One of the most searched questions when it comes to maintaining strands is “How to get thicker hair.” Whatever we’ve got, it seems we want more of it. So much so that we’re willing to trawl the internet for any tips and products that could increase our hair’s volume and density.
But those results can be confusing and quite often false. So before you waste your time and money on broken promises and disappointing gimmicks, we went straight to the top trichologists—that is, experts who specialize in treating scalps and hair—to ask what actually works and where to best focus our energy.
They explained why hair may be thinner than we’d like in the first place as well as how to boost thickness enough to actually see and feel a difference. Here’s how to get thicker hair, according to them.
Meet the experts:
- Eleanore Richardson, MIT, trichologist at Fulham Scalp & Hair Clinic
- Teresa Richardson, MIT, trichologist at Fulham Scalp & Hair Clinic
- Anabel Kingsley, consultant trichologist and brand president at Philip Kingsley
“Why is my hair so thin?”
Before we get onto how to make hair thicker, it’s a good idea to understand why your hair is the way it is in the first place. “It’s important to remember that our maximum hair thickness is fundamentally dictated by our genetics,” says Eleanore Richardson, a trichologist at Fulham Scalp & Hair Clinic. “If you have always had thick hair, it’s probably not a miracle hair product that is responsible. Equally, if your whole family has thinner or finer hair, expecting dense hair is unrealistic for the parameters your body can work with.”
That said, she adds, “You can improve your chances of enjoying the maximum thickness you are naturally capable of.”
Anabel Kingsley, a consultant trichologist and the brand president at hair-loss clinic Philip Kingsley, which also sells hair treatments, agrees. “Hair texture is predetermined by our genetics, and therefore being born with fine hair does mean your hair will generally be like this throughout your life,” she says.
According to Kingsley, the term fine hair refers to a specific hair texture—one that is characterized by the diameter of individual hair strands. Fine hair has a small diameter, which means the individual strands are thinner and more delicate compared to other hair types. “Fine hair often lacks volume and can appear limp and flat, especially when it grows long,” Kingsley says. “However, we can use a variety of factors to reach your individual optimal hair thickness.”
Thin hair can be caused by some environmental reasons, like overstyling and excessive traction, and also be impacted by your diet or some medical issues.
“How can I increase hair thickness?”
Once you’ve identified why your hair isn’t as thick as you’d like, you can take steps to tackle it. There are a number of ways to do this.
First, look at density. For instance, you may have thick strands but just not many of them. Kingsley says you can improve density by taking care of the scalp—that is, cleansing frequently—and making sure to eat well with three balanced meals a day that include proteins and carbohydrates. She also suggests looking into products and supplements that target hair density, such as biotin, vitamin B12, vitamin D, zinc, and iron.
Next, you can look at your hair volume. If you’re predetermined to have finer strands, there are ways of inflating and boosting them to encourage the appearance of thickness, which is where styling and cuts come in.
Here are some pro-recommended ways for how to get thicker hair…
Good hair starts with good health, so think of food as hair fuel. “Always start with what you are putting in your body, as your quality of nutrition will dictate the quality and quantity of raw materials your body has to work with to make new tissue, like hair,” says Richardson. “Excessive hair shedding is very commonly down to deficiency within the body, so making sure you are consuming a diet rich in protein, omega 3 and 6, vitamin D, and vitamin Bs is essential.”
She continues, “Remember your hair is just one long strand of dead protein, but your whole body also relies on access to protein to repair and make new cells. Your body’s cells will take priority over your hair if protein becomes a limited resource.”
Kingsley agrees. “Eating a healthy, balanced, and varied diet is key,” she says. “The impact that nutrition has on hair growth should not be underestimated. As hair is nonessential tissue, and hair cells are the second fastest growing cells your body makes, its nutritional requirements are very high.”
It can be tempting to start shopping as soon as your hair isn’t playing ball, but hair-growth supplements shouldn’t be your first and only solution. (See above: Start with your diet.) “Supplements can be helpful, but they are there to supplement,” says Richardson. “If your levels are already good, chances are that supplement isn’t adding further value to your body and will likely be excreted out or may even cause complications if levels build up too high. An excellent diet should always come first.”
That said, Kingsley admits it can be quite hard to give your hair what it needs through diet alone. So if you’re eating balanced meals and still not seeing results, she recommends supporting a healthy diet with nutritional supplements like her brand’s Density Amino Acid supplement. “Hardly anyone eats enough protein, at least from a hair-growth standpoint,” she explains. She also suggests something like the Density Healthy Hair Complex because it contains “all the essentially micro-nutrients to support hair growth.”
We’ve all heard of traction alopecia and that product build-up can impede healthy hair growth, so it’s important to style mindfully. “From a styling perspective, we can avoid techniques that can put strain and injury on our follicles to avoid the possibility of thinning or even scarring on the scalp surface,” says Teresa Richardson, a trichologist at Fulham Scalp & Hair Clinic. “Avoid extensions, tight braiding, weaves, or wigs if you really want to reduce tension and avoid the thinning and breakage which, if left untreated, can lead to traction alopecia.”
Likewise, brush gently. “Brushes with long, flexible plastic prongs are best,” Kingsley says. “Boar-bristle brushes can scratch both the hair and scalp and cause substantial accumulative damage.”
Just be sure, if you’re using heavy styling sprays and products, that you deep-clean those brushes regularly.
That brings us to our next point: “Keeping your scalp comfortable and clean is so important as this creates a healthy scalp environment, allowing your hair follicles to produce and grow healthy hair at an optimum rate,” says Richardson. “We would recommend washing your hair at least once a week and more frequently if your hair gets greasy or itchy quicker.”
Kingsley also emphasizes scalp care. “Scalp health has a profound influence on hair growth,” she says. “After all, one supports the growth of the other.” She recommends targeted scalp masks and toners for this reason. Basically, treat the skin on your head with the same care as you would the skin on your face.
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There’s no such thing as a miracle ingredient, but there are ingredients that have been proven and backed by science to help stimulate hair growth. “If you have female or male pattern hair loss, topical scalp drops containing minoxidil are very effective,” says Kingsley. The most powerful are by prescription, so it may be worth booking an appointment with a trichologist for some advice and a prescription, but there are some gentler over-the-counter formulas.
If your issue is fine hair that lacks oomph, you need a routine that encourages volume. “Choose products that are lightweight and contain plumping ingredients to give volume and the appearance of fuller, thicker hair,” says Kingsley.
Also look for volumizers that can lift the roots and help to inflate the appearance of strands.
Last, be kind to yourself and what nature gave you. “It’s really important to recognize that not everyone will have very thick hair, and that is okay,” says Richardson. “It doesn’t necessarily mean a deficiency or a problem at all. We have an image presented to us from social media and celebrities that everyone successful is blessed with super-thick hair, when very frequently, extensions, wigs, or other interventions have been added to create a look.”
She adds, “We can’t naturally compete, but we also shouldn’t think of ourselves as incomplete as a result. It is so important to get comfortable with what ‘healthy me’ looks like.”
A version of this article was previously published on Glamour UK.
