If you have thick, bouncy, and shiny hair, chances are you are a major subject of envy among your female peers. Because who doesn’t covet naturally thick and beautiful hair? Worst case scenario – you get secret glares from your colleagues!
Well all jokes aside, if your hair falls under the flat and limp category, your solution might be sitting somewhere in your local grocery store.
Thanks to science, instant beautiful hair is now within your reach.
Thin and lifeless hair may now be a thing of the past as there are specialized shampoos targeting hair that lacks volume and body.
They are sometimes called hair-thickening shampoos that aim to boost hair volume and make hair look fuller and revitalized.
What does volume shampoo do to your hair?
Would you like a drab to fab hair transformation? Then bet on hair volumizing shampoos.
Our regular shampoo is made to remove grease and dirt from our hair and scalp. And usually, that’s all that they can do.
Volumizing products promise to offer more than just a regular hair clean-up. They help plump up lifeless strands to make them appear thicker and fuller.
But you might be wondering how volumizing shampoos work and what they do to thicken our hair.
Strengthens Hair & Repairs Damage
Proteins like silk, wheat, and rice protein are some of the key ingredients in hair volume shampoos. Our hair is mostly keratin, a type of protein found in hair that makes hair strands strong and pliant. These proteins also help expand our hair shafts to make them look thicker.
So if you want to improve your hair volume and texture, look for protein ingredients in your shampoo. You may find protein amino acids and/or collagen in the list of ingredients as well. Proteins like collagen work to repair cell damage, reduce breakage, and boost hair elasticity at the same time.
Gives hair more body & shine
The logic here is “less grease, more body“. Completely stripping our hair with its natural oils and moisture won’t do any good for our hair.
The role of a volumizing shampoo product is to control the release of natural scalp sebum. Therefore, it gives us a lightweight, flowy feel once our hair dries after washing. Excessive oiliness weighs down hair, leaving it flat, sticky, and unattractive.
Apart from proteins, volumizing shampoos also contain a hair-plumping ingredient called panthenol (if you’re still wondering, this ingredient gives us that bouncy hair feel).
Panthenol is a non-toxic vitamin B5 variant. It acts as a humectant in volumizing shampoos. It works by increasing moisture absorption and retention around our hair strands, leaving them hydrated and plumped up.
Some volumizing shampoo formulations are blended and fortified with hair growth boosters like biotin, other B-vitamins, and plant extracts. Such ingredients help promote hair growth for a naturally thicker, fuller mane.
Does volumizing shampoo dry out hair?
It depends on your product’s ingredients. As we consistently say at Instraight, be on the lookout for ingredients that may cause unpleasant consequences to your hair.
For instance, beeswax or paraffin can promote scalp build-up and increase the risk of hair breakage. Some hair volumizers also contain powders or talc that can be damaging in the long run. Surfactants as well can be harsh to our hair especially when you shampoo every day.
On the one hand, some premium volumizing shampoo formulations infuse certain ingredients to counter the drying effects of surfactants, which are called humectants. [1]
Some common humectants found in hair volumizing products:
- panthenol (pro-Vitamin B5)
- glycerin
- propylene glycol
- collagen
Can I use volumizing shampoo everyday?
While experts agree that there is no single rule to hair-shampooing, the rule of thumb is: do not overdo it. And this also applies to hair volumizing shampoos. Especially if you have dry hair, less is better for you.
Once every couple of days is a good shampoo routine if you have normal hair. For many of us, washing hair daily may lead to dryness and brittleness. But for those with an excessively oily scalp, people with scalp conditions like dandruff or dermatitis, and women who are active and sweat a lot, they may be exemptions to the rule.
It will be helpful to know hair needs. Check with your dermatologist if you have skin conditions that may require a special shampoo formulation to prevent further irritation.
Also, read the label. It helps to know what you use on your hair. In the end, what goes to our scalp, also goes to our body.
Final Thoughts
Volumizing shampoos are a quick way to bouncier and silkier hair all day. But like any other hair products, we also need to be careful in choosing which hair volumizing shampoo to buy.
Also, know that volumizing products aren’t the only method to boost hair bounce and volume. You may use some at-home tricks that will help you “fake” volumized hair. For instance, using hot rollers, or changing your part, blow-drying your hair upside down, or sleeping in a hair bun, are known hacks to create an illusion of having fuller look.
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Writer and Content Manager at InStraight. Lovella’s philosophy is that everybody’s beauty is merely a reflection of loving yourself . ♀️ She loves to write and discover new cultures. Find her on Facebook
