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Canwest News Service
As a woman with hair so thick and curly it forms dreadlocks in the rain, it’s hard to imagine wanting a bigger coif.
But just as there are women like me using every lotion and secret fix to tame the tresses – aloe vera gel works well – there are others looking to inspire wildness in their manes.
Hair dilemmas such as these are why Victoria stylist Christopher Castle is taking his expertise to the blogosphere (alchemyhairdesign.com/blog).
Castle and his partner Tim Downey have operated Alchemy Hair Design in Victoria for the past five years.
While informal hair-care queries often take place in the stylist’s chair, Castle thought he needed to provide a forum for his clientele to ask questions and find information.
"A lot of times people ask me about common issues: Dandruff, keeping colour fresh, etc.," he said.
"This way everyone can access the answers and ask things. It’s more interactive."
Castle demonstrated the type of hair problem-solving he tackles on the blog by offering three strategies for giving body to fine, limp hair.
Model Alana McInnis had tried everything from thickening conditioners to extensions on her flaxen, flat mane.
"I don’t have a lot of time to spend styling my hair," said McInnis, mother to an active toddler. "But I have been using a thickening serum and it seems to be working."
Styling tips for bigger hair
Castle repeats two words like a mantra when he explains how styling can give body to thin hair: Curl and blow.
He recommends using a round brush to curl hair as it’s dried with a blow dryer.
For more dramatic results, the hair can be curled using rollers, a curling iron or a "dead set" – rolling the hair in several round brushes.
"One thing to remember is the curl will fall out quite a bit in fine hair," he said. Indeed, the rolling pin-sized ringlets in McInnis’s hair fell into a light wave immediately. "So if you want it curly, curl it tighter."
Castle said blow-drying your hair upside-down is another cool trick.
"Then the roots dry standing up."
The next step is to allow the hair to cool back to its normal state, then build body with a combination of product and teasing.
"The method is to focus on the roots," he said, misting the base of McInnis’s hair with a thickening hold spray and backcombing it just a few inches from the scalp.
"Volume comes from having more root lift. Fine hair doesn’t have much density, but you can fake it by teasing the roots."
Finish the style by smoothing the surface of the hair.
Castle said a particular cut, such as a bob style, can give more body to fine hair.
Product can help thicken fine hair
Thickening shampoos, conditioners and styling creams can help build volume in fine hair as well, Castle said.
He has worked with many lines in almost two decades as a stylist and has settled on Bumble and Bumble as his pick of the crop.
The New York-based product line has an array of hair thickening treatments, including the serum McInnis uses.
Made with algae, white birch and hoelen mushroom extracts, the thickening serum claims to swell the hair shaft and build mass up to eight per cent when used before bed over 12 weeks.
Fake a major mane
Going from short to long hair or thick to thin hair is now easier, and more believable, with advancements in hair extensions.
Castle recommends real human hair extensions. They can be glued in – this lasts for about six to 12 months – but do require more care and can fall out if heated.
Clip-in extensions are an easy first step to trying hair add-ins.
Castle tried a clip-in hair extension in McInnis’s hair from a line by celebrity Jessica Simpson and her personal stylist Kevin Paves.
"The most important thing is to make sure the colour matches," he said, fastening the band of long blond hair underneath McInnis’s mane at the nape.
Victoria Times Colonist
