Turn Up the Volume

Madonna’s flirted with it. Angelina Jolie’s played with it. Eva Longoria is “desperate” for it. And fashion says it’s not going away. What is this passion for Big Hair? For full, luscious, gorgeous waves. For dizzying height and wonderful width. Does it make us feel more feminine, more desirable? Does it take us back to our little girl days? Are we all closet Lady Godiva’s?

It’s one thing to be able to achieve Big Hair when your hair is naturally thick, resilient and bouncy. It’s quite another to pine for it. To have limp little strands that just won’t stand up to anything.

But what if your hair never wimped out before? If you’ve been coating it with color for years, it was the color itself that added dimension and diameter. You may feel that it’s thinner, when in fact, you don’t remember just how “thick” your natural hair really was. And, in truth, hair without pigment can lose a bit of diameter. After all, it’s lost some of its protein bundles, it’s lost its pigment, it just may reduce. This doesn’t always happen, but it can. On the plus side, it’s softer and silkier, too, but you may want to beef it up a bit.

And that’s where Volumizing products come in. Yes, they’ve been around for a while, but they might not have been doing your easy-to-flatten hair a bit of good. That’s because most of them have always been formulated with resins, specifically PVP/VA, a glass-like, glue-like polymer that is extremely brittle, leaving hair practically untouchable. Certainly not movable. The whole principle behind volumizing products was to coat each strand, actually weighing them down in the process. Result: hair went flat faster than if you never used them at all.

It’s time to start fresh.

One: Give your hair a good clarifying treatment first to rid it of the gunky, gluey offenders. Maybe it’s got more life, more lift, than you think.

Two: reconsider your blow-drying technique. If you leave your hair with any moisture at all in it, it will go flat, even if you’ve just blown a ton of volume into it. You’ve got to get rid of at least half the water in your hair before you even consider styling. So finger comb as you start to dry your hair, rough dry, and shake that moisture out of it. Flip your hair upside down and get the under layers. And finally, let your hair cool down after drying. Your “oomph” won’t last if you don’t let the hair chill.

Three: investigate a whole new slew of volumizing products, just launching this year. Why? They’ve changed the technology. Now it’s possible to find thickeners that are flexible, durable, and much more elastic than they used to be. Meaning your hair is going to feel more natural and be much more malleable. And these new products still promise anywhere from 37%- 75% more fullness. Let’s look at a few:

Redken Body Full

This complete lineup of shampoo, lightweight conditioner, volume amplifier and instant bodifier uses a Nonstop Volume Complex, containing wheat protein for fullness and lift, soy protein for strengthening, and cotton extract for lightweight detangling. Doesn’t sound too plastic at all.

Living Proof Full Thickening Cream

Based on patented MIT research, Living Proof introduces a never-before-used polymer (Poly Beta Amino Ester-1, to be specific) that actually transforms fine hair at “thickening points.” It works by depositing a completely flexible and indestructible pattern of points that can't break or flake off. Result: the hair has substance without stickiness, flexibility without locked-in-form. Just a small amount of the cream should be applied just beyond the roots and worked down toward the ends. Look for it later in January at Sephora.

Sebastian Volupt

The ads say “High Impact Volume Meets Softness” and that’s because of what they’re calling a “cushion-particle technology.” Using two new polymers, Sipernate and Microthene, the hair fiber goes through a "hair raising" experience. First, silica-based Sipernate causes friction on the hair strand, raising the cuticles and enabling them to adhere to each other. Then Microthene comes into play. Consisting of larger, bubble-shaped particles, it fills in the raised gaps and smoothes over the edges. When the hair fibers cross over, the two particles combine to generate and hold volume. It's a little tech-y sounding, but the result is "voluptuous volume without stick or crunch." The line will include a shampoo, conditioner and a hairspray, and does promise that hair can achieve 75% more fullness. Available in February 2010.

Already on the Shelf

Some volumizers have been around for a long time. And it doesn’t mean they’re lacking in technology. Polymers come, polymers go, but finding a product that really works for you is what counts. Just keep in mind you want lightweight boosting, softness, good conditioning and flexibility if you’re going to pump up.

Kerastase Volumactive Lait

Actually from a whole line of “Volumactive” products, including shampoo, conditioner, mousse and intensive treatments, Volumactive Lait also works on an “air cushion” principle to give hair bounce without weighing it down. Fortified with wheat proteins to strengthen hair from within, and amino acids to restore the hair’s “inner substance,” this lightweight daily conditioner employs mineral particles to adhere to each hair strand, creating volume through adhesion points.

Fekkai Full Blown Volume Conditioner

This comes from another volumizing lineup, including shampoo, conditioner, and lifting hairspray. Formulated with a “Hair Plumping Complex” to amplify the diameter of each strand, roots to ends, this lightweight conditioner promises to protect the hair without weight as it builds up and plumps fine, flat strands.

Finesse BeautiFULL Volume Mousse

Part of a shampoo and conditioner regimen, this styling mousse is formulated without drying alcohol, to boost body, lift, and tame flyaways and frizz. Do-good ingredients: silk and soy protein to keep hair conditioned and soft.

Pantene Pro-V Volume

Pantene Pro-V’s Volume collection is a lightweight system for protecting the volume you do have and pumping up what you don’t. The range includes: Shampoo, Conditioners, Two-in-Ones, Gels, Mousses and non-aerosol sprays. Rich in moisturizers, this pro-vitamin formula won’t weigh down your natural volume, as it works to give hair “amplified attitude.”

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