The Best Shampoos, Mousses, Volumizing Sprays and More
Fine hair can be incredibly annoying to style. I know because I have fine hair, loads of it. Curls don't hold. Updos don't hold. And forget about wearing your hair long, it falls as flat as a sheet.
Our best bet is to get a proper haircut with a few layers cut in to give hair body and movement, but the other big secret to styling fine, flat hair, is in the right hair products. I'm talking texturizing sprays, mousses, hair sprays, salt sprays, volumizing shampoos and dry shampoos -- all of which can add body to hair where before there was none.
I've pulled together the very best hair products for fine hair and presented them in this list from cheap to steep. Each product is beloved by people in the know, including me. I have fine hair but lots of it so I rely on knowing what works and what doesn't. These products work.
In the meantime, don't miss my articles on styling fine hair:
Inexpensive Mousse: John Frieda Luxurious Volume Building Mousse, $7
Can't afford a fancy mousse? No problem. This mousse ($6) will create volume once the heat from the blowdryer hits the product.
Compare prices online
Best Inexpensive Shampoo: Garnier Fructis Body Boost Shampoo, $11.25
A great alternative to fancy volume shampoos is Garnier Fructis. Try the shampoo and the conditioner. Another great inexpensive shampoo is Pantene Sheer Volume. Where to buy: Your local drugstore.
Quick tip for extra body:
If hair is flat and greasy, add instant lift with baby powder at the roots and crown. When you apply, avoid the hairline and the part, massage in and watch your greasiness disappear.
Compare prices online
Great Mid-Line Mousse for Fine Hair: Matrix Root-Lifter, $14.49
Celebrity hairstylist Steven Ward swears by this root-lifter for full-bodied Brigitte Bardot volume. With this mousse, your hair won't feel stiff or crunchy. Plus, at under $15 we love the price.
Compare prices online
Best Mousse for Fine Hair: Pantene Pro-V Volumizing Mousse, $18
This inexpensive mousse works great to add volume to fine hair. Apply a tennis-ball sized amount to roots and comb through with a wide-tooth comb. The volumizer is activated by the heat from your blowdryer.
Compare prices online
Best Volumizer Hairspray: Big Sexy Hair Flip it Over, $18.95
Once you've applied styling mousse and blow-dried hair, section hair and mist with an aerosol hairspray like this great one. This spray creates height & stands up to humidity.
Compare prices online
Danilo's Favorite Shampoo: Phyto Volumizing Shampoo, $22
Elle Magazine dubbed Danilo - the guy who gives Gwen Stefani big hair - "The Body Builder." A celeb stylist for the past 15 years, Danilo is known for creating voluminous red carpet hair. According to Danilo (in Elle), up to 40% of hair's total volume can be achieved in the shower and Phyto is his shampoo choice. For best results pair a volume shampoo with a volume conditioner. Danilo says they build on top of each other.
See my list of the Best Shampoos for Fine Hair. This makes the list.
Compare prices online
Best Texturizing Spray: Privé Finishing Texture Spray, $24.90
When you have fine, limp hair but want curls or waves or just plain body, a texturizing spray can be a godsend. Texturizing spray adds body, shine and hold to hair. Ann Colville Somma, the blogger behind, Cult of Beauty, swears by Privé Finishing Texture Spray for giving her fine, limp hair life. To use, spray over every inch of hair.
See also How to Create Beachy Waves.
Compare prices online
Great Volumizing Spray: Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray, $29
This is our all-time favorite volumizer. "It makes fine hair look like Texas hair," Rodger Azadganian, owner of Seattle's Seven salon, said in InStyle magazine. Spray on damp hair for instant fullness. I use this myself every single day. Can't live without it.
Another great volumizing spray is Cutler Specialist Volumizing Spray (about $21 online, buy it here).
Compare prices online
The Hairstylist's Favorite: Phytovolume Actif Maximizing Volume Spray, $29
Molly Sims said in Marie Claire magazine that she loves this dry shampoo for building body and disguising dark roots. Dry shampoos (a cheaper version is baby powder) are great for building body. I use the dry shampoo myself and love it.
Another great dry volumizer: Stila hair refresher.
Compare prices online
Shu Uemura Ample Mousse Volumizing Light Foam, $38
When you have flat hair, you want to give hair volume at the sides, not at the top, according to Allure beauty editor, Jolene Edgar, who makes the good point that volume at top will make you look like a beauty queen (oops!). Edgar suggests this Phytovolume Actif Maximizing Volume Spray, which should be sprayed at the roots while hair is damp. If you lay off the blowdryer and let hair airdry, you'll notice your hair has much more volume than it does when dried straight.
Scrunch hair with your hands as hair dries for added volume.
Buy it online
Pricey-but-Worth It Mousse: Kerastase Volumactive Mousse, $38.35
This mousse will give your fine hair volume without the crunchy effect of cheaper mousses. Comb the foam through damp hair from roots to ends and massage in with your hands (for some reason I believe this helps and I do it this way myself). Flip hair upside down and blow dry hair with a round brush or scrunch hair dry for quick, beachy waves. According to the company, this mousse is "enriched with Japanese Cedar Bud, a giant sacred tree known for its fortifying properties." Ok, whatever, I love it.
Compare prices online
Overall Best Shampoo for Fine Hair: Kerastase Bain Volumactive, $43 & Up
Mousse works much like spray. You want to add to roots and work it through the rest of hair.
Another great mousse: Nioxin volumizing reflectives bodifying foam.
Compare prices online
By far the best shampoo on the market, Kerastase is consistently rated by the pros and can be found in the top salons in the country. I have fine hair and Kerastase's Volumactive is the shampoo I have in my bathroom. I buy the biggest jug I can find and it lasts me more than a year. It's a pricey shampoo, but worth it. It leaves no residue, smells amazing and keeps my fine hair from falling flat.Â
For more shampoo options, check out my list of Best Shampoos, Conditioners for Fine Hair.
Compare prices online
More tips:
Fine hair can be incredibly annoying to style. I know because I have fine hair, loads of it. Curls don't hold. Updos don't hold. And forget about wearing your hair long, it falls as flat as a sheet.
Our best bet is to get a proper haircut with a few layers cut in to give hair body and movement, but the other big secret to styling fine, flat hair, is in the right hair products. I'm talking texturizing sprays, mousses, hair sprays, salt sprays, volumizing shampoos and dry shampoos -- all of which can add body to hair where before there was none.
I've pulled together the very best hair products for fine hair and presented them in this list from cheap to steep. Each product is beloved by people in the know, including me. I have fine hair but lots of it so I rely on knowing what works and what doesn't. These products work.
In the meantime, don't miss my articles on styling fine hair:
- My 11 Best Fine Hair Tips in One Spot
- How to Shampoo Fine Hair Correctly
- Best Shampoos, Conditioners for Fine Hair
- 12 Ways to Add Body to Fine, Limp Hair
Inexpensive Mousse: John Frieda Luxurious Volume Building Mousse, $7
Can't afford a fancy mousse? No problem. This mousse ($6) will create volume once the heat from the blowdryer hits the product.
Compare prices online
Best Inexpensive Shampoo: Garnier Fructis Body Boost Shampoo, $11.25
A great alternative to fancy volume shampoos is Garnier Fructis. Try the shampoo and the conditioner. Another great inexpensive shampoo is Pantene Sheer Volume. Where to buy: Your local drugstore.
Quick tip for extra body:
If hair is flat and greasy, add instant lift with baby powder at the roots and crown. When you apply, avoid the hairline and the part, massage in and watch your greasiness disappear.
Compare prices online
Great Mid-Line Mousse for Fine Hair: Matrix Root-Lifter, $14.49
Celebrity hairstylist Steven Ward swears by this root-lifter for full-bodied Brigitte Bardot volume. With this mousse, your hair won't feel stiff or crunchy. Plus, at under $15 we love the price.
Compare prices online
Best Mousse for Fine Hair: Pantene Pro-V Volumizing Mousse, $18
This inexpensive mousse works great to add volume to fine hair. Apply a tennis-ball sized amount to roots and comb through with a wide-tooth comb. The volumizer is activated by the heat from your blowdryer.
Compare prices online
Best Volumizer Hairspray: Big Sexy Hair Flip it Over, $18.95
Once you've applied styling mousse and blow-dried hair, section hair and mist with an aerosol hairspray like this great one. This spray creates height & stands up to humidity.
Compare prices online
Danilo's Favorite Shampoo: Phyto Volumizing Shampoo, $22
Elle Magazine dubbed Danilo - the guy who gives Gwen Stefani big hair - "The Body Builder." A celeb stylist for the past 15 years, Danilo is known for creating voluminous red carpet hair. According to Danilo (in Elle), up to 40% of hair's total volume can be achieved in the shower and Phyto is his shampoo choice. For best results pair a volume shampoo with a volume conditioner. Danilo says they build on top of each other.
See my list of the Best Shampoos for Fine Hair. This makes the list.
Compare prices online
Best Texturizing Spray: Privé Finishing Texture Spray, $24.90
When you have fine, limp hair but want curls or waves or just plain body, a texturizing spray can be a godsend. Texturizing spray adds body, shine and hold to hair. Ann Colville Somma, the blogger behind, Cult of Beauty, swears by Privé Finishing Texture Spray for giving her fine, limp hair life. To use, spray over every inch of hair.
See also How to Create Beachy Waves.
Compare prices online
Great Volumizing Spray: Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray, $29
This is our all-time favorite volumizer. "It makes fine hair look like Texas hair," Rodger Azadganian, owner of Seattle's Seven salon, said in InStyle magazine. Spray on damp hair for instant fullness. I use this myself every single day. Can't live without it.
Another great volumizing spray is Cutler Specialist Volumizing Spray (about $21 online, buy it here).
Compare prices online
The Hairstylist's Favorite: Phytovolume Actif Maximizing Volume Spray, $29
Molly Sims said in Marie Claire magazine that she loves this dry shampoo for building body and disguising dark roots. Dry shampoos (a cheaper version is baby powder) are great for building body. I use the dry shampoo myself and love it.
Another great dry volumizer: Stila hair refresher.
Compare prices online
Shu Uemura Ample Mousse Volumizing Light Foam, $38
When you have flat hair, you want to give hair volume at the sides, not at the top, according to Allure beauty editor, Jolene Edgar, who makes the good point that volume at top will make you look like a beauty queen (oops!). Edgar suggests this Phytovolume Actif Maximizing Volume Spray, which should be sprayed at the roots while hair is damp. If you lay off the blowdryer and let hair airdry, you'll notice your hair has much more volume than it does when dried straight.
Scrunch hair with your hands as hair dries for added volume.
Buy it online
Pricey-but-Worth It Mousse: Kerastase Volumactive Mousse, $38.35
This mousse will give your fine hair volume without the crunchy effect of cheaper mousses. Comb the foam through damp hair from roots to ends and massage in with your hands (for some reason I believe this helps and I do it this way myself). Flip hair upside down and blow dry hair with a round brush or scrunch hair dry for quick, beachy waves. According to the company, this mousse is "enriched with Japanese Cedar Bud, a giant sacred tree known for its fortifying properties." Ok, whatever, I love it.
Compare prices online
Overall Best Shampoo for Fine Hair: Kerastase Bain Volumactive, $43 & Up
Mousse works much like spray. You want to add to roots and work it through the rest of hair.
Another great mousse: Nioxin volumizing reflectives bodifying foam.
Compare prices online
By far the best shampoo on the market, Kerastase is consistently rated by the pros and can be found in the top salons in the country. I have fine hair and Kerastase's Volumactive is the shampoo I have in my bathroom. I buy the biggest jug I can find and it lasts me more than a year. It's a pricey shampoo, but worth it. It leaves no residue, smells amazing and keeps my fine hair from falling flat.Â
For more shampoo options, check out my list of Best Shampoos, Conditioners for Fine Hair.
Compare prices online
More tips:
- My 11 Best Fine Hair Tips in One Spot
- How to Give Your Fine Hair More Body
- Best Shampoos, Conditioners for Fine Hair
- How to Properly Shampoo Fine Hair