Hair styling tips: Three ways to get big, beautiful hair

Nina Ricci FW2010 courtesy of Imaxtree

1. Don’t over-wash your hair
First things first: The better condition your hair is in, the more volume you’ll achieve and the longer it will last. “Whatever you do, don’t wash it everyday," says Toronto stylist June Croken. "It strips the hair and means you need to apply more product to keep it frizz-free, which will just weigh it down.” Washing too frequently eliminates the hair’s natural oils, which help to keep it moisturized and help it fall into place more easily.

2. Go against the grain
After washing, blot hair dry with a towel, says Croken. “Hair is most fragile when wet so never rub it,” she advises. Lift hair in sections and apply a volumizing spray to your roots at the crown, to give your lift staying power. Then, holding your head upside down, aim the blow dryer into the crown and direct the air back and forth, agitating hair with your fingers.

When hair is almost dry at the crown, use a flat paddle brush all the way down the hair, while you continue to blow dry the root area with your head upside down. “Blow-drying against the natural fall of your hair will get you the most volume at the root without using serious arm power, and the paddle brush helps you get a smoother finish,” she says.

Then, flip your head over and finish by running a light pomade over the ends to give your hair a moisture fix where you need it most. “If you’re short of product,” says Croken, “rub hand cream into your hands and cuticles as usual and with the residue that you would normally wipe on your jeans, hug the length of your hair down your back, just to seal the cuticle at the end.”

FIVE SECOND FIX: Instead of patting down your cowlick, embrace it! If your hair parts or grows a certain way at the front, reverse it for instant height. Creating lift at the front of the head creates an illusion of volume, making your hair look bigger all over.

3. Use killer products
When it comes to volume, if you have fine or medium hair, mattifying powders should be your new BFFs. They adhere to the hair, creating friction so that the hairs hold each other up. (Like backcombing, but without the, well, backcombing.) You can use them on clean or dirty hair and they because they leave hair feeling dry to the touch, they also deter you from handling it and weighing it down with the oils from your hands. To use these products, lift the hair at your crown and hold it in one hand. Starting at the front, part hair horizontally and sprinkle the product in at the root and pat it into your hair. Allow each section to fall forward and create another horizontal parting about one cm behind it. Again, sprinkle powder on to the parting and allow the hair to fall forward. Continue until you have applied product to whole crown and then flip your hair back. If you’re short on time, says Croken, “Just sprinkle it into your hands and ruffle your fingertips at the crown.” And voila! Move over, Amy Winehouse.