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It’s easy to be dazzled by the gorgeous gowns on the red carpet as you sit back and watch one award show after another. But what might leave you mystified is the flawless hairstyles sported by every actress on the planet. Maybe you’re wondering how on Earth they all manage to get their hair so thick and lustrous — is there a secret supplement that costs a million dollars that only celebs know about?
Nope — these women and men are just like the rest of us.
But what celebs do have is celebrity hairstyle secrets. And we spoke to a top-notch hair stylist to get to the bottom of the red carpet trick celebrity hairstylists swear by to hide thinning hair.
According to Gregory Patterson, a celebrity hair consultant for Sally Beauty, making thin hair look thicker and fuller has everything to do with the products that you use. And, luckily, there are a number of innovative advancements in haircare that make it possible to rev up strands in just minutes.
Hair Building Fibers
“One of my best kept red carpet tricks to giving fine hair the illusion of thicker fuller hair instantly is with a hair building fiber like Ion Hair Building Fibers,” Patterson says. “The fibers, which are made up of keratin - the same structure of your hair actually binds to your fine hair fiber - making it look and act fuller and thicker, instantly. They are amazing for thinning - see-through hair challenges.”
Mousse
“No time for clip-ins or full service extensions? No problem - when you have a thickening mousse (like Ion Thickening Mousse) on hand,” Patterson says. “Some of my celeb clients are opting for natural hair, but want fullness with thicker looking hair. Mousse, when heated with a blow dryer, helps the co-polymers plump up around the hair fiber helping one hair strand look, act, and feel like three! Make sure to heat it up for plumping effects. Mousses are great for medium to thicker textures of hair. “
Thickening Sprays
Last, but not least, thickening sprays can create bulk in thinning hair — but be sure to allocate time for styling with a hair dryer if you use them.
“Super fine strands on the carpet are best plumped with thickening sprays (such as Ion Thickening Styler),” Patterson says. “Again, thickening “anything” products need heat to activate the polymers that plump. What I like about sprays for thickening versus a mousse here is that it’s a much lighter weight way to add thickening polymers to already light, fine hair. So, the coating and polymers aren’t as coating, making a thickening spray the better choice for sending fine hair onto a red carpet.”
Celebrities aren’t all born with thick hair. But with a few tools and styling know-how, they — and you — can get va-va-va-voom volume, even if you’re wearing jeans and a T-shirt and saving the sequins for another day.
