We all want to accept the way our hair feels and looks in its natural state. But we definitely don’t want to spend all our time and hard-earned money on a hair care routine that doesn’t work. For some of us, especially those with thicker hair, unruly hair days make us wish we had thinner hair texture or at least an at-home hair stylist who could tame our thick locks regularly.
If your naturally thick hair texture has been making it impossible to avoid hours of tress prep, you can stress less now because there are solutions. Fortunately, they don’t have to involve spending hundreds of dollars on fancy hair straighteners or Brazilian blowouts. Here are some valuable tips on how to thin hair and achieve an easier everyday routine for your bountiful locks.
5 Tips on How to Thin Hair
Here’s a fun fact: the average human has 80,000 to 120,000 hairs on their head. Hair thickness can correlate with either the thickness of each individual strand or the number of hairs you have on your scalp. Regardless of the reasons for your hair’s thickness, knowing how to thin hair is one of the most valuable things you can do to make your tresses more manageable.
Hair thickness is one of the two identifiers of the hair typing system. The higher up you go in the alphabet, the thicker your strands. So if you have type 3c curly hair, your locks are going to be a lot thicker than type 3a hair. It doesn’t matter if you have straight, wavy, coarse, or curly strands of hair. You can have super-thick hair with any texture.
Since thickness is a common characteristic of many different hair textures, knowing how to work with this type of hair density is a must. Here are some tips on how to thin hair that you can use both at the salon and at home in your daily haircare routine.
Cut Out the Thickness
Having thick hair means that your locks expand outwards, causing mounds of volume and bulk that you don’t necessarily want or need. As such, one of the best solutions for thinning out hair is getting a haircut to reduce the bulk. And what’s the best way to do that? By adding some layers to your ‘do.
Next time you’re in the salon chair for a haircut, talk to your stylist about longer layers, extreme angles, or even an undercut. Or you might want to try a shorter style like a pixie cut or blunt cut bob. This will take off a lot of the excess weight and make hair lighter. Plus, without all the extra bulk you can let your natural texture shine.
Pro Tip: Follow these guidelines on caring for thick hair
Thin It Out With Shears
To help manage abundant locks, ask your hairstylist to use thinning shears during your next trim. Thinning scissors are made with a blade on one side and a comb on the other. Hairdressers run them down sections of hair shafts to reduce the thickness of your mane.
This is a great method for both those with short hair and longer hair to achieve lighter weight and thinner locks. These sheers don’t take off any length, they just remove excess thickness.
Although you can buy thinning scissors at a beauty supply store, we don’t recommend trying this as a DIY trick at home. Leave that to the hair-cutting professionals.
De-Frizz the Thickness
Part of the reason why your hair appears to be so thick might be frizz. If you’re prone to fried or swollen locks, it may be causing an unflattering puffy look. One of the best solutions for frizzy hair is using a hair mask. Why? Because hydration is one of frizz‘s worst enemies.
Weekly hair mask treatments work to deep condition the hair by reaching into the cuticle to help replenish the inner cortex of each strand. This improves hydration, encourages softness, helps prevent split ends, and protects against heat damage that may be causing frizziness. By using this anti-frizz hair treatment over time, you can help tame swollen locks and make your hair appear less thick.
Pro Tip: Try these 12 frizzy hair fixes for your thick locks
Avoid Holding Products
If you’re concerned about your hair appearing too thick, steer clear of any products that use the word “volume” in them. This may include hair spray, gel, and mousse— basically anything made to hold your hair in place. Though these may be helpful for keeping curls and waves intact, stiffening products hold onto volume and make hair look even thicker than it already is. This is great for our fine hair friends but unnecessary for those with built-in volume.
Another reason why you may want to avoid holding products is that they can make it harder to brush your hair without causing breakage. Breakage can lead to split ends, which leads to frizz and we already know this has adverse effects on thick hair. The bottom line: put holding products on hold!
Use a Serum to Tame Strands
One of the most coveted characteristics of beautiful hair is shine. While a smoothing hair serum can help you attain plenty of shine, it also happens to be a handy tool for keeping ultra-thick hair under control. Serums lightly slick down and tresses and smooth out flyaways — two big contributors to over-the-top volume.
For a product that enhances shine, smooths frizz, and keeps abundant thickness in check, consider Function of Beauty’s custom hair serum. Made with a blend of argan, jojoba, and sunflower oils, this serum is proven to reduce frizz, detangle locks, and even act as a heat protectant for up to 400 degrees. Just apply the serum on wet or dry hair and comb from the mid-shaft to the ends for a lustrous, luxurious look.
Pro Tip: Discover the best hair oils for shinier and smoother tresses
Choose Custom Care For Your Thick Hair
Let’s not get it twisted, having thick hair is a blessing. But it can be challenging to deal with on a daily basis. Luckily, there are solutions for how to thin hair so you can achieve more manageable locks. Adding some layers, getting a shorter haircut, and asking your hairstylist to thin out your strands with shears are professional solutions for managing naturally thick hair. But if you don’t want to chop off any of your hair, you can also use a de-frizzing hair mask, swear off hair-stiffening products, and invest in a smoothing hair serum to smooth down your strands.
Want a final solution for how to thin hair? Change your daily routine and try a shampoo and conditioner duo made for your hair thickness. Function of Beauty lets you customize your own hair washing products that can help hydrate, replenish, and de-frizz your ultra-thick locks. Take this hair quiz to find your unique formula and achieve your beauty goals.
