising Products

Products like mousses, gel sprays and styling fixers, thicken fine hair more than hair oils do. 

They help boost the hair and create ‘grip’ which allows a style to hold. To use, make sure the hair is at least ¾ of the way to dry, then apply to the routes only in a scrunching motion.

If you’re blow-drying, lift the hair away from the direction of growth and let cool before combing, not brushing out.  

3.     Exfoliate your scalp

When you give your scalp a scrub you do two things:

1.       You boost blood flow to the area, increasing nutrients and improving the likelihood of hair growth.

2.       You remove dead skin cells and residue, clearing blocked follicles and allowing the scalp to breathe and creating balance.

You can use a gentle exfoliating scrub, a scalp massager or organic shikakai powder which naturally cleanses the scalp.

4. Step away from the hot tools

Daily use of straighteners, hair dryers and styling tools snaps even the strongest of hair types, so leaving your hair to dry naturally at least three times a week is important if you want to protect volume

5. Ditch the bleach and traditional hair dye

Traditional chemical dyes contain ingredients like PPD, Peroxide and Ammonia.  They work by affecting the molecules at the centre of the hair and over time weaken the structure.

The result over time is a stressed scalp, and broken, snapped ends.  The hair looks thin and lifeless and the scalp becomes dry and damaged.

Instead consider a switch to organic henna, which is not only free from synthetic chemicals, it’s also rich in ingredients that support the hair’s keratin, leaving it nourished and more volumized.  It flattens the structure of the hair so it holds more shine too.

6. Enjoy an Indian Head Massage

Indian head massages can help thicken fine hair by stimulating the blood flow, reducing stress, increasing nourishment to the hair and offer top-to-toe benefits. 

To learn more about a DIY head massage our partners It’s Pure has a great guide here.

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