One inevitable part of aging is losing hair or volume over time, but with a healthy diet, ample hydration, the right haircare products and regular upkeep, it is certainly possible to maintain shiny, bouncy tresses. We reached out to professional hair stylists and experts for three hair styling and care tips that can bring instant volume and shine to lifeless, dry, damaged or flat hair. Read on for insight, tips and suggestions from Gina Rivera, celebrity hairstylist and founder of Phenix Salon Suites, and Ghanima Abdullah, hair expert and cosmetologist at The Right Hairstyles.
1. Try a Biotin or Pumpkin Seed Oil Supplement
While eating a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables and protein is vital for shiny hair, you can also take supplements to help your hair look even healthier, Abdullah suggests. Biotin, she says, is a "worthy" supplement choice for those of us with fine or thin hair as it increases "circulation to the scalp to aid hair growth, and stop hair thinning."
Other vitamins that she suggests looking out for (whether in your diet or in supplement form are "folic acid, vitamin A, and vitamin E," which she explains also "give the hair follicles what they need to grow more hair." Iron is an essential part of the hair growth package as well, as it helps "oxygen reach the hair follicles," Abdullah says. She also recommends trying a "pumplin seed oil supplement," a it has been "scientifically proven to grow more hair and aid those who have thinning hair," she notes.
2. Add Curtain Bangs
If you're concerned about hair thinning or hiding hair damage, it is vital to visit a dermatologist or trichologist to discuss treatment options, but in the meantime, you can hide signs of this with a volume-boosting haircut, Abdullah points out. In order to conceal thinning or loss at the crown (a common area where many over 40 experience this), Abdullah recommends asking your stylist for parted, symmetry-promoting curtain bangs, which she explains can provide instant volume to otherwise flat strands.
"Curtain bangs make your hair appear thicker, and are a great way to add volume to thinning hair," she says, adding, "The style works well for women who want to hide thinning hair in the front."Curtain bangs are a type of fringe cut that creates a "soft, natural looking wave at the top of the head," Abdullah adds, noting that they are "often used to frame the face and specifically, to give it a youthful appearance." Curtain bangs, she continues, "make your face appear smaller and slimmer when they come down to cheek level," and can also be easily styled and look "great on everyone and on most hair types."
3. Get Face-Framing Layers
With popular haircuts like the 'butterfly cut' trending on TikTok, more and more people with fine, flat hair are finding that adding layers to their look can add instant volume. Rivera recommends getting a haircut like this if you want a more lifted look, as expert-cut layers create the illusion of movement and texture. "It's a great cut for those who have longer hair that want some movement and texture," Rivera says of long layers, adding, "this is especially true because you don’t have to sacrifice a lot of length." Rivera notes that shaggy, layered styles like this create a "very soft and sexy look that plays well with the natural fall of the hair" in mature beauties.
The layers in this style are "longer, typically from the shoulders down," and Rivera says that "this gives it movement and texture". The longer layers at the crown, usually hitting just beneath the chin, will "add volume to the hair, and it is "left long enough to still pull back when needed."This is a great haircut for "thicker and fuller hair," she continues, also stressing that it "works beautifully for wavy and curly hair, as well."
