How To Make Thin Curly Hair Look Thicker – Easy Tips

Have you ever searched “how to get thicker hair,” hoping there’s a way to make thin curly hair look thicker? 

Maybe you’ve tried all the thickening sprays and mousses, but you’re still left with thin strands and a mane you can nearly see through. 

Hair density is determined by your genes, so there’s not much you can do to increase hair density except trying expensive medical treatments or going for a hair transplant. 

But luckily, there are things you can do to give your hair volume and make your natural curls appear thicker.

In this guide, I’ll share my top tips for improving the look of your thin, curly hair. I’ll help you choose the best hairstyles for your curls and share my favorite product recommendations to help you achieve beautiful, voluminous curls and thicker-looking hair. 

Understanding Thin Curly Hair

Understanding your curly hair is the first step towards working out your ideal curly hair routine. 

Curly hair strands have an uneven shape which creates weak points in the bend, twists, and curls of the hair shaft. They often struggle with moisture loss as the scalp’s natural oils can’t easily travel down the length of the strand. 

This means that curly hair types are more prone to frequent breakages, which can make low density hair look even thinner. 

Using heavy products to hydrate and style thin hair can lead to thin curls that are stringy and see-through. However, with the right products and techniques, you can create a hair care routine tailored to meet the needs of your curly hair texture, hair density, and hair porosity. 

Not sure which curly hair type you have? Take our Curly Hair Type Quiz to find out!

The Importance Of The Right Haircut

The right haircut will make a big difference to how your thin, curly hair looks. Two main areas to consider are your hair’s length and the number of layers you have cut into it. 

Hair Length

The longer your hair is, the more weight it puts on the roots area, which can make your curls look very flat. 

I used to want long hair, but I’ve learned that growing it past a certain length makes my curls look thin at the ends. So now I’ve stopped letting it grow too long, and I can always tell when it needs a cut because it starts to look thinner.

Layers

Many people think that cutting layers into their hair will make it look thicker. However, layers will actually take some of the volume out of your hair, so it gets even more see-through.

Ask yourself if you’d rather have less volume and thicker-looking hair or more volume at the top of your head and thinner-looking ends. 

A blunt cut makes my hair look much thicker, so now I only have a few face-framing layers in the front. It means I sacrifice some of the root volume, but I get a thicker look overall. 

If you keep your hair a little shorter than mine, it won’t be as heavy. This means you can cut a couple of layers in and still have thick-looking hair with good root volume. However, as your hair starts to get longer, it’s harder to find the right balance.

Of course, this is a personal decision, and it’s a good idea to have your hair cut by a stylist who specializes in curly hair. They should be able to advise you on a cut that suits your personal style and helps you achieve the balance between thickness and root volume. 

Good Hair Health

Your hair can’t look its best if you don’t pamper your curls with an appropriate curly hair care routine. 

If your hair is already thin, you need to avoid excessive breakage, which will make it look thinner. Curly hair tends to be dry and can break easily, so it needs gentle care to keep it in good health. 

You should start your wash day routine with a sulfate-free, moisturizing shampoo that will cleanse your hair gently without stripping away its natural oils. Follow up with a nourishing leave-in conditioner designed for thin hair, focussing on the mid-lengths and ends to avoid weighing your strands down. 

A weekly deep conditioner or hair mask will help hydrate and strengthen your tresses for healthy hair growth.

Clarify Your Curls Regularly

A lot of curly hair shampoos are very moisturizing, which means they deposit moisturizing agents on your hair every time you use them. Combine that with regular conditioning treatments, hair masks, and styling products, and you’ll probably see product build up developing on your scalp and hair.

If you have thin curly hair, washing your hair regularly with a clarifying shampoo will remove this buildup and stop it weighing down your strands.  

I have both fine hair and low porosity hair that develops buildup quickly, so I clarify my hair at least once a week. If you’ve got very dry hair or high porosity hair, you won’t need to clarify as often, but it’s still important to clarify often enough to keep your hair free from buildup. 

Choose Hair Products Carefully

Most curly hair products are designed to add moisture because curly hair tends to be dry. However, you don’t want to overload thin curly hair with too much product or moisture, as this will weigh down your curls and leave them looking stringy and thin.  

I’ve learned to keep my styling product choices very simple and eliminate as much as possible. I generally style with a maximum of two lightweight products, which are usually a light leave-in conditioner and a styling product that gives plenty of hold. 

Whenever I add curl-enhancing creams or overdo my product application by even a little bit, I end up with thin, stringy, straight hair.

So, I highly recommend using a very lightweight leave-in conditioner like EVOLVh SmartVolume Leave-In Conditioner. On wash day, I usually just apply a couple of sprays to let me run the brush through my hair and deal with any tangles. 

I’m not trying to add any additional moisture at this point, as I know that will leave me with flat hair. If your hair is drier and needs more hydration, you might like to add in a curl cream, but watch carefully to see how your hair reacts to it. 

How To Choose The Right Products

Here are some handy tips on how to choose the best products to make thin hair look thicker.

Volumizing Or Thickening Products?

Some people get confused between volumizing and thickening products.

Volumizing foams and sprays will give you a bit of extra lift but won’t necessarily make your hair look thicker. If your curls look stringy, your hair will still look pretty see-through. 

A thickening product will make the individual strands look fatter, and the results will probably last longer than using a volumizing product that needs refreshing. I like to style my hair and leave it until my next wash day – I don’t want to have to fuss with it in between. 

I also find that thickening products work better in the humidity we get here in Florida, which helps my clumps hold together for as many days as possible. 

Light, Medium, Or Firm Hold?

Light to medium hold is better if you want to add thickness to your hair. 

If you prefer light hold products, I’d recommend a curl cream like Curlsmith Hold Me Softly Style Balm or a gel like Matrix A Curl Can Dream Light Hold Gel. You might get more frizz with light-hold styling products, but you don’t need to be 100% frizz-free. A little frizz helps make your hair look thicker, so don’t shy away from it. 

I find that light hold products are a waste of time on my hair because if I walk outside in the Florida humidity, my hair is completely ruined within an hour. So I always go with a medium hold product. 

One of my favorite products is the EVOLVh TotalControl Styling Crème, which is not a moisturizing curl cream. It says strong hold on the packaging, but it actually gives a medium hold and creates soft, touchable volume. 

How Much To Apply 

You don’t need to apply heavy amounts of product to get better results. Applying too much product will really make your hair look stringy, especially at the ends. 

I use about a dime to a nickel-sized amount on each side of my head, and I apply less in areas where I have less hair. 

It’s important to ensure you get good coverage, especially in excessively frizzy areas. So, it’s a good idea to take your time to ensure you’ve applied it and distributed it evenly. 

Some other great product recommendations for thin hair include

• Curlsmith Full Body Thickening Lotion gives you fuller-looking hair without losing definition
• Color Wow Dream Cocktail Leave-in Treatment will fatten up your strands and also offers heat protection
• Curlsmith Hydro Style Flexi-Jelly gives firmer hold for defined waves, curls, or coils. 

Dry shampoo is another excellent choice for thin hair as it refreshes an oily scalp and adds instant root volume. Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo is free from silicones, sulfates, and phthalates, or you might prefer to choose a tinted dry shampoo that blends easily with your hair color. 

Styling Techniques

Once you’ve applied your styling products, the next step is to create your curl clumps. 

I get the best results on my thin curly hair by creating clumps that aren’t too skinny but aren’t too large, either. 

I definitely don’t want to create the large clumps you get from brush styling with the brush handle. On thin hair, this might just give you 10 heavy clumps that will pull your curls down and make them look more see-through. 

Creating smaller clumps with the Bounce Curl Original Define EdgeLift Brush works better than a Denman brush on my curls, and the brush also helps distribute the product evenly through my hair. 

I don’t use the version with tiny ridges that make skinny clumps, but the clumps it creates still aren’t too big. If I feel any of the curl clumps are too big, I just split them up with my fingers. 

Once I’ve brushed the product through and created my clumps, I use my t-shirt towel to ‘microplop’ my curls. This means flipping your hair over and scrunching the curls up towards your scalp. It helps improve your curl definition and removes excess water and product from your hair, which helps prevent a stringy look. 

Drying Methods

How you dry your hair is a matter of personal preference, but I always prefer to diffuse my hair instead of leaving it to air dry. Some people like to air dry their curls, but that just leaves me with really flat, straight, thin-looking hair. 

Diffusing gives me the complete opposite. The heat activates the styling products that I’ve used, so not only do I get the volume that I’m looking for, but my hair looks thicker, fuller, and a lot less see-through.

If you’re really against the idea of diffusing but still want the thicker look, I’d suggest diffusing it for just a couple of minutes. This will set the cast on your clumps and remove some water weight from your hair, and then you can leave it to air dry the rest of the way.

You might not get quite as much volume and fullness, but it won’t have that stringy look that air drying alone will give you.

When you’re diffusing your hair, you can add extra lift at the roots by flipping your head upside down and directing the air up towards your roots. You can also try flipping your hair from side to side as you diffuse dry it. 

Both of these techniques will lift your roots off your scalp as you direct the warm air to them, helping to add lift and volume to your style. 

Final Touches

Once you’ve finished diffusing your hair, let it settle for a few minutes before adding the finishing touches.

If your styling products have created a cast on your hair strands, this can make your hair look stringy and see-through. ‘Scrunching out the crunch’ by scrunching your hair up towards your scalp will give a fuller look.

Even if you don’t have much of a cast, fluffing up your roots and splitting up any larger clumps will also make your hair look fuller and more voluminous. It might create a bit of frizz, but I don’t really mind that if I get a lovely full look from it. 

If the frizz bothers you, you might want to skip fluffing up your curls or try finger-coiling any excessively frizzy sections to keep the frizz under control. 

You can also use a teasing comb to backcomb the roots around an inch on either side of your part. This will add a little extra root lift and instant volume to thin curls. 

Finally, you can spritz your hair with a finishing spray like Suave Max Hold Hairspray for long-lasting style. 

FAQs

If you still have questions about making your thin hair look thicker, the answers to these frequently asked questions could help. 

Can Thin Hair Become Thick?

If you’ve lost hair after pregnancy or chemotherapy, your hair can grow back to its original thickness. However, making thin hair thicker is impossible except through hair transplants or hair loss treatments like minoxidil (Rogaine).

Why Has My Hair Gone So Thin?

Thinning hair could be caused by stress, a lack of specific vitamins and minerals, or certain medical conditions like an underactive or overactive thyroid. You may also experience hair loss from tying your hair up too tightly or as a natural part of aging. 

Do Hair Thickening Shampoos Really Work?

Unfortunately, hair thickening shampoos and conditioners can’t turn low-density curls into high density hair. However, they can cleanse oily roots, give additional root lift, and hydrate your strands for a fuller, more voluminous look. 

The Bottom Line

Although you can’t increase your hair density without expensive medical treatments, there are ways to make your thin strands look thicker and more voluminous. 

Managing thin curly hair mainly comes down to selecting the right products, and you’ll need to consider your hair porosity and curl type as well as your hair density.

The simple tips, techniques, and recommended products in this guide will help make your hair look thicker without sacrificing curl definition. You can also pair these techniques with strategies for volumizing your curls to help you achieve your goal of thicker-looking hair. 

The post How To Make Thin Curly Hair Look Thicker – Easy Tips appeared first on The Holistic Enchilada .