ive tried volume shampoos/conditioners but cos of my length, they dont do much for my thickness and volume. are there any hair friendly ways of boosting my hair?
ive noticed improved volume after taking down buns and braids...but my hair looks a bit silly after a braid cos of the stick straight ends and i cant where buns to bed cos its soooooo uncomfortable and hairsticks dont seem like sleep where  ;) (scrunchies dont hold buns for me)
can anyone help with this? i dont mind my fine hair/medium thickness...but i would like more volume.  :-/

thanks in advance!

Here's what I've been doing to impart some volume
to my limp, ultra-fine hair:  When my hair is almost dry
I put in soft rollers and let air dry for about 1-2 hours
and I have nice waves when I take them  out.  I also
sleep in them sometimes.   I also wear my hair in a
1/2 up style a lot, I part about 1 inch of hair from the
front and put it back in a clip pushiing the front foward
to form a poof.  Sort of a quiff.  My hair is still really to
short to braid or put in a bun (it just hits above the
shoulders), so I don't know if that helps you.   I find
volumizing shampoos dry my hair out sometimes.  I know the soft curlers can be time consuming,but I
can't think of any other alternative to heat styling, which
we don't want because to the damage!

thanks Babyfine! i think i'll go and look for some soft rollers.....  ;D

You could also try adding some mousse then brushing or blowdrying (on lowest setting) your hair upside down.  That always seems to work with me.

Yes, there are hair friendly ways of boosting your hair. Use a body-building shampoo and conditioner, but don't apply conditioner directly to the scalp. Use a dryer with a diffuser attachment and when your hair is half dry, add gel or mousse. You may apply wax into the roots to make them stand up. Lift hair with a round brush or a large-toothed comb and continue drying until your hair is completely dried. Do not use too many styling products. Highlights add some volume. Back-brushing also builds volume. I hope this will help you.

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All of the above suggestions are brilliant, and are usually stuff I've tried that works. Only problem with me is that my hair tends to fall flat after a few hours. Ah well...

I personally don't like blowdrying, but sometimes its the only way I'll get any volume. So what I do is let my hair air dry and much as possible and then tip my head upside down with a wee bit of mousse on the roots, and blowdry on the COLD shot setting. That way you avoid heat damage, and get a bit of volume. It makes for shiny hair too!

wrote on Sep 17^th, 2004 at 1:26pm:

Yes, there are hair friendly ways of boosting your hair. Use a body-building shampoo and conditioner, but don't apply conditioner directly to the scalp. Use a dryer with a diffuser attachment and when your hair is half dry, add gel or mousse. You may apply wax into the roots to make them stand up. Lift hair with a round brush or a large-toothed comb and continue drying until your hair is completely dried. Do not use too many styling products. Highlights add some volume. Back-brushing also builds volume. I hope this will help you.

I'm not so sure how hair friendly back-brushing and highlighting would be.  Those are things I would definately avoid.  

What kind of wax would you use?

Yes, I do what Rua says but not everyday.  I wait until
my hair is almost dry, Flip my head upside down and
blow on a low setting.  this summer and fall I've been
avoiding blow drying unless I have to have dry hair
quick but in the winter I might do it a few times.