How To Get Big Hair

They say “The bigger the hair, the closer to God”. So I figure I should make it my mission to get bigger hair right now!

Someone commented on my hair the other day. She asked what I’d been doing with it lately? I said “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you. There’s a blog coming. You’ll have to wait.”  You see, over the years I’ve tried many methods to add volume to my little pin-head. Without it, I just don’t feel dress/finished! I’ve tried all number of styling products to appliances, but at the moment I’m onto something that you will surely give you a laugh when you scroll down to the bad photo of me in all my velcro  glory!  (But  more on that shortly).

Now, let me say this before we begin. There is good big-hair and bad big-hair. The big hair I speak of has volume and movement. Not the helmet-style newsreader-hair of old that sits on the head and clearly wouldn’t move, even in a hurricane. And not the teased spiral perms of the 80’s. What I’m talking about is simply smooth, healthy hair full of the V-word. Volume.

Here’s a review of what I’ve tried  and has/hasn’t, does/doesn’t work for me. Oh, and by the way, this is NOT a sponsored post. All opinions are my own, based on my own product trials and testing.

Just Teasing

Also called back-combing, this tried and true method of creating volume is and always has been my go-to method. I will probably never stop teasing!

My Top Tips:

1. Always finishing off with a spray (underneath at the roots, not on top – save that for the smoothing down of the outer layer when you’re done) of good strong hair spray like  Silhouette Super Hold Lacquer. Teasing without spray won’t last for long.
2. Always bring along a tiny comb and a baby spray in your bag for touch-ups during the day.
3. Use a mirror to check the back and sides of your head when you’re done. Nothing worse than a visible hole of birdsnest-teasing that you didn’t smooth over properly.

Volumising Root Products

I’ve tried a number of formulas over the years, but thus far I’ve not found one I can say I’ve fallen in love with. I’ve tried everything from mousses to sprays to the latest root powders. Many of them did give the hair a slight lift at the roots, but in the main, they did more to weigh the hair down, and by the second day,  most only succeeded in making my hair feel either stiff or sticky.

I really did think/hope that these new generation hair powders (pictured above) were going to be the answer to my big-hair prayers. But alas, while they did give my hair a lift initially, I still had to rely on my trusty teasing to get the volume to stay. And then I had this gritty feeling all over my scalp which felt just plain dirty!

I’m thinking the powders  might work better  on short, choppy styles rather than long hair? And there are many formulas around, so perhaps I just haven’t found the right one for me?  If you have, please let me know and I’ll be sure to give it a go!

Vidal Sassoon Big Hair Styler

What a nifty product this is! I’ve had two of them. One died just a few days before the 12 month warranty expired (how lucky was that?). Even though this short shelf-life worried me, I loved the product too much to be without it, so I had it replaced and still use it all the time.

My Top Tips:

1. Blast your hair upside down with a hair dryer until it’s 80% dry.
2. Then section the hair and dry each section completely using the Big Hair styler. The Brush does all the moving for you, you just hold the section (or move it up and down) until dry. Release the button and “voila”! I lovely smooth wave.

Vidal Sassoon Root Crimper

Yes girls! It looks like a crimper, and it IS a crimper! BUT, it’s a super-slim one that only crimps the roots of your hair to make it stand off your scalp and give the illusion of…yes, you guessed it…BODY!

Stylist Tip:

1. Be sure to use it only at the roots and not at the hairline (that would look really creepy and sheep-like).
2. Be careful not to hold it at the roots for too long or you’ll burn your hair – or worse, your scalp!

Clip-In Hair Extensions

Oh these little babies are FUN with a capital F! Without having to go through the expense of hair-dresser applied human hair extensions (which can cost up to $1000!) you can get these in a range of widths, colours and lengths and clip in just where you feel you need a bit of extra volume.

When I first trialled these, they didn’t have styleable ones (i.e. you couldn’t curl them or heat-style) but now you can! Jessica Simpson has a range of these and her Bump It Up hair piece looks pretty cool too *I haven’t tried this one myself, so can’t say for sure). Try Price Attack if you want to check out a great range. The girls there are great and will point you in the right direction when it comes to choosing the type that’s right for you.

So what’s my top pick for root-lift and bouncy natural waves now?

Good Old-Fashioned Velcro Rollers

OK, OK, when you finally stop laughing at this bad shot of me in my rollers, you just might learn something. Which ones I love and why I love them. And if you’re really nice to me, I just might even share a few tips on how to get the best out of them! But you have to stop laughing first. OK? Right then…let’s get on with it.

I’ve tried hot rollers, but you know what? The ones I tried had grip-clips to held them in which gave me a line (or kink-mark). I then had to use my GHD straightener to  smooth it out which also knocked out some of the bounce out of the curl. I was impatient waiting for them to heat up. I burned my fingers when I took the first one out, and because of their weight I couldn’t wait for them to cool down so I could just take them out!. It all seemed like too much like hard work. If you’ve had better success with yours, please let me know. I’d love to try them.

Actually, the ones pictured here are Sleep-In Velcro Rollers. I ordered mine from the UK (via eBay) as I couldn’t find a stockist here (if you know of one, let me know!). They are foam-filled velcro and because of the softness you are supposed to be able to put them in at night and wake up in the morning with wonderfully wavy hair. But I just can’t sleep in them, even as soft as they are.

Instead, I pop them in when I get out of bed in the morning. Seriously it only takes about 5 mins to do. Then I have my breakky, sweep the floors, have my shower, do my face, feed the animals and whatever else my morning entails. By then, these little babies have been working their magic quietly in the background. I then pull them out gently, tease as normal (hehe…told you I won’t stop teasing!) and voila!

If I’ve washed my hair, I do my normal thing using my Vidal Sassoon Big Hair Styler (see above) and while my hair is still warm, I pop in my rollers and go about the rest of my morning routine. I’ve been known to put my hair in rollers then come downstairs to the office for a few hours or even more. (That’s how I’ve been sprung looking like I do above!)

Stylist Top Tips:

1. The longer you can leave them in the better the curl.
2. Try putting them in with hair just slightly damp. Then point your hair-dryer at them on low heat to set the curl. OR buy the Hood Dryer (pictured below) and attach your hair dryer to the hose at the end and give them a really good blast of warmth. Hilarious, I know. It reminds me of my mum’s old vintage hair dryer, but everything old is new again at some point, and I reckon it would work a treat! I’m waiting for mine to arrive, but I promise I’ll let you know how it goes!
3. Don’t brush out the curls – instead just tease the roots to blend in the sections and lightly spray with hairspray.

Do you have any favourite products or tips for achieving the elusive V-Word? If so, please please please share it with me here! You’ll be making the world a more beautiful place, and making Big Al very happy –  and that’s got to be a good thing,  right?