Another member of the chin-length fine hair club. I had short hair for years and years, and grew it out maybe 4 years ago — panicked because it was at a weird in between length when DS got married in 2023 and got it cut short again — then grew it back out. At one point it was almost shoulder length; my goal was to be able to get it in a ponytail. But that length just made my hair get too heavy and flat. I have fine hair, but a lot of it.

This was my length for a long time, and I had bangs for almost my entire life.

Then when I grew out all the bangs and layers.

Twinning with DS. Happy to report has has gone back to short hair.

Then a couple of haircuts ago, I was bored so my stylist gave me a few layers. Here I am making a weird face with my grandchickens. I am finding the layers annoying. They are longer now than in this pic and there’s just one section of hair that just hangs out and is too short to be tucked behind my ear but too long to behave. Not sure what I will have her do on Sat…I am thinking let the layers grow out again, or at least a bit longer.

I have gone back and forth with Virtue and other shampoos and conditioners and I kind of can’t tell the difference. My big complaint with my hair is that it looks dry and dull. I like Living Proof all purpose styling cream — just a little bit. And usually after blow drying, a quick mist of hair spray. I have to blow dry my hair, with a round brush, or my hair looks like straw. But what I love the most about hair this length is that I can go two days (or sometimes even three) between washes. It almost always looks better on day 2.

I have a bazillion hair inspo pics saved on Pinterest. Here are some.

My dream is to have just enough wave for my hair to do this:

I will do like Funky and remove my pics after a while.

Great inspo pix, will print out a couple. Like the pic of your hair in the pic with your son.. LOVE the picture of you with the grandchix, so cute!

I love all your inspo pics, Sue …and i love your hair i coulnt carry any of those styles though .. just not enough volume and hold. Also, i just dont have the pretty face to amp up the look.

layers will mold to my head like a helmet lol

According to my stylist, fine hair but lots of it, worn in a longish lightly layered bob, light bangs. Products I'm loving and have repurchased are Charlotte Tilbury's shampoo (will likely purchase her conditioner if I ever finish what I have on hand ;) ), Pureology's Color Fanatic Leave-in Conditioner Spray, and Color Wow's Raise the Root, Dream Cocktail, and Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer. Styling tools I'm enjoying are a Chi blowout brush with two sizes of interchangeable barrels, and two sizes of heated round brushes. I also use a few strategically placed thermal velcro rollers, heat activated with my blow dryer.

I had 10" cut off of my hair a couple weeks ago (was growing it out in order to donate). I have fine hair + a good amount of hair + it is naturally curly = spiral curls - just use a little curl product + scrunch it up with my hands + let it air dry (sometimes use a diffuser if I need it to dry faster).

The curls in my hair make it easy to style with a round brush dryer - my little flips or curls stay without spray (I hate using a lot of product - I have certain things I use - but I'll have to go look at them in order to list them later).

My hair is just a bit shorter than it is in my profile photo (it is below my shoulders and is just barely below my shoulders when I add my little flip at the bottom). I go back and forth with the length of my side swept bangs. I like being able to pull up my hair and clip it.

I have layers blended in on the sides and back. I used to wash my hair every other day - I currently wash it 2-3 times a week (depends on whether I work out or get sweaty some other way . . . )

If it's humid = I need to wear my hair curly - otherwise, if I'm outside in the humidity, it will frizz.

Darn Funkyart I wanted to see your pics! Flat here too….

Well by now you all know what my hair looks like 🙄 It used to be thick and healthy until I had covid — twice— and it started falling out and what was left was very fine. I have had more or less the same hairstyle for decades, a bob that varies in length from the chin to the shoulders. I use Olaplex shampoos: the clarifying type for the first lather and the purple color protectant for the second. Next is a smallish amount of Unicure. When I comb it out after being in a hair wrap for 15 to 20 min to partially dry it I use a cannellini bean size amount of WOW cream carefully distributed throughout the whole head of hair, applied with my fingers and combed through. I section my hair and twist the sections into snails and clip, then dry and style in one action with a round brush dryer. That takes about 15 or 20 minutes. The more care I take with the styljng step the better it looks. I do this one and a half times a week on average; 2 x a week in the summer and when I am golfing a lot and 1x every six days when its cold and i am not wearing hats much. I get keratin treatments twice a year and have my hair cut and colored every three weeks. (My hair is its own part time job!)

Also, i just dont have the pretty face to amp up the look.

I disagree, you are very pretty. Hopefully you are not aspiring to AI created and airbrushed images in ads, no one looks like those.

I think the key is finding a good stylist. Most can cut a bob, very few will take the time to examine how your hair falls and what hair shape is most flattering. I think a simple bob without layers can sometimes look girlish or twee. (Nobody here!)
I use the same stylist that my daughter uses - she has thick, thick long wavy hair and I have thin fine frizzy hair and we both have great haircuts. She's a gem.

Thank you. Lucille.. and sorry, I wasnt fishing for compliments as much as saying that I don't have the delicate features and face shape that the women in the inspo pics have .. and that some of our folks here have. I thnk that makes a difference with some of the cute, short cuts.

Funky, everytime I see a photo of you, I smile. 😄 If I was at some stupid group training and didn't know a soul, I would come sit by you. You've got a perfect, natural warmth that I aspire to.

That is the problem I have with inspo pics, Funky…like, I think I partly expect that I might actually look like this with just a haircut LOL. Without dyeing my hair blond and reversing the clock about 30 years.

Sue that made me laugh. I had that exact conversation not long ago with the woman who cuts my hair. She was telling me the stories of some delusional customers. She said she loves inspo photos but tries to help people understand how reality may come into play. 😄

I have fine thin straight hair that started thinning about 10 years ago when I entered menopause.

I alternate every few years between a chin length and a shoulder length. Currently it's just below my shoulders. In the summer I got an undercut and I'm loving it. Even though I now have less hair, I feel it looks better and hangs better.

I use Kitsch shampoo bar and that's it. I used to use a styling spray but ran out and never replaced it. If I blow dry my hair it will maintain some resemblance of lift and bounce haha. I rarely style it with hot tools anymore.

I've found the less I put in it the better it looks.

Another fine haired friend, with a very small amount of wave. Keep my hair between chin and shoulder length. Prefer a blunt bob with an undercut. Recently tried a layered bob, but it looked very choppy in the wrong way, so back to the blunt bob. Unfortunately, as I have grayed my texture has become a frizzy mess. Color has helped keep the texture under control, I have kept it a medium brown. Also, my hair was getting very thin, started Minoxidil and it is slowly inproving. Products have been a moving target as my hair keeps changing, nothing seems to work for long.

Recently my Aveda color is not wanting to take on my hair. Not sure what to do. My stylist has been dying it a darker brown then adding highlights, not really happy with the look. Thinking that sadly, I may need to try salon that does not use Aveda but no idea if that will help. If anyone else here had this happen and found a solution, I would love advice.

I too have fine, straight hair that is thinner especially now that I’m in my late 70’s. My haircut looks similar to Sueb’s photo #3 but not colored. I’m streaked with gray.

I’ve probably tried every volumizing shampoo and product on the market. Some I’ve liked and others are just ’meh’. I’m currently loving Living Proof Full shampoo and alternate occasionally with their Perfect Hair Day shampoo (sample size shown). Once a week I use an alpha keratin product that rinses out. I have used the sample one shown in the pic from Olaplex and one from Virtue that i also liked a lot. But I think Virtue has changed theirs. I recently ordered it again and it looks different. Have not used it yet. The leave-in conditioning spray is a new add and so far i love it because it really does help with tangles. I thought i was losing too much hair trying to comb thru my wet hair and this really helps. The Aveda Phomollient I’ve used for years and likely always will.

i wash my hair almost every day, but do sometimes use dry shampoo. I’ve tried a lot of those and like both LP and Virtue but think LP has an edge because of the better, softer smell. If i need something a wet to mist my hair, i like to use a little refresher by Aveda (Rinseless Refresh).

I missed Sueb’s photos but @Funkyart, you looks fabulous!

My hair is fine wavy/curly and it's been in a blunt bob for several years, anywhere from chin to collar legth. Layering cuts off the curl pattern. I do not blow dry.

Shampoo bars do add volume to your hair but your water has to have the right pH. It's worth trying, but do read up on shampoo bars first. I don't use them anymore but I still use a conditioner bar. I like HiBar's Volumizing. It's the lightest of their products. I have watched a lot of videos about hair care for waves and curls and what I've learned is you don't want to weigh your hair down with conditioners, which would be applicable for fine hair too. Avoid shampoos with "butters", like shea butter. Look for ones with aloe and protein. Use a very light leave-in conditioner, like a hair milk.

Ally D .. that is such a sweet thing to say! I am not sure that reality reflects that lol.. but I do tend to attract conversations with random strangers so at the very least, I guess I seem approachable enough (maybe too much so! LOL)

My saved inspirational photos will never become reality .. but I dont save them for my stylist as much as for me. I guess i'd call it an inspirational vibe. That said, even if I start the day with my hair down-- it doesnt take long for me to lift it with a clip so the inspirational photos then become aspirational. "I WISH i could make it through the day with my hair down-- maybe tomorrow!"

RIP dear Diane Keaton

You know how kids say the cutest things...?

A million years ago I had a family tell me I was their kid's favorite babysitter. That surprised me, because honestly I'm not great with kids. I mean sure, I can keep them safe and fed - but I'm not a "get on the floor and play with them" kind-of person.

Anyway as the parents were telling me this story, the little 4 year old girl looked at me and said, "I dunno - I just like your face!"

And there you have it. :-) Sometimes you just have a likeable face!!

@jill302 I bet the issue with your color is the Minoxidil.

Another fine hair gal. Mine is mid back and I use Aveda Color formulas to clean, their strengthener for leave-in conditioner every time I wash. Then if I want to make an effort, I have the thickening spray, gel when I want to try and keep a wave and the new glosser, which the packaging absolutely sucks.

I personally think a bob only looks good on someone who has angular facial features. Big or small, it doesn’t matter. My face is round and features are soft. A bob does absolutely nothing for me.

Hmm, I don’t know if I have an angular face…?

Oh wait, that’s not me.

This is.

This is me now. I happened to get this pixie cut when I was in the 8th grade though it was much straighter then. Went through many hair styles over my career, but towards the end, with all the travel I was doing, this cut was the easiest by far. I literally wash it and then blow dry for 30 seconds upside down and I'm done. My hair used to have a gentle wave, but since I've gone through the change, it's gotten curlier. I find the short hair keeps the curls under control. The layering helps bring them out which gives my hair more texture. I've been fortunate as, no matter what, my hair always had a lot of body. I have a "four finger" forehead...if you put your hand horizontally between my hairline and my eyebrows, you can fit 4 fingers. So the bangs bring my face into better shape, and the bangs also help cover my "expression lines" in my forehead.

For the thinness of my hair, I tried many products. Nutrafol was a total waste. So were other nutritional supplements. My hair was getting so thin that you could see the scalp through the hair in the sunshine. So I went to using rogaine and it has helped tremendously. There is an old thread with before and afters here. I also liked Virtue products. The mousse really helped with styling and floofing the top so it didn't lay so flat. I also liked Nioxin products which makes my hair very healthy and shiny. But nothing has made a difference like rogaine has. I think my hair is thicker now than when I was a teen.

@Sueb20 your cut looks adorable. I think you have sharper features. None of is look like the Hollywood pics im the thread

Funky, you are beautiful, and I think you totally give off the DK and JA vibes. You also have the beautiful complexion to go with your hairstyle.

Sueb, I also think your photo above (I did not see the previous ones) is inspirational-worthy. Your hair actually looks quite thick! And the color is really nice on you.

Annie, I was following your threads before, and I'm glad you found a product that works for you. Your hair looks so soft, and that's such a flattering and classic style, with beautiful color.

I have fine wavy hair. Years ago, I found a photo of Meg Ryan as inspo. I took it to a hairstylist, and she cut it exactly the way I wanted it. It was the perfect haircut. She then went on maternity leave and never returned to work. I've been chasing that high ever since. I've had so many stylists, and so many bad haircuts over the years. I usually end up cutting it myself.

I've also tried various products. I'm currently using a $42 curl gel, and it doesn't work any better than a drugstore variety, imo. The key for me is wash/condition, towel dry slightly, apply product and scrunch, and then don't touch it until it is 80% dry. Then I diffuse until it's 90% dry and hope for the best.

On wash days, it's more curly. Like this (not me, obviously) (although this is how I feel today):

It can go messy very quickly, so it looks either nice-curly or out-of-control-curly.

Day 2 hair behaves better. I washed it yesterday, and had to get up this morning at 4 am. I did nothing to it but shake it around a bit, and after working and running errands, this is my iphone with me in the background (sorry, I'm too tired from waking up before dawn to attempt a selfie). This is the worst that it can look on Day 2, and I'm ok with this for the little effort I put into it.

I recently cut it, so this is on the shorter side for me because I like to be able to pull it back. But if I let it get too long, I look like I play bass guitar for an '80s hair band.

Lucille, I've tried a shorter haircut, but I'm tall and don't feel quite right in short hair. Plus, I like to pull my hair back in summer and when I'm exercising. But the price I pay is that my style can be unpredictable, and never looks the same way twice.

Lucille .. so many experiences and input from those of us with all different kinds of fine hair! Have you decided on what you are going to do?

Feathers - your curls are lovely! I have always wanted curls --all my siblings have curls -I got my mom's stick straight hair!

Annie - so glad the minoxidil worked well for you! Your style fits you so well!

Sue - I agree with feathers .. I have loved all your cuts. They always have movement and a touch of sass! And they give you great volume.

I am in the "looks best on Day 2" camp too! Until cov-d, I washed my hair daily .. with my then bob, it was necessary if I wanted any kind of volume. I also used pureology hydrate conditioner every day -- it made my hair soooo silky and soft. I was fanatical about having silky hair most of my life. When I grew my hair out, I also stopped washing every day. Now I have more volume on day 2 and 3 ... it also holds the light teasing better.

When I was younger/before it was discontinued, I used Sebastian Spritz Forte while drying my hair-- It was what people used in the 80s to get those high poof hairstyles to stay for hours at the club lol. For me, it just added a bit of volume when I sprayed it on my round brush when drying. It was my secret trick. Unfortunately it was discontinued about 10 yr ago and I havent found anything to replace it. It didnt make my hair stiff -- or add weight. Nothing since has come close.

Weight of product makes a huge difference in my hair.. the only products I use after washing/conditioner are Aveda Volume Tonic and Keratase Ciment Thermique. Mousses, gels, spray ons have all been too much weight. I still try them every once in awhile but I havent found anything to add to my routine. I did buy two dry shampoos that I have yet to try.

Funkart, I also have found almost all products weigh my hair down. And I also got the stick straight hair while my mom and sister have nice waves. As an adult I've been able to curl it and get some body but when I was a kid it wouldn't hold any kind of curl to save my life. I would use a curling iron and by the time I got to school it was flat again.

As I've gotten older, or maybe the grays help, my hair does have a little more body than when I was younger, but nobody can tell lol

Funky, I had one stylist tell me to only use dry shampoo as a hair spray — regular hair spray was too heavy for fine hair, according to her. I haven’t been consistent in using it but I did think it gave my hair some extra volume.

Feathers — your hair is beautiful.

One time I read to use dry shampoo the night before so it has absorbed etc by the morning and looks good. idk if that's true or night. I never think about it until I'm at work and admit I should have washed my hair that day haha.

Have you decided on what you are going to do?

I love reading what worked/didn't work for others, I'm still thinking it over.

Sue, that is good to know! Maybe I will try it this weekend! And yes-- i don't use hairspray because of the weight and also, I like movement (though that doesnt really matter now that I pull it back everyday)!

My hair doesnt really get greasy .. just dirty lol. I may try it the night before but not keen on having product soaking into my pillows (but dirty is ok? LOL ok that doesnt make sense!)

I think my stylist has said that my hair is fine but I have a lot of it. I generally wear it quite long. It has some wave, but I tend to blow dry it smooth.

In terms of women with fine hair, I think Cameron Diaz is a nice inspiration. Her hair looks beautiful even though it's not voluminous. She used to stick with chin length though she's had some shoulder length looks as well. I notice what I think are layers that help give it some shape and volume.

I got 1-2” cut off yesterday and my stylist had used a curling iron on her own hair to make it a bit ”messy” and offered to do the same for me since I was her last client of the day. I felt very sassy! Here’s me while paying on the way out. Excuse my RBF.

Cute! My stylist did something similar for me a few visits ago-- but it was curlier. She used one of those 3 prong beach wave irons and it looked nice but it didnt feel "right" or like me iykwim. Ive been tempted to try it myself again but havent.

It is funny, it takes a long time to get that carefree, tossed look!LOL

it takes a long time to get that carefree, tossed look!

Whether curler or iron, would it be the kind of effort that would need to be done daily?

For me, yes .. my hair wont hold a curl long. When it was shorter it would drop within an hour. It seems to hold longer now with my length but it wouldnt survive overnight.

Maybe it is different for those with wavy hair?

Did you use any mousses or sprays? I like the idea of carefree and tossed, but I definitely don't want something that would not last at least the full day.

She used some product but I wasn’t paying attention. But the curling iron process took about 5 minutes. I tried to do it again today but it’s not quite the same, of course. Hiding my face bc no makeup is scary.

No mousses, pastes or sprays .. i would use a spray if i found a new one that doesnt weigh my hair down (the ones i have used in the past are all discontinued). I have never found a mousse or paste that didnt.

Sue, your hair looks so voluminous with the extra curls!

I have extremely fine hair and any sort of texture product just makes it sticky and tangles it up. I have dealt with this fine tangly mess for 62 years and have yet to find anything that makes it look good. I have to deal with extreme tangles and have finally found a conditioner that gets those out. I've been using the Sebastian Penetraitt shampoo and conditioner and it does seem to work pretty well with my hair. The Biolage Detangler also does well and I switch back and forth.

I have hair that has every sort of curliness on one head of hair. It is anywhere from straight as a board to kinky curly (I think they call it a 4b curl)? It's terrible so I wear it up in a ponytail mostly. The older I get, the more curls I have.

As far as blow drying it, I just tossle/finger dry it with a blow dryer on very low speed. I cannot hold my head upside-down because if I do, I will have cowlicks that stand straight up in my bangs. Sometimes I use an old style hair dryer that you sit under. I style my bangs with a round brush and a blow dryer.

Here is a curl chart:

curl chart

If you look at the chart, I have all three wavy type hairs, as well as stick straight and then I have a bunch of the 4b hairs mixed in.

I have fine hair but lots of it. I've found that the texturizing powders that are out there now are pretty amazing at adding volume and, well, texture. I use Milkshake's Powder Pop, but I think there are lots out there. You do not need a lot. I spray a bit on my roots around my face, wait a minute and then fluff it well with my fingers. It just vavooms out and up like a balloon. I have a pseudo shag sort of cut at the moment that I love, but it can look flat without the powder on non-wash days.

Milkshake Powder Pop I like this stuff way better than the texturizing sprays in a pressurized can.

Jojo, you look super cool with short hair.

Yes, Jojo! Love the short, sassy cut -- it lets your bright eyes and smile shine!

Feathers - gorgeous hair!

I do not think I have fine hair. Probably more medium. But I wanted to post that someone I follow on IG that I trust (have bought many products she recommended and always happy) just started using this on her fine hair and says it's a miracle to give volume to fine hair. I can't say if it's true as I haven't tried it although I am considering it even though my hair isn't very fine. There is a trial size in the link below that I would try first to see if I like it.

Link: Oribe Maximista

I also wanted to add that I have been taking Nutrofol for about 8.5 months and it has worked wonders for me. My issues were not as drastic as Annie's, but my hair was thinning. Huge clumps coming out when I washed and when I tied it back I would just about have a heart attack as it felt so thin. At about 3 months it stopped shedding. About 6 months new hairs are growing. I have tons of new baby hairs around my hair line in the front. I'm thrilled and will continue to take it forever.

Another one here with fine, straight hair. And also, more so since I had Covid several years ago. I've just finished reading through every single post here in search of something to help. I have to admit that I was first a very happy hippie in the early Seventies and then, once I moved to Deerfield Beach, FL, one half block off the ocean, I was a very happy beach person when not working. I always had mid-back length hair and loved it. (Sigh) And, even now that my hair has started getting more and more silver strands, I was ok with it, most of the time. I guess, because here in the Santa Fe, Taos, Albuquerque area older silver-haired, former hippies are a lot more evident (LOL). But, seeing it as thin strands just started looking sad. And so, about 3 weeks ago, I had my daughter's good friend, a hairdresser, cut inches off , bringing my hair up to just 2 inches below my shoulders. I've gotten many compliments on it, as we've just recently spent 2 weeks visiting family and friends back in Michigan. But, it's still thin and straight. I wash it every 3 days and use hot rollers on it once it dries that first day. But, as some of you have mentioned, many hair products just make it dull or semi-limp. And, it's straight enough as it is, so I just use a good shampoo on it, but no conditioner. I'm going to add one photo of me taken about 5 years ago, pre-Covid. I'll be taking it off very soon, but I did want you to see it on a good day, before I had it cut. Now, it's parted the same way, but just curls bit under, or sometimes in a "Donna Reed-like" flip up. And, yes, it was already starting to lighten on its own!

I would love to have one of those short haircuts - or even a pixie - but I'm not sure that I have the face for one. I feel like my hair is a nice feature - and without it, I wouldn't look very good.

It would be nice to be able to dry my hair quickly - especially when my health issues are flaring up and I don't have much energy.

@Annie Deighnaugh and @jojoco - you two are lucky that you look great with really short hair.

This is what I do a lot of the time when I'm not feeling great and I've been lazy about getting my hair cut - from my nieces's wedding last summer (it's hard to tell but it's a low side ponytail that has waves/curls) - or I pull it up with a clip. It takes me awhile to dry my hair when it's longer - and I hate spending time getting ready.

The photo is a bit blurry (maybe that's a good thing!! I wasn't feeling good that day and I only wear powder and lipstick most of the time - so can't really hide when I'm not feeling well). I think that when I cropped the photo way down in order to remove MANY family members, I guess it messed with the quality of the photo?

@LynnNM - you look pretty with your hair that length.

Hair products:

Mostly use:

shu uemura essence absolue - nourishing oil in cream.

shu uemura texture wave dry finishing spray

However, I've had a difficult time finding the nourishing oil in cream - I have 1 1/2 five oz tubes of it - not sure what I will replace it with - I've been using it for a long time. I also am not sure if the texture wave dry finishing spray has been replaced with something else. I definitely need some ideas for new products - I've bought a lot of hair products that I wind up giving away.

Um, what are these teenagers doing on our thread???

Thank you all for you pix and posts. After a lot of thought, I decided a bob was just not for me. Had my long hair cut today, similar to Jojoco. It feels great and I'm happy!

I use dry shampoo (no hairspray at all) at my roots only to give it some umph! It works pretty good but I ordered the Milkshake Powder Pop that Daisychain mentioned to see if it's better. I use to have some kind of powder for fine hair volume-but you had to sprinkle it in your hands to distribute-so would love to try a spray instead!