But the key to managing fine, thin hair is to avoid daily washing and use styling products with naturally derived ingredients that won't muck up your mane. As mentioned, shampoos with harsh ingredients strip your hair of its natural oils and shouldn't be used for frequent washing.
Fine or thin hair: "Fine hair will need to be shampooed as often as every other day to provide it with the moisture it needs to flourish and grow," Courtney says. Cleansing also helps remove buildup and oils that can weigh fine or thin hair down.
Rinse-out conditioner
However, if you have very oily or fine hair, you may want to condition less frequently because it can weigh your hair down. If you have dry, coarse, curly, or color-treated hair, you may benefit from conditioning your hair more frequently — daily or every other day.
Our best overall pick is the Biolage Advanced Full Density Thickening Shampoo, a reparative formula that works to strengthen thinning strands while removing the follicle-clogging impurities that can prevent new growth.
Choose a volumizing shampoo and a clarifying shampoo once a week. The most important step for styling fine hair starts in the shower. Stay away from sulfates—detergents found in many shampoos—which can weaken hair follicles over time, making your hair susceptible to breakage and the appearance of thinning.
Bobs, pixies, layers, and bangs — these haircuts are strategically designed to help fine hair full-fill its potential. The look of thin hair can change dramatically with the power of the humble scissor — and the right cutting hand.
Lifestyle factors could include using certain hair products, wearing your hair up too tightly, experiencing high stress levels, or not getting enough of certain vitamins and minerals in your diet. People who have immune system deficiencies could also have thinning hair.
Can thin hair become thicker again? A person cannot change the texture of their hair. However, the hair may grow back after chemotherapy or pregnancy, for example.
Well-placed highlights and general colour can help add dimension to hair. “The minute you start adding texture or contrast with colour, you start to see more depth, and that can give the illusion of thickness,” says Hersheson. “Adding very subtle, different tones throughout will do the job well.”
It can also make your hair brittle and vulnerable to breakage, which is especially concerning for thin, aging hair that is already so fragile. There are a handful of signs to watch out for that'll tell you that you're washing your hair too often, and only one of them is hair loss.
Conditioning is an important step in any hair-care routine, as it helps to not only restore your hair but also to prevent future damage. This is extra important when your hair is thinning, because you want to keep the hair you do have on your head as healthy and intact as possible.
Telogen hair, or 'resting' hair, comprises around 15% of the hair on a person's scalp. Periods of elevated stress can lead to this hair being temporarily lost, contributing to a visibly thinner scalp and hairline.
Sebum helps protect your strands from moisture loss. Washing it all away can lead to a tight, dry scalp and dry, coarse strands prone to breakage. Over time, you might even begin to notice some long-term side effects of overwashing, including damaged hair and hair loss.
It depends. “If a follicle has closed, disappeared, scarred, or not generated a new hair in years, then a new hair wouldn't be able to grow,” Fusco says. But if the follicle is still intact, yes, it is possible to regrow the hair—or to improve the health of the existing thinner hairs.
If you can visibly see sections of your scalp underneath or through the hair, then your hair is thin. If you barely see your scalp at all, your hair is thick. If it's somewhere in-between, then your hair has a medium density.
The bottom line. There's no strong evidence to support using biotin for hair growth or to prevent hair loss in people without a deficiency. Because hair thinning and poor hair growth are sometimes associated with a biotin deficiency, correcting a deficiency can help restore hair growth in some people.
"Short hairstyles are best for thinning hair, because too much length can drag the hair down and create an unflattering, stringy appearance," says Alabama stylist Hope Russo.
Nearly everyone has some hair loss with aging. The rate of hair growth also slows. Hair strands become smaller and have less pigment. So the thick, coarse hair of a young adult eventually becomes thin, fine, light-colored hair.