When you’re at your wits end with your thinning hair and don’t know what more you can do for it, the solution could be a trip to the salon and an open mind. After you’ve visited your dermatologist, taken supplements for hair growth, stopped using shampoos that contain potentially damaging ingredients like sulfates, and filled your diet with more protein and essential vitamins and minerals, what’s left other than waiting for your hair to regain its former health and vitality?
Doing all of those things is a wise idea, but it doesn’t solve the issue of here and now — you want a short-term solution. Your short-term solution is an amazing haircut.
Professional Hairstylist Justin Hickox offers five of the most amazing “voluminous” haircuts to “transform” thin hair and get “the thickest-looking results,” according to Hickox. From shoulder-length cuts to bixies, these are his best tips on getting your hair to a great place so that you can love it once again.
1. Long Hair With Bangs
It isn’t often that you come across a stylist who suggests that long hair can actually work with thin hair. But here’s the big caveat: long hair isn’t what you think is long, Hickox says, it’s what your hair can handle. If your hair is starting to look stringy at the ends, your hair’s version of long is right above where that stringiness begins. That can mean three inches below the shoulder for some, and right below the shoulder for others. Taking those stringy ends off and adding a blunt line makes your overall hair look thicker. Because many of us start to look thinner around the sides of the scalp, adding bangs can make the hair look denser and accentuate your face shape.
2. Medium Length With Long Layers
Medium-length hair is a great compromise between long and short. Front layers are key to this cut: they are often angled toward the face and taper gently from your shortest to longest layer. Hickox recommends creating a subtle bend in the front with a curling wand or similar styling tool to add the look of even more volume.
3. Chin-Length Bob with Nape Layering
A chin-length bob is always a recommended style for thinning hair because it automatically amps up volume thanks to its absence of dead, string ends and a blunt line. But adding nape layering kicks things up a notch. Anytime you can get that hairline close to the nape or the sides and cut a strong geometric line, your hair is going to look stronger and thicker. Keep in mind: this is not a one-layer haircut. Its tapered shape is what makes your hair look fuller and prevent it from taking on a more triangular shape.
4. Bixie/Pixie
If you’re noticing more thinness at your scalp, and not just your ends, the bixie/pixie is a perfect cut. This hybrid bob/pixie is cut so that there is more density at the scalp and along the sides of your hair. One pro tip from Hickox is to make sure your top layers are short and styled forward to give it a thicker look and accentuate your cheek and jaw structure.
5. Shag
The shag is unstructured with wispy layers, and it’s a surprisingly good style for thinning hair. Although you may think of the shag as too layered for thin hair, Hickox says the trick is to add fewer short layers than you would if your hair was thick. This is an especially great haircut if you have natural texture in your hair, like curls and waves.
