Hairstyles For Thinning Hair 45 Ideas, Causes, and Solutions
It’s hard when hair changes and becomes thin, here are 12 hairstyles for thinning hair. Here are 45 ideas for styling thinning hair and a few causes and solutions for why it might be happening.
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45 Ideas, Solutions, Causes, and Hairstyles for Thinning Hair
In this article we will cover-
✔️ The causes and treatments for thinning hair
✔️ The difference between thin hair and fine hair
✔️ The many hairstyles for thinning hair
✔️ Haircuts for thinning hair
✔️ What products to use for thinning hair
✔️ Frequently Asked Questions regarding hairstyles for thinning hair
13 Causes for Thin Hair
- Illness
Hair is an afterthought when it comes to overall physical health. If the body needs to focus on healing another part of the body the hair gets less blood-flow, grows slower, and can even start to fall out.
- Hormone fluctuations and changes
One example would be adolescence, when the hormones are beginning to kick in gear more heavily than in childhood.
- Medication
Some heart medications, thyroid medications, or chemo treatments can cause temporary thinning.
- Stress
Believe it or not, cortisol – the stress hormone – slows hair growth and can even make the hair thin.
Stress does discourage growth, but mostly because of how the body is responding to stress. Again, hair is an afterthought to keeping the body alive.
- Aging
A natural process when hair can begin to thin due to how the scalp was treated in youth, hormone fluctuations, medications, genetics and overall physical health.
- Improper hair care
If the hair is constantly washed with bad products that build up on the hair and scalp, slowly seeping into the follicles and killing the root, or even if the scalp is over washed and constantly dry, it can over time cause hair thinning.
- Postpartum and pregnancy
Pregnancy and postpartum, for example, when hormones are crazy and trying to regulate again, it’s normal for some hair loss, or even a texture or color change. But don’t worry, it grows back!
- Drastic weight loss
Hair grows from blood circulation. When the body goes through drastic weight changes it changes the blood-flow too, because the body is trying to balance and regulate to keep itself healthy, so when there are drastic blood circulation changes, it can cause hair thinning.
- Overuse of alcohol or smoking
Everything you put in the body comes through the hair. Even some medications can change the way that the hair feels! This goes for alcohol and smoking as well.
Alcohol dehydrates the body. When the body is dehydrated there is less blood-flow to the scalp.
When the lungs bring oxygen to the body to distribute through the blood, when the lungs bring in other substances, such as smoke, it affects blood and thus the hair as well. Smokers tend to have very thin and fine hair, but it can thicken up once the bad habit has been eliminated.
- Poor diet and exercise routines to get the blood flowing
Junk foods that make the scalp extra oily with the wrong kinds of oils and don’t nourish the body the way it needs to be nourished does affect how healthy the hair is. And even how thick or thin it can be.
And like mentioned above, exercise gets the blood circulating, which is how the hair grows. The better the eating and exercise habits become = the healthier the body becomes = the healthier and thicker the hair becomes.
- Alopecia
Alopecia Areata is a condition that causes patches of baldness on the scalp.
- Styling your hair too tightly
If the hair has been tied too tightly, for too long, too many times, the tension be too much stress on the follicles and the hair starts thinning, or breaking which makes the hair look thin.
- Chemical overuse
Coloring or bleaching the hair too often permanently damages the cuticle, or outside shaft of the hair causing breakage and fragile hair. If the scalp has been chemically burnt or damaged, it can damage the follicles, where the hair grows, and the hair can stop growing.
The Difference Between Thin Hair, Fine Hair, and Hair Loss
Thin hair and fine hair are not the same thing.
The diameter of each individuals hair strands determines whether the hair is fine, medium, or thick. It is common for people with fine hair to have a lot of hair. Because the strand is fine doesn’t mean you have thin hair.
Thin hair means that there is a smaller number of hairs growing on your head than a scalp with very dense, thick hair.
Thinning hair and hair loss means that the hair has been falling out, or breaking possibly due to one of the many reasons listed above, making the hair look like there is less but commonly grows back with time.
14 Hairstyles for Thin Hair
Volume is the way to go when styling thinning hair to look thicker.
Making hair look bigger, not necessarily in a Texas-big-hair kind of way but adding just enough volume to make the hair look fuller like there’s more than there actually is.
Here we are going over the 11 hairstyles you can do without styling products.
We’ll get to what products to style the hair and make it look thicker a little later.
Braids
- French Braid
If you do a dutch braid (inside-out french braid) you can loosen the braid by gently pulling on the outside pieces to make the braid look bigger.
- Braid Bun
This is an easy style to achieve simply by pulling the hair into a ponytail and braiding the hair into a simple three strand braid. Make the braid wide by pulling on the outside pieces of the braid and twist and pin them into a beautiful bun.
If you have bangs or a fringe, it will add more attitude to the front.
If you want more height or want to make your hair look bigger you can add a bump on top of the head before the bun.
- Rope Braid Bun
A rope braid is a two strand twist that you can pull the sides on and twist into a bun, then it looks like a flower!
Curls
- Wand Curls
Opposed to traditional clamp-the-hair-in-the-iron curls, using a wand or a regular curling iron like a wand will give thinning hair a more voluminous appearance, giving the illusion that there is more hair.
To use a wand simply wrap a one inch section of hair around the iron instead of clamping it. You can have the handle up and wrap the hair down, or handle down and just wrap the hair carefully without burning your fingers.
- Braid Waves
Sleeping in braids helps hair cry in the wavy shape and gives the hair more volume that way as well.
The more braids there are, the more waves you have, the bigger the hair is the more hair it looks like you have.
Other Hairstyle Tips for Thinning Hair
- Ponytail-Bump Fluff
We all remember the bump of the early 2000s that was in style. You can add volume to your ponytail by doing a version of the bump on the top of the head, giving the hairstyle more fluff.
You can also fluff up the ponytail portion of the style to help it look fuller.
- Deep Side Part
You can change almost any hairstyle or haircut by changing the part.
If you want to give the hair a fuller and thicker appearance, a deep side part will make the hair heavier on one side, and make it look thicker.
You can then braid, twist, or pin the side with less hair and get a more sassy look.
- Accessories
Accessories such as –
👉 Headbands
🧢 👒 Cute hats or beanies
🌼 Flower clippies
These and whatever else you want to use as an accessory adds just enough to whatever hairstyle you choose to distract from thin hair.
- Fake Hair Pieces
There are some hair pieces, such as fake-hair messy-bun scrunchies that can help you achieve a thicker hairstyle for thinning hair.
But if not done carefully can draw the eye in the wrong way and actually make the hair look thinner, or look like you’re trying too hard.
Choose a hair piece that matches your hair color exactly. And use it for messy bun looks, or as fillers for twists or buns to make the hairstyle fuller and thicker, again, creating an illusion that the hair is thicker than it is.
- Wigs
Not all wigs are expensive, some are better quality and last longer and require less maintenance than others. Wigs are a great option for those with heavy hair loss and a noticeable amount of thinning.
If possible I recommend human hair. Or if that’s not possible horse hair, or yak hair are close enough to human hair so the maintenance isn’t completely different like artificial hair wigs.
For other ideas for hairstyles for thin hair see these articles below.
37 Easy Hairstyles for Dirty Hair
22 Hairstyles for Hiking, Backpacking, and Camping
Products to Use With Hairstyles for Thinning Hair
Push Powders
When talking about adding volume, push powder is an easy way to do it.
By adding a dusting of push powder, the product will cling to the hair making each strand wider, creating the illusion that there are more hairs on the head.
Dry Shampoos
An aerosol spray that soaks up oil and brushes right out of the hair, dry shampoo adds volume too.
If you don’t brush the product out, a dry shampoo will cling to the strands, making them look thicker – similar to a push powder.
Volumizing Hairsprays
Of course, a classic, by flipping your hair one direction, lightly spraying a volumizing hairspray, allow it to dry and then flip it back, will bring a lot of height and volume to your hair.
Hairstyles for Thinning Hair – Men
My best advice for hairstyles for thinning hair for men is this- don’t try to hide it.
A lot of times trying to hide a receding hairline or cover up a receding hairline only draws the eye to the area that you are trying to cover.
- Faux Hawk
A faux hawk hairstyle can be a haircut but mostly it’s about how the haircut is styled. Faux hawk means that it’s up in the front and in the middle of the top of the head. This draws the eye to the hair instead of the recession at the forehead.
- Switch the part
Changing how you style the hair, as simply as changing the way that the hair is parted, can help hide thinning hair for men.
The best tip I can give those that are looking for hairstyles for thinning hair for men is just that. Don’t just try to hide it, but hide it in plain sight.
9 Haircut Ideas for Thin Hair
Visually giving volume to the hair is the best way to hide thinning hair or even very fine hair.
These ideas for haircuts for thinning hair below can be styled in the ways mentioned above and every single one can have more volume added with the products mentioned above as well.
Volumizing Haircuts for Thin Hair
👉 Layers and texture
Layers lighten up the hair, which for thin hair makes the hair look lighter and have move movement and volume.
Texture gives the hair more fullness. There are several ways to texture hair and more than one meaning of the word ‘texture’.
The first is ‘texture’ as in waves and curls. The second is texture by using thinning shears.
Don’t worry, properly ‘thinned’ hair isn’t actually thinner, but it gives the hair more volume. The rule for hair is short pushes long which means that if there is shorter hair underneath the long hair it will push the hair up.
- Thin hair at by the ears
When the hair begins to seem thin at the front or receding at the temple, the forehead becoming more prominent, feathery bangs or heavily beveled bangs will make the forehead look smaller.
- Feathery Pixie
Below is featured a textured, curly, feathered pixie with wispy bangs and wispies left long at the ears.
- Bobs
Bobs are great for thin hair because it doesn’t take a whole lot to style and add volume to.
- A-line Bobs aka Angled Bobs
A-lines are short in the back and longer in the front. This draws the eye to the diagonal line at the length instead of the thinning hair.
A-line layers also make it very easy to get volume in the back and the top.
- Lobs
The long bob. Shoulder length or lower, typically with no layers. Which isn’t as good at disguising thinning hair, layers are better. But for fine hair, it’s best to have a lob or some kind of haircut to not make the ends look so wispy and thin.
So be aware that if you go into a salon and ask for a lob, likely they will give you a straight length haircut.
- The Choppy Look
Choppy layers or layers cut with a feather razor give awesome volume to thinning hair and are great for distracting from the thin with attitude.
- Shags
A trend of 2022 and 2023, shags are choppy layers that typically blend into bangs. These bangs can be curtain bangs, side fringe, beveled (image below), or wispy.
- Fringes
A fringe is another way of saying bangs. But fringe bangs are typically longer and swept to the side.
This is not always the case though. Sometimes a fringe can be lengthier bangs that are thicker or wispy. However typical fringes are a little lighter, not heavy.
Fringes are excellent to add to hairstyles for thinning hair because they tuck away the areas that might be getting lighter around the ears and forehead.
What Product to Use When Treating Thinning Hair
In professional shops, Nioxin is the most professional and reliable product out there for hair loss.
The Nioxin product line was originally designed for chemo patients, it’s a medicated product, which is why it can not be found in grocery stores with generic products.
It does not regrow hair but encourages a healthy environment for the hair to grow back.
Sometimes it unclogs pores and follicles that have been clogged, that had been preventing hair from continuing to grow. If a clogged follicle is cleaned out and is still alive, some hair will regrow!
How to choose which Nioxin is for you–
Nioxin has a system by number based on a person’s level of hair loss.
Nioxin 1– Is for lightly thinning hair
Nioxin 2– Is for progressively thinning hair
Nioxin 3– Is for chemically treated, lightly thinning hair. It’s the same as Nioxin 1, except for colored or permed hair.
Nioxin 4– Is for chemically treated, progressively thinning hair
Nioxin 5– Is for bleached, lightly thinning hair
Nioxin 6– Is for bleached, progressively thinning hair
As a professional barber and cosmetologist, I highly recommend Nioxin for your preventative needs as well as your concerns for thinning in general.
FAQs Hairstyles for Thinning Hair
Does coloring hair help hide thin hair?
If you color your roots darker it can help hide thin hair. However, colored push powders are better for hiding the scalp and adding volume at the same time.
How can I hide my scalp with thinning hair?
Push powder, colored push powders, and haircuts and hairstyles that give the hair volume will help hide the scalp with thinning hair.
Is short hair better for thinning hair?
Yes, generally. Short hair is better for achieving volume. But the style and cut really depends on your preferences and what kind of thinning you are experiencing.
🛑 What not to do when hair is thinning? 🛑
Do not try to hide thinning by covering the thinning area by awkwardly by brushing the rest of your hair over it.
Instead change the style, or the cut to make the thinning smoother and less awkward.
🚫 Do NOT tie the hair too tightly
🚫 Do NOT use shampoos or conditioners with silicone. Silicone is basically plastic and it builds up on the hair and scalp, slowly blocking and clogging the follicles.
These ingredients are listed as ‘dimethicone, cetyl dimethicone, cetearyl methicone, dimethiconol, stearyl dimethicone, cyclomethicone, amodimethicone, trimethylsilylamodimethicone, and cyclopentasiloxane’.
Is Silicone Free Shampoo Good?
Should thinning hair be cut in layers?
Layers help add volume, which helps hide thinning hair. So yes! Thinning hair should be cut in layers!
Can you safely get extensions with thin hair?
This is a tricky one. I professionally, would not recommend some kinds of extensions such as tape extensions, glue extensions, or clip in extensions.
I would advise meeting an extension specialist for a consultation to see if your hair can handle braids and sewn-in extensions.
And ask for instructions on proper care and maintenance on the kind of extensions that are best for your hair, to prevent damage or further thinning.
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