Greasy Hair and Volume

Short hair with layers for volume
Photo: ShotPrime Studio/Shutterstock
Q: I noticed that my long hair was less greasy when it was styled with some volume. I guess that is because the more voluminous hair is not clinging to my head and thus not picking up the grease so much. My problem is that I need the help of a hair stylist to create some volume.
 
I would love to be able to create the volume myself. Would it be easier to add volume to short(er) hair? My theory is that with short hair there is less “weight” pulling it down, which should make it easier to create and keep volume. Would layers or certain other cutting techniques help too?

 
A: You’re right in that shorter hair is easier to volumize, given that the lesser weight makes it more able to “stand up”.
 
Layers are a good suggestion, if you want to be able to evenly distribute the volume, and razor cutting is a great technique with straight hair types for giving organic-looking styles. However, if you don’t want to sacrifice your hair’s length, here are a couple of volumizing tricks to try:
 
One: Combine one cup of white vinegar with two cups of water and use it as a final rinse through your hair. This actually helps to cut oils from the hair and scalp and will allow you to blowdry your hair and get more volume from the styling.
 
Two: When blow drying your hair, bend over so that your head is upside down and dry the hair to at least a “mostly dry” state. You can reduce the heat and airflow of the dryer after you stand back up and finish your styling, but this will also give you lots of volume in longer hair styles.
 
Three: Even if you don’t want lots of really curly hair, try using large rollers to set your hair. Larger rollers can be wrapped to be positioned “on base” (meaning that the roller ends up sitting directly on top of the segment wrapped around the roller) and dried, creating a great deal of volume in the hair. The best thing about this is that the volume tends to be longer lasting than most other styling methods.
 
And there’s no rule that says you have to choose only one of these tricks to try. In fact, many women use a combination of these techniques to create long-lasting volume in their styles.
 
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See also:
 
The good and bad about razor cuts
 
Roller set styling methods
 
Causes and solutions for oily hair
 
Why does my hair always get oily when I straighten it?