How to tame hair that’s too thick

‘I dream of a shampoo that can thin out my hair' Maxime Chanzy tells us. Whether your hair is wavy, curly, frizzy, hair or short, you may tend to feel the effects of thick hair.

Why hair can be thick

It’s helpful to remember that having a full head of thick hair is generally perceived as a sign of good health and is part of the criteria of a man's beauty. Your hair’s condition depends on your diet and physical health, but also on heredity. Genetic factors code their number, size, and twisted or untwisted shape. There are between 100,000 and 150,000 hairs on the skull at any given moment of time, a density of 200 to 300 per square centimetre. Their diameter varies from 0.04 to 0.1 mm depending on the individual. A high density or a large diameter can be enough to give the impression of thick hair. Sometimes these two factors combined can produce an impressive head of hair. This is why you can have both smooth and thick hair, like David Pujadas.

Curly or frizzy hair logically takes up a lot of space thanks to its naturally twisted shape. This shape also makes the protective work of the sebum, produced at the level of the scalp, more complicated to accomplish along the hairs, especially at the level of the tip. These hair types are generally on drier side What’s more, the drier they are, the more likely they are to look like cumbersome straw, especially during confinement or if you have fine hair. Humidity can also be a problem since the hair fibre absorbs water molecules and then tends to fold in on itself. Straight hair will curl up a bit, while twisted strands will curl and puff out more, increasing in visible thickness. Fortunately, some good habits can be a game-changer and improve your hairstyle.

Nourishing and less frequent shampoos

If your hair is struggling between volume and discipline after each time you wash your hair, you might as well shampoo less often. Instead of daily washing, spacing out shampoos to once or twice a week saves your hair from any attempts to flatten it, as the humidity makes it gain volume. Turning to sulfate-free shampoos can also help since these aggressive surfactants tend to dry out and weaken the hair. Made porous, it poofs up and takes on more volume. A mild shampoo helps avoid this problem. Rinsing it with cold water will also help to close the scales of the hair and reduce its overall volume. Finishing up with a nourishing conditioner can coat the hair, eliminate any frizz, make it less thick, and leave it easier to manage in addition to avoiding it feeling too greasy.

Optimized drying

The moment of drying after you shower is also decisive for your hair style since the technique used can create a lot of unwanted volume. Since strong blow of a hairdryer can tend to produce major volume, opting for a towel dry is more judicious for your beautiful hair. Choosing a microfibre towel will have a greater absorbency to wring out your hair. Once the bulk of the water has been absorbed, the rest can air dry.

Style your hair with the right products and tools

After shampooing, Maxime Chanzy puts on a hat for a few minutes to flatten his hair and reduce its volume. A good trick to apply for a few minutes while you unfold the rest of your morning routine before moving on to styling. On days when you haven't shampooed but feel you need to have wet hair to style your hair, a simple spray bottle of water can moisten your head as much as you need, such as says Erwann Le Hen in his routine. A Styling Cream will help tame hair that’s styled with a comb or with your fingers. Keep in mind that plastic brushes promote static electricity, which causes hair to poof up, so avoid those if you have thick hair.

A hairdresser to thin the hair

To this day, there’s still no shampoo to thin the hair and nothing beats a trip to the hairdresser who can do the trick with sculpting scissors. This specific tool works to taper the mass of your hair, that is to say, to make your hair less full without changing its length. This trick requires regular maintenance in the salon, every month and a half or so. Another solution chosen by Antoni Calmon is a keratin softening treatment that can work to mellow out your hair’s texture, reduce its volume, and make it invincible against the weather. Just make sure you schedule monthly appointments with your hairdresser.

In short, to control the thickness of your hair, it’s better to shampoo less frequently, use a nourishing conditioner to coat it well, dry it with a microfiber towel, and style it with your fingers or comb and styling cream. Let’s go!