How to Style Thick Hair

Those with fine, thin, limp, lifeless hair will argue the opposite, but for those born with naturally thick hair, it can be a curse. The weight and bulk of thick hair can make it difficult to style, cut and color while still managing an overall pleasing effect. Furthermore, styling time is increased tremendously as there is simply so much more there to style.

For starters, one of the most imortant aspects of how to style thick hair is getting the right cut. Thick hair looks best worn either very, very short, or long enough that it’s weight will hold it down. To be worn at medium length, say, a bob, requires a great deal of extra care to keep stray hairs from sticking out. Whether long or short, extra layers or thinning will help take a lot of the bulk out of thick hair and give itmore natural movement.

When choosing a color, it is best to go for either lowlights or highlights. An all over wash of color will tend to make the hair look like one solid mass of color without any beautiful texture or shape. A combination of a layered cut and layered color will bring out thebest in both the shape and look of your hair.

Also, chemical dyes, bleaches and perms tend to make the shaft of the hair slightly thicker as a reaction to the chemical treatment, which adds excess bulk to the hair. When choosing a color, it might be a better idea to go with semi-permanent or washable colors, which don’t have this effect. Henna based dyes are also a good choice and won’t add extra girth to the hair shaft.

Genetically, people with very thick, coarse hair are often likely to have curly or wavy hair. If this is the case, unless you prefer a look with alot of volume, it can be best to choose a straight style, as can be accomplished with a flat iron. For those with naturally straight hair, adding curls or waves will often add more bulk to the hairstyle, and could have the effect of overpowering the face.