Do you think you might have thick hair, but you’re not really sure? Are you overwhelmed when you look at shelves stacked with haircare products promising thicker and more luxurious hair because you don’t know if you should buy them?
Without knowing what kind of hair texture you have, you can’t choose the correct hair products or wear the most flattering styles. Below, we’ll give you three quick tricks to determine if you have thick hair:
Why It’s Important to Know if You Have Thick Hair?
Chances are, if I ask you what skin type you have, you’ll immediately know the answer. But if I ask you how thick your hair is, you might hesitate for a moment before responding. That’s the problem.
If knowing your skin type helps you take care of it, then knowing your hair thickness helps you follow a better daily haircare routine.
How to Determine If Your Hair Is Thick?
Thick hair refers to the width of the individual hair strands. Density refers to the number of strands in a one-inch square area of your scalp.
Most hair falls into three general categories of thickness: fine, medium, and coarse (thick). Here are three tricks to help you figure out which hair type you have.
#1. Thread Test
Find a piece of sewing thread (as close to your hair color as possible) and cut off a six-inch piece. Pluck a strand of hair from your scalp or get it from a hairbrush. Find a flat, light-colored surface and lay the thread down next to the hair strand.
If the strand is thinner than the thread, that means your hair is fine. If the strand is the same width as the thread, your hair is normal. If the strand appears thicker than the thread, your hair is coarse.
#2. Style Test
Another trick for determining your hair’s thickness is to analyze how well it can hold a style.
Delicate, fine hair usually doesn’t hold curls very well. Medium-thick hair holds its shape longer than fine hair and is comparatively easy to style.
If you have thick hair, you’ll usually have no problem getting your curls to hold, but you might have more difficulty styling it since thicker hair is often less supple.
#3. Squint Test
Another way to determine your hair texture and the individual strands’ diameter is by squinting to see how wide each strand is. Take one strand and lay it down on a perfectly flat surface, such as a table or desk.
If you need to squint to see it, that means you have fine hair. If you can see it without squinting, your hair is coarse. Anything in between means that you have medium-textured hair.
Make Your Hair Look Thicker
If you’ve confirmed you have fine-textured hair, there are a few tricks that will increase the appearance of having thicker hair.
- Use a thickening shampoo and conditioner such as Pura D’or Original Gold Label.
- Fill in areas of the scalp that are showing through with a tinted root powder that matches your hair color.
- Add some clip-in hair extensions to add volume to your existing style.
- Cut your hair shorter and keep it all one length to create the illusion of plumper, thicker hair.
Hair Is Too Thick? Here’s What You Should Do
If your hair is too thick, then here are a few tricks to help you take the volume down a couple of notches:
- Don’t overwash your hair. Letting the natural scalp oils and dirt accumulate for a few days will help weigh down your hair.
- Cut your hair in layers. Ask your salon professional to remove more hair from underneath so the top layers will lay flatter against your scalp.
- Don’t fight your thick hair. Use buns, ponytails, barrettes, and headbands, etc to control it and help tame the volume.
Why Does Hair Breaks on Top of Head?
FAQs
Both can be attractive. Thin, wispy hair is romantic when it’s long and sometimes when it’s short. Thick hair is usually glossy and stays together nicely without frizz. Both are attractive.
Thinning hair can mean balding with age if your hair was thick before. The hair follicles that hold the hair goes through different phases before hair loss.
One is called hair miniaturization or thinning. In this stage, the hair follicle is too weak to produce thicker hair and eventually dies.
Yes, with age, thick hair can become thin. Sometimes it is part of the natural aging process. This is why you’ll notice older people have hair that is more frizzy and thin.
Yes, thick hair is generally more healthy because it doesn’t break off as easily. When hair breaks, it causes split ends and fissures within the hair shaft that make it hard to maintain a healthy head of hair.
Thick hair grows at the same rate as thin hair. It might seem to grow faster because it is not breaking off as much. Length is retained easier with thick hair than with thin hair.
If your hair is thick and also dense, its weight might give you headaches.
Thick hair looks awesome when it’s short because you don’t have to worry as much about frizz. Because men’s hair is sometimes thicker than women’s hair, though, sometimes short, thick hair can look masculine.
Thick hair has proteins that are more rigid inside, so it might be resistant to curling.
To curl the hair, the heat makes the hair protein more flexible so that the hair can be molded into certain shapes and stay like that temporarily. Hair that is thick isn’t as flexible.
Sometimes thick hair can feel hard and stiff because it contains extra protein. The way to make thick hair softer is to condition it regularly. Conditioner coats the hair so that it feels softer. It also helps with hydration.
They can afford to have good hair extensions installed that look like their real hair.
When you fight your hair’s natural texture, you’ll waste a lot of time and effort. Learn how to style your thick hair with the right tools, products, and techniques, and it won’t matter if your hair is thick or fine.