Make Thin Hair Look Thicker

Boy with thin hair
Photo: Shutterstock
Q: I am a 14-year-old boy. I use gel every day for my hairstyle (Caesar cut,) and use a hair-dryer on it, but I have thin hair. I was wondering if using gel and the hair-dryer on my hair every day would make me go bald in the future.
 
What kind of gel should I use? I also want to know what I can do to make my hair thicker. My family is all about healthy hair, and I want to have nice, healthy, thick hair, with style.
 
A: Well, the good (or bad news in some cases) is that going bald is mostly a matter of genetics (90% of the time, anyway). For young men, going bald is a matter of great concern, since no one wants to lose their hair.
 
If the men in your family tend to go bald, chances are that you will too. If they have thick heads of hair, then you should be safe in assuming that you will have a full head of hair, too. However, you do need to look at more than your immediate family for these signs. If there are grandfathers or great uncles in your family tree who were bald, you could have inherited the trait.
 
But, you are also 14, and still in the grips of puberty and adolescence. Your body is growing and changing. By the time your body matures, your thin hair may have become thicker and more like that of the rest of your family. Only time will tell. On the plus side, there are medications available to help you combat male pattern baldness if you should discover that you have that problem.
 
The important thing for you right now is to keep your hair clean and healthy. Shampoo your hair often enough to keep the hair clean and condition the hair daily. As for styling products, always choose gels, mousses and sprays that are low in alcohol content or contain no alcohol at all, especially if you have fine hair.
 
Using hair dryers and heated styling appliances are fine as long as you take care to protect the hair from damage caused by these appliances. See our articles on heat styling for tips on protecting the hair and getting the best results from your styling efforts.
 
As for making the hair thicker, you can always use one of the myriad products on the market for thickening the hair. There are shampoos and conditioners that will gently swell the hair to make it look and feel thicker. There are also serums and products that coat the hair to give it extra thickness.
 
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See also:
 
Hair loss
 
Heat styling basics
 
Thinning hair and fine hair Q&A
 
Does hair thickening spray really work?