If your hair goals include thicker, more voluminous hair, there’s a good chance you’ve already tried everything to get there. You’ve used all of the shampoos and conditioners that merely mention “volume” on the label. You coat your hair with volume-boosting mousse and take every supplement under the sun that promises to grow hair or boost your hair’s natural texture. Maybe you’re disappointed in the lack of results you’ve noticed — or would like to take things one step further and add another step to your hair care routine. Whatever the reason, you’ve probably never considered this hair treatment that so many beauty experts recommend for boosting volume and thickness. It seems so simple, but is actually low-key incredible effective. Best of all: it won’t break the bank and feels all kinds of amazing. Gaby Longsworth, PHD, certified hair practitioner, and owner of Absolutely Curly Everything, explains why this is the best hair treatment for healthy, thicker hair.
Daily Massage
Say it isn’t so — you’ve been spending hundreds of dollars on salon treatments when a simple hair massage performed in the privacy of your bathroom can work wonders?
“One way to thicken hair and create more volume is by using a hair thickening serum with a daily scalp massage,” Longsworth says. “Quality hair thickening serums help with scalp and follicle health and blood flow to the hair follicle, which indirectly translates into healthier and stronger hair. Serums do not magically make hair grow faster but they contain certain ingredients that bolster a healthy scalp environment to encourage hair growth. The hair serum must contain the proper ingredients at the right concentration.”
Which Serum Ingredients Work Best?
Ingredients for blood flow to the follicles include niacin, arginine, polyphenols, jojoba oil, castor oil, Amla, and Brahmi herbs, according to Longsworth. Meanwhile. some of the best ingredients for hair growth are rosemary leaf extract, antioxidants, biotin, vitamins such as vitamin E, minerals, menthol, peppermint oil, spearmint leaf oil. If you want to protect hair follicles, Longsworth recommends coconut oil. And for hair strand strength seek out whole proteins, hydrolyzed proteins, and amino acids.
What About Hair Powders?
To the untrained eye, it may seem like thicker hair powders (like dry shampoo) can thicken hair more so than serums, but this isn’t the reality. “Some hair products (such as powders) can ‘thicken’ the hair by depositing sugar starch, amino acids, peptides, hydrolyzed proteins, keratin, and other molecules such as polymers (and fibers) onto the hair shaft,” Longsworth says. “This is an illusion as the hair strand did not actually grow thicker but appears more voluminous.”
It may take time, patience, and daily commitment, but routinely massaging your scalp with a serum that contains effective ingredients could be your best bet for healthier, thicker, and stronger strands and roots.
