It’s an undeniable truth: No matter what kind of hair you have or how much of it you currently have on top of your dome, you'd always want a little more, right? Or maybe you'd just like it to look a little healthier? Like the leading men we see rocking shiny quaffs on talk shows and red carpets. How do they do it?
Well, they have a team of professional groomers and hair stylists attending to their manes. Thankfully, you have the Valet. team, which is the next best thing. Because we've learned a lot from said industry pros and they've clued us in on all the ways an everyday guy can achieve a fuller, thicker head of hair. And all it takes is swapping in some new products and rethinking your daily grooming habits. There's no complicated routine or expensive surgical procedure. If you're looking to simply boost your volume and make your hair look a little better, consider this your four-part plan to make it happen.
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Keep Your Hair (and Scalp) Hydrated
This one is something of a given, and will be addressed by the following strategies below, but the main takeaway is that if you want healthy, strong hair—just like a healthy, strong body—hydration is key. Don't do things that will dehydrate your scalp, such as smoke or drink heavily, go out in the sun without a hat or use chemical-heavy products that contain alcohol, which will ultimately sap your hair and scalp of necessary moisture. If you find that your scalp is flaking, sub in a dandruff shampoo once a week to rid yourself of dryness.
Style It Right
First, you want to dry it gently. A blow dryer can give your fine hair more volume, but use the warm (not hot) setting in order to dry but not torch the hair's natural proteins. And try ditching the comb. If you're too aggressive with combing and brushing, you run the risk of making thin hair look limp and it will fall flat against the scalp. To give the hair more natural texture and body, try styling it with your fingers, using whatever water-soluble product you like. But if you have really fine or thinning hair, you might want to experiment with a hair powder that adds a little camouflage while boosting volume at the root without weighing your hair down.
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Wash Your Hair at Night
You want healthy hair? You got to treat it right. And that means showering before bed to rinse out the grime and pollution that's accumulated during the day along with any residual product that's left on your hair and scalp. This will allow your scalp to breathe and gives the hair a chance to rest after being washed. Speaking of washing, a quality thickening shampoo can deliver noticeable results. That's because most contain ingredients like proteins, amino acids and keratin that plump the strands and make them look thicker and fuller. Many also pull double duty by helping to strengthen your hair and make it more resilient, too. Then, come morning, you can simply rinse the hair with water before styling.
Full shampoo,
$34 by Living Proof
Thickening shampoo,
$9.99 by Hawthorne
Volumizing shampoo,
$10 / $6.97 by OGX
Thickening shampoo,
$44 by Patricks
Feed Those Follicles
Hair is technically dead, but that doesn't mean the individual strands and the follicles from which they grow can't be made healthier. Hair masks work like supercharged leave-in conditioners. Apply them to just-washed hair and they'll juice up hair with extra hydration and a dose of nutrients. Hair serums and topical sprays utilize proven ingredients like finasteride, minoxidil and biotin to increase hair density and blood flow to the scalp, which allows the hair to be well nourished, resulting in the appearance of thicker hair. Finally, supplements can help by targeting the root causes of thinning, including hormones, stress and lifestyle.
Thick hair mask,
$38 by Ouai
Rx hair loss spray,
$45 / $39 by hims
Hair growth nutraceutical,
from $79 by Nutafol
Multi-peptide serum for hair density,
$22.80 by The Ordinary
FYI
Researchers have found that hair loss can lead to a general feeling of being unattractive and even, in some extreme cases, it can lead to a body dysmorphic disorder where a person has overwhelming anxiety about their looks.
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