Thursday 13 March 2014

Long and Thick? - How to Thicken Up Relaxed Hair

A lovely friend of BelowtheWaist (hey girl!!) left me a comment the other day:

I LOVE it. your hair is beautifully thick. How do you thicken it up.
What's the secret to your thickness? Its consistent from root to tip. Spill it! lol


 (First of all, thanks dear!) I responded by letting her know that I don't consider my hair 'thick'. That is, my strands are medium - fine in diameter. Additionally the density is in medium range. In terms of it being consistent from root to tip though, I can offer a few suggestions:


1. Limit breakage at every step.
  • Wash hair in braids. This will cause a decrease in the amount of tangles you experience and subsequently in the amount of hair lost while detangle. Read more about washing hair in braids here.
  • Comb hair less often. I saw this comment on another blog once "I don't trim too often cuz every time I comb my hair I get a trim lol". Of course it was a joke but I can see what she meant. Limiting the combing of your hair will lead to more hair remaining on your head. Perhaps comb only on wash days to avoid too much tangling or matting, or try finger detangling instead. I am using weekly protective styles to help me achieve this.
  • Limit heat. You've heard this time and time again because it's true! Too much heat, direct heat in particular, is the death of thickness. While some argue that once a week is A-okay, I say the longer you can go without, the better.
  • Stretch your relaxers. This will help you prevent overlapping and hence breakage.


2. Texlax -This is definitely a great way to keep some of the volume and thickness of your natural new growth. I have a few inches of bone-straight hair at my ends and the difference in thickness is certainly discernible. I have never heard a complaint from a texlaxed lady about flat, thin, lifeless hair.


3. Opt for more textured styles - These styles will always look more voluminous than straight ones + they will help you avoid heat, WIN WIN! Try braid-outs, twist-outs, bantu-knot-outs etc. The technique is important when executing these styles. Some textured styles may very well end up flat. Click here to see how I achieve fullness when doing braid-outs.


4. Thickening agents - Some struggle with thin hair sprouting from their scalp. For that I'd say apply castor oil to your scalp. Many ladies have credited this product for producing thicker new growth. I too, have used castor oil on my edges in the past when they appeared thin.

5. Reduce shedding - Tea rinses, garlic and onion infused products like shampoos or oils have been known to help reduce shedding. Supplements like MSM have also been said to help prevent shedding.

6. Now this last one may come as a shock coming from me lol - But trimming your ends into a blunt cut will make your hair appear thicker. I personally am not a huge fan of the blunt cut (I prefer something that looks a bit more natural), but if that's your thing, it will definitely help your hair look thick. 

So there you have it, my tips for achieving thick relaxed hair.



What method do you use to achieve/ maintain thickness? 


18 comments :

  1. Yet another great post, I always had "thick" hair but texlaxing took it to another level :)

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    1. Thanks Candice. You r one of the blessed few lol. But fo real, texlaxing is great for thickness.

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  2. I agree with all of these steps. Especially #6 for the past 6 months I have maintained my blunt ends and the overall thickness of my hair when straight is a lot fuller.

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  3. I love me a good blunt cut honey! Your hair in this pic is super cute! Is that a braid out?

    KLP | SavingOurStrands

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    Replies
    1. lol I know you love your shears! Thanks love, nope no braid-out. That's my 5-minute, loose, bit, bantu-knot-out lol

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  4. your hair looks hella thick to me, haha.
    i just bought some castor oil and am excited to use it.
    my mom swore by it as a child and from the photos i've seen, her hair was oh so luscious.
    hopefully i'll reap the same benefits...

    :)
    vanessa

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  5. what a nice hair. i wanna have one like it.
    i found hair thickening products that also help thicken hair here:
    http://thickmyhair.com

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  6. can you telax relaxed hair ?

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  7. I admit, I have not been on this web page in a long time... however it was another joy to see It is such an important topic and ignored by so many, even professionals. I thank you to help making people more aware of possible issues. take down remover detangler for matted tangled hair dreadlocks

    ReplyDelete

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