Any naturals with thick hair that looks thin while straightened?

[Ediese]

Yep. I have this problem too. I think my hair only looks thick in it's natural state. I have A LOT of thin/fine strands that gives the appearance of me having thicker hair. If I get my hair pressed/flat ironed bone straight, it looks really thin.

 

[bella gee]

fine haired natural checking in! it bothered me at first but im okay with it now! if i want it to appear thicker i curl the ends (like spiral curl the last 3 inches) and it looks fuller--you can try that

 

[wavezncurlz]

this is me! I thought I was thin haired but really I still have dense thick hair. It's just fine. It doesn't look fine curly so when I get it straightened, folx are always in shock at how it is so fly-away (I like your feather analogy - it's perfect)

 

[India*32]

Man, you ladies are a true inspiration. I shared this page with a co-worker and I'm waiting to hear her comments. I did the big cut on 4 May, so I'm going to need support. Check out my fotki.

http://public.fotki.com/SimoneReynold/

 

[MsKipani]

I agree with most of the ladies. What I notice for me is that using lower heat (I use a maxi glide) helps to keep thickness as well as not weighing it down with too much oil. If you moisturize/condition your hair well before straightening, you really won't need any product other than making sure your ends are nicely coated. These two things help to prevent me from getting thin, limp hair when straightened.

 

[glamazon386]

fine haired natural checking in! it bothered me at first but im okay with it now! if i want it to appear thicker i curl the ends (like spiral curl the last 3 inches) and it looks fuller--you can try that

Curls do make it look more full. I usually feather mine. Of course that makes it look shorter but if I try to make it bone straight it doesn't look good.

 

[Vshanell]

fine haired natural checking in! it bothered me at first but im okay with it now! if i want it to appear thicker i curl the ends (like spiral curl the last 3 inches) and it looks fuller--you can try that

Good tip.

Also for fuller hair I make sure not to flat iron my roots bone straight. Leaving some texture in there makes the hair much fuller. I don't care about it not all being silky straight anyway. I only flat iron the edges really straight and the rest of my hair I either flat iron the first 3 to 4 inches very lightly or not at all. Most of the time I do rollersets so I don't have to flat iron the roots at all. It's so much fuller this way.

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I have had the same problem. I am at the end of my transition. I think the problem is too much deep conditioning and over moisturizing. If you have deep conditioned, blowdrying will make your hair super thin. I am not an expert but you should take a look at Pinkskates regimen. She is 4a natural with strands that look "fine" IMO. She only does a deep DC every three months. She only conditions 30 minutes a week and it isnt a deep condition if I understand correctly. Also make sure the heat is not up too high on your flat iron. I started to turn my temp setting way down and noticed a major difference (duh!) Try easing up on the moisture. Airdrying or hooded dryer may help you with thickness too. My hair is much thicker using these than a blowdryer. Also remember that these new blowdryers have that ionic technology that gets hair straighter than the old school kinds. Things are some things I have noticed about lately.

Thank you, I really need to sell my dern blow dryer ... ugh!

 

[AtlantaJJ]

I thought it was just me, my hair looks so think and healthy in its natural state and then when I blow dry and flat iron, it's just blah. I need to stick with air drying and or roller setting. The flat iron just flattens me out! LOL

 

[Aviah]

The same happens to me... You probably have fine hair. I wanna know how to combat this too!

 

[AtlantaJJ]

The same happens to me... You probably have fine hair. I wanna know how to combat this too!

One thing that I keep reading is that we shouldn't use the blow dryer. I have a brand new Sedu... I should sell it so I won't be tempted to use it!

 

[Br*nzeb*mbsh~ll]

Pink, do you have a vitamin/supplement/diet reggie that you follow for your hair?

^^^i luv that icon! And I agree with the pros the other ladies have listed.
I'm a fine-haired natural, but I have a lot of hair and its dense so it does not look thin once its straightened.

 

[jamaraa]

Me...mine goes VERY flat and I have quite thick hair. Odd, ain't it? I don't like it so I rarely get it hot combed it for that reason. If I blowdry it w/ a comb attachment, it still keeps the thickness and texture. My full length is nowhere in evidence...only a (warm) hot comb brings it all out and makes it go very flat.

 

[helina]

I'm sitting under the dryer right now doing a saranwrap after a ponytail rollerset. If I flatiron my hair, I feel bald!

 

[MangaManiac]

I think that it's just the change in volume and texture. If you straighten your hair with a flat iron on a lower setting your going to get more volume, but less "swang" and straightness, because you're not applying enough heat to make it bone straight. My hair does the same thing, but the same thing happens to my Arabic friend who has RIDICULOUSLY thick hair. It's not all that curly, but if she uses a flat iron it's super straight and the thickness decreases by about 60%, so I promise that it's normal.

The only thing to do is to thicken the hair your have and the hair you're growing. A lot of people like henna and I'm a huge fan of drinking protein shakes and taking vitamins. The thicker the hair your straightening the thicker the product. I know that's not TOO helpful, but hopefully that makes you feel a little better!