If you have fine hair or hair that has been thinning more and more throughout the years, you’re nowhere near alone. It’s VERY common to experience shedding at different times in life, whether that means post-pregnancy or during menopause, or after you’ve taken certain medications or experienced intense bouts of stress. The trick is to stay calm and carry on — but that doesn’t mean having to give up your beauty goal of looking and feeling your best.
A great haircut and hairstyle can help tremendously. Unfortunately, sporting certain hairstyles can make your hair look thinner and more fine, and it’s wise to avoid them if your goal is to make the most of your hair. Here are seven hairstyles that draw attention to fine, thinning hair — and what to wear instead.
Mistake: Too Many Choppy Layers
So you’ve decided to take the plunge and add layering to your hair to create texture and movement — great move. However, that doesn’t mean your stylist should cut into your hair like they’ve never seen a scissor before. Too many layers creates a choppy look that can make the ends of hair look thinner than they are.
Solution: Gradual Layering With Face-Framing Pieces
Layering should be thoughtful. As your stylist to add gradual layers to your hair that also frame the face by your jawline and right above it for a little lift.
Mistake: Overly Long, Flat Hair
There comes a point for many of us where we survey our hair and feel it may be too long and flat for our face and features. This is the point where we contemplate how short is too short for us — and this can be emotional. But you don’t have to cut all of your hair off, unless you want to.
Solution: A Medium Cut
Going just a little shorter or opting for a medium cut and adding minimal layering can give your hair a brand new look and style. You can also begin using products like root-lifting sprays to help keep your hair from looking flat.
Mistake: Slicked-Back Hair
Slicked-back hair had a moment not long ago, but seems to be making its way out of celeb culture, and this is probably for the better. If you have fine or thinning hair, going out with wet or wet-looking hair can draw attention to a sparse scalp.
Solution: A Blow-Out
Remember super glam ‘90s blowouts? They make thin and fine hair look thicker and healthy. If you don’t have the DIY hairdryer skills needed to achieve this look, consider getting your hair professionally blown out once every few weeks to give yourself the royal treatment.
Mistake: Blunt Bob
There’s bound to be some pushback about this tip because the blunt bob is a classic look, but hear us out. A one-layered bob with no shorter pieces can make your hair look fine and flat. That doesn’t mean that the solution is to start chopping layers everywhere you can, though.
Solution: Blunt Ends and Layered Top
A better solution is to keep your ends blunt, which gives hair a heftier look, but add long layers to the top of your hair to create the movement you need.
Mistake: Long, Blunt Bangs
Long, thick, blunt bangs can look great. But you need have enough hair density to pull them off or you will be snatching hair that you need to create a thicker bang.
Solution: Work With What You Have
Instead of having one specific bang style in mind when you visit your stylist, ask how your hair type can be styled with bangs that work best for it. That may mean choppier bangs or wispier bangs that you had in mind.
Mistake: Tight Hairstyles
Tight hairstyles — buns, ponytails, braids — pull on your scalp and can weaken your strands, causing more shedding.
Solution: Loosen Up
You can still keep the updos you love, but consider loosening them at the roots and using gentler hair ties that don’t pull and twist and get tangled in your hair.
Mistake: A Center Part
Hair tends to shed toward the front crown first. When you part your hair down the center, this can draw more attention to sparse areas of the scalp.
Solution: A Deep Side Part
Try experimenting with different hair parts — a deep side part, for example, or a slightly crooked part in the middle. This simple swap may be all you need to cover your scalp a bit and make your hair look thicker.
