Hair Texture

Hair Texture
Problems

Solutions for Coarse or Fine Hair

We all have about 100,000 hairs on our heads, but if you're a woman with fine, silky hair, you may feel like you have half that much. And if you have a full head of coarse, frizzy hair, chances are that you have more than you care to deal with.

The texture of your hair--be it coarse or fine--is inherited, says Elizabeth Whitmore, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. Hair with a thicker shaft tends to feel coarse and rough, while hair with a thinner shaft tends to feel fine and silky. And what makes the difference between coarse and fine hair are those cellular blueprints that your parents passed along.

Fortunately, the entire hair-care industry has devoted itself to figuring out how to help women with hair texture problems make the most of they have.

COARSE HAIR: WORK WITH IT

Here's what experts advise for coarse hair.

Moisturize. If you have coarse hair, make sure that you follow every shampoo with a moisturizing conditioner, says Elizabeth Hartley, the West Coast creative director for Vidal Sassoon in San Francisco. It will help subdue your hair's tendency to curl by adding a little weight.

Since coarse hair reflects little light, use a conditioner to resurface your hair, says Hartley. Any conditioner will slick down your hair's cells into a flat, highly reflective surface, whether it contains silicone, oil or lanolin. Try them all and pick the one that works best for you.

Let it air-dry. If you have coarse hair, comb a conditioner through your locks, then let it air-dry, says Hartley. The more you handle coarse hair in the drying stage, the more it tends to frizz.

Keep it short. Coarse hair can be shaped to lie a little flatter and straighter when it's short than it would if left long. So if your hair is coarse, a short cut is better, says Hartley.

FABULOUS FIXES FOR FINE HAIR

Experts have equally practical advice for women with fine hair.

Crop it. Fine hair looks thicker and chunkier when cut short, says Hartley.

Let it swing free. Fine hair reflects lots of light, so styles that let your hair hang free alongside your face show off the shine, says Hartley.

Use a clarifying shampoo. Fine hair tends to go limp when the residues of various hair products are added to its own tendency toward oiliness, says Hartley. To free your hair to swing, she advises shampooing fine hair with a clarifying shampoo containing a strong detergent base, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, to remove heavy buildup from gels, sprays or detanglers.

Mousse it. If you have fine hair, add volume by moussing your roots, says Hartley. Lean forward from your waist, squirt a quarter-size poof of mousse into your palm, rub your hands together, then smudge the mousse through your roots. When it's well-distributed, throw your hair back and shake it.

Avoid using gels on fine hair, Hartley adds. They're so heavy that the weight will make your hair collapse.

Let wet hair rest. If you have fine hair, after it has been washed and moussed, comb it into place and then leave it alone for at least ten minutes, says Hartley. Get dressed, put on your makeup or putter around your home. Your hair needs an opportunity to rest, or it will go limp and flat.

Coax your hair dry. Fine hair does not like rough handling, says Hartley, so don't style it with a blow-dryer set on high. Use a lower speed, and don't manhandle it: Instead of pulling on the ends with a brush, use your fingers to push or twirl ends into shape. The result will be more bounce and curl.

Coat with color. Coloring your hair may thicken it, says Diana Bihova, M.D., a dermatologist in New York City and author of Beauty from the Inside Out. The color penetrates the hair's cortex during coloring and causes it to swell. The result is thicker hair.