If you live in the NYC area or, well, any area that has a few hair salons, you’re probably familiar with the concept of a blowout. Blowout salons are VERY popular around these parts, and for good reason. Your hair looks fabulous afterward! — and the style lasts for days.
But blowouts get expensive after a while, which is why I only get them when I get my hair cut/colored.
What’s a thin-haired girl to do?
When I wash my hair, I don’t blow dry it often because of its texture, but sometimes I still crave a finished, full hair look.
When I do improv and give myself a “blowout” at home, here are the products I use to help get my baby fine hair looking voluminous and shiny.
Here’s my hair right after a wash…
Now, I don’t do my home blowouts like many people do because I don’t use a round brush. Because round brushes cause more knots in my hair (yes, it’s that cranky). Instead I use a comb and my hands.
Lately I’ve been washing my hair with Loreal Everpure Volume Shampoo. It’s color-safe and has lovely notes of rosemary and juniper, and I don’t find it to be stripping at all.
Next is the actual drying, and I always make sure to spray a heat protectant in my hair before I start, as well as a little bit of Dove Serum in Oil.
Flipping my head upside-down, I dry my hair until it’s about 80% dry, then turn to part one of this duo…
I wasn’t impressed by earlier iterations of this line, but these I like. Mousse is always SUPER tricky for me, it either weighs my hair down to the point that I need to wash my hair again the next day, or it makes my haircrunchy, but the Perfectly Full and Forever Full formulas from the Luxurious Volume line have been doing a great job for me lately.
As far as fragrance goes, well…it smells like mousse. Less like hairspray (not as heavy on the chemicals), and more like a light mix of clean and floral.
The product itself feels very light and almost a little too watery, so be careful because it might just melt in your hands.
After scrunching a bit into my hair, especially at the crown of my head, I finish by blowdrying on low with the diffuser attachment, and to avoid knots, I continuously comb/finger-comb my hair while I’m drying.
I’ve been OBSESSED with this comb right here, and I was devastated when mine broke a few days ago. Even more tragically, my Target hasn’t been stocking it anymore. 🙁 Thank goodness for Amazon!
And here’s what my hair looks like when I’m done…
Please forgive my awful under-eye bags. This was pre base makeup.
Sweeping my hair to one side usually gives me much more volume.
After my hair is dry, I’ll hit it with a light spray of Luxurious Volume Forever Full Hairspray to lock in some extra oomph.
Even after a few minutes, I already start to lose a little volume up top, but it’s nothing that a light flipping of my hair can’t solve. Since I don’t use a round brush for the sake of my hair, I don’t expect it to last all day long.
What I really love about both of these products is how soft they make my hair, and how the softness lasts for a couple of days after using them. Even after I’ve touched up and sprayed it on my hair repeatedly, my hair always feels touch-ably soft.
The John Frieda Luxurious Volume Perfectly Full Mousse and Forever Full Hairspray are both great drugstore buys at about $6.99 each if you’re looking for good, solid products to add volume without breaking the bank.
Have you ever given yourself a blowout at home? What are some of your favorite volume-boosting products? And does anyone else out there have a hard time using a round brush on fine hair?
Thanks, Marcella. I have your hair type so can’t wait to try this! If you have a good person for cut/colour in NYC that understands our hair type + that’s not uber expensive, I’d so love to know?!
thanks for the tips! I haven’t used john Frieda in some time because their shampoo made my scalp react in the past. I have fine hair like yours, so anything that doesn’t mix well with my hair, I abort mission immediately.
I don’t have any product recs because I try not to fool with too many products… my hair is fine and my scalp gets oily very quickly, so for me, less is more. I do of course use heat protectors but that’s it.
I do however have some recs for tools…what has been working for me is the Sephora Collection “Medium Round Thermal Ceramic Brush” $20 on Sephora.com which is very gentle on my thin hair (does not pull or tug or over heat) and I find there are no tangles or unpleasant pulls. I also part my hair in sections (try to keep it less than the width of the barrel of the brush) and these clips I came across online have been amazing: Sephora collection ” Hold it Together Blow Dry Clips” $10 on Sephora.com …never thought this would make a difference but they do! I actually just threw these in my cart one day because I needed free shipping and they were cute and hot pink but they are actually useful for sectioning off hair while styling. They keep your hair in place without giving you the dreaded dent in your hair and without tangling your hair further.
It is a small little investment but I think these would help out a lot 🙂
I give myself a blowout atleast 2x a week now.
forgot to mention, at the end of my blow out, if I have some time to kill to finish my makeup or get dressed, etc. I roll my hair up into a loose top bun (think pineapple style) and use the alligator clips to hold in place… when I let my hair out, I have even more volume and no dents because the clips hold hair in place without squeezing it in place and leaving dents in your hair. so that’s a little plus 😉
Glad these products don’t break the bank. And, yes, round brushes can definitely be difficult.
Whenever I try to give myself a blowout I end up with a lot of knots, so I usually don’t. I just let it airdry.
Can’t possibly use a round brush!! It gets tangled immediately. I also use mostly fingers. It also works for me to pile it atop my head beehive-ish-style and let it air dry that way, if I have the time. Love the idea of a mousse, haven’t tried one in a long time! love your blonde color, looks very natural!
Oh dear! I have fine hair and I completely get your ordeal. Added to that, my hair is extremely wavy and frizzy which is a nightmare.
Recently I tried an oil from Kerastase and it worked like a miracle. It’s extremely expensive. but given I needed only a little for my hair which reaches past the smalls of my back, I think I am going to get it.
You might want to take a look at it too.