How to Take the Bulk Out of Hair

Simply straightening curly hair can remove much of its bulkiness.

While most people seem to fret about thinning hair, hair that's overly bulky and cumbersome can be a problem, too. Thick hair may prove tough to style, or perhaps the amount of volume in your hair is just not the look you want. Either way, you can utilize a few techniques that require only basic hair care experience to thin your hair out quickly and effectively without damaging it.

Things You'll Need

• Hair clipping scissors
• Straightening balm
• Blow dryer
• Paddle brush

Instructions

1. Give yourself a layered haircut by using a few techniques. If you have curly or short, straight hair, hold a section of hair perpendicular to the head, and cut inward with the scissors at a steep angle. If you have long and straight or wavy hair, hold the hair out perpendicular to your head, hold the scissors open a little bit, and slide it along the length of the hair, away from the head.

2. Apply a straightening balm to your hair after you have dried it off with a towel but before you use a blow dryer, which will help to flatten your hair.

3. Dry your hair with a blow dryer instead of a flat iron. After drying your hair off with a towel, remove the nozzle from the blow dryer, and dry your hair while moving the hair from side to side with your fingers. When the hair is almost dry, put the nozzle back on. Use a paddle brush to pull out 3-inch sections of your hair to the side, and run the dryer up and down the section of hair. This will create a smoother, straighter look that will reduce bulk.

Tips & Warnings

• Ask your stylist for "thinned-out layers" next time you go for a haircut if you don't want to cut it yourself. The stylist has special shears specifically for taking out the bulk in hair.

References

• Hairfinder: How to Thin Out Hair
• "Allure"; 37 New Hair Ideas for 2010; Victoria Kirby
• "Seventeen" Magazine; Good Haircuts for Thick Hair; Meredith Gray