How to Get Thicker, Fuller, Sexier Hair

BY LISA WILLIAMS

Skinny is great for lattes and jeans. But when it comes to mane goals, there’s one that every woman has: Voluptuous, healthy-looking hair that moves with you. Blame it on Mum’s meagre-maned genes (plus years of self-imposed styling damage, life’s stresses and the passage of time), the truth is precious few are born with luscious, shampoo-ad hair. A cleverly layered cut is non-negotiable. But if you would like to progress pass your daily (hair-culling) routine of paddle brushes, blow-drying and half a can of texturizing spray, and achieve real amplified strands with sexy volume and bounce – sit up and pay attention now. Here, pros weigh in on the three hair commandments to build bombshell body, and make yours truly thicker and fabulously fuller.

JOIN THE BATHROOM HAIR GYM

For thinning, lifeless locks that fall flat, getting a good volumizing hair care formula that thickens, strengthens and lifts fine, weakened, limp strands will give you a quick head start. “It sets the structure for volume so you don’t have to over-style to achieve fullness,” says Dr Low Chai Ling from SW1 Clinic.

Avoid piling on heavy products or Pinterest-approved DIY remedies like coconut oil, since silicones, waxes and rich oils that serve to coat the surface of the hair shaft can build up over time and weigh fine, thin hair down. “The same ingredients that make your skin amazing can often work wonders with your hair, too.” Her top 3 picks: Hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and salicylic acid.

Set down the dumbbells, ladies. These volume-boosting stars will give you serious body-building without the weights:

1. Wake up to weightless volume with Redken Cerafill Defy Shampoo. This gift for fine, thinning, oily hair has zinc PCA and salicylic acid that break down follicle-clogging product/sebum buildup and promote healthy cell metabolism, while SP-94 scalp complex nourishes luscious hair growth and ceramides smooth and moisturise individual strands for a super clean scalp, buoyant volume and silky tresses.

2. Nexxus Diametress Volumizing System unlocks hair’s ‘full’ potential with Nexxuspheres. Concentrated elastin protein, panthenol and antioxidants gently clarifies, fends off follicle-damaging daily stresses, and nourishes healthy growth to increase the diameter of each strand by up to 17 percent.

3. Living Proof Full Shampoo boosts a sulphate-free gentle formula enriched with the brand’s exclusive patented molecule Healthy Hair Molecule (OFPMA) and phyto peptides for lustrous body and lifted fluidity.

4. When it comes to hair, the more you play (with hot irons, candy dyes and extensions), the more you pay – especially for fine-haired damsels. Inspired by skin-rejuvenating hyaluronic acid injectables that have taken the beauty world by storm, Kiehl’s Damage Repairing & Rehydrating Leave-in Treatment helps strands make the ‘full’ recovery by repairing, plumping and fortifying fragile fibres with hyaluronic acid and ceramides to reduce undue breakage and leave you with lavish locks that are malleable and manageable.

Read more: Best for Glow

TRY GAME-CHANGING STRAND MULTIPLIERS

There’s fine hair, and there’s thinning hair – a condition that affects a whopping 30 million women in the U.S. “Mistakenly thought to be a strictly male disease, women actually make up about 40 percent of hair loss sufferers,” explains Dr Tan. Studies have shown that the incidence of female pattern hair loss (that’s often characterised by widening of the part and sometimes temporal thinning as well) starts to increase from the late 20s and reaches its peak after 50 years of age. “This devastatingly common condition is marked by progressive transformation of thick terminal hair follicles to thin, short ‘vellus’ follicles over years. The growing phase is also shortened, causing a reduction in both hair density and hair diameter in the affected area.”

1. Transition hair from thin to thick with SW1 Hair Recovery. Constructed from the only FDA-approved topical medication for pattern hair loss, minoxidil, along with key nutrients, this scalp serum is the first major step for those with thinning tresses to preserve their hair follicles and spur new, better growth, so strands are kept safe and looking spiffy.

2. Revage 670 goes above and beyond to stimulate strands, elevate hair and defy thinning destiny. This FDA-cleared hair laser dives in deep into the scalp to energize cellular activity within the follicle and promote the proliferation of thick, fuller and healthier-looking hair for longer, thereby delivering an impressive 40% increase in hair density and thickness, and a 85% success rate in halting progression of hair loss.

3. For a even more dramatic restoration of dying hair follicles, search out the latest strand rescuer Kera-clone. This therapy works by using precursor cells to optimize scalp circulation and stimulate self-regeneration of hair follicles.

Read more: Skin Crazes That Actually Work

FEED YOUR FOLLICLES

Looking good is just as much about taking care of your body on the inside as it is about using products on the outside. And we’re not just talking about your skin: “A nutritious diet is crucial for promoting healthy hair, too,” says Dr Low. The added bonus? “Since both hair and nails are both made of keratin, nutrients that boost one can help the other as well.”

Nosh these key nutrients to sprout fuller, thicker, shinier hair.

Hulk versions of the vital vitamins and essential proteins in complete and convenient blends to fuel your hair bounce back:

1. Viviscal dietary supplements nourishes hair follicles with a proprietary AminoMar® marine complex to reduce hair shedding by 18%, and increase hair thickness by 7%, according to clinical studies.

2. Pantogar is a clinically-proven follicular-fortifying formula with a concentrated blend of vitamins and actives to support healthy root function, halt hair loss, and promote fat hair and strong, shiny nails.