Body-Building Tips for Hair
If you're like me, you've heard the term "body" applied to hair for as long as you can remember, but you're not quite sure what it means. I didn't actually learn what "body" was as it applies to hair until cosmetology school. It's one of those terms that, at the same time, is both simple and difficult to explain because it relates to other hair terms and attributes.
Body refers to the strength and substance of the hair and its ability to hold a style. It has a strong correlation to elasticity but doesn't just measure the hair's resistance to breakage or ability to hold curl. It refers to the hair's texture but doesn't just mean the diameter of the individual strands. "Body" doesn't necessarily have a bearing on the hair's wave pattern, but hair with a strong wave pattern generally has a lot of body. Think of body as an overall evaluation of these factors as they relate to each other.
- The hair is hard to curl.
- Even small amounts of styling product weigh the hair down.
- Your hairstyles go "flat" within one to two hours of styling.
- Unstyled hair appears lank and limp.
I'm sure many of you see these signs and recognize that you have some issues with the amount of body in your hair. You may now be asking the question, "How do I get more body?" Here are some tips.
Tips for Building Body
Keep It Clean: Just because your hair lacks body doesn't mean that it is dirty, but dirty hair can certainly aggravate the problems of hair that lacks body. It becomes especially important if your hair tends to be oily or if you sweat a lot. Look for shampoos that are formulated to add body and fullness to the hair, and conditioners that are formulated to be light and not weigh the hair down.
Two-in-one shampoo/conditioner products can be great for this purpose, but you may have to "shop around" to find the right one for you. Otherwise, select a shampoo that is formulated to add body and try a leave-in conditioner instead of a regular rinse-through. Leave-in conditioners tend to be lighter and less likely to weigh down the hair.
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