27 Hairstyles for Thin Hair to Bring to Your Hairstylist ASAP
Thin hair is its own category, but there are plenty of hair types that fit within that box. You can have thin hair and straight, wavy, or curly strands. And that’s not even taking length into account. For each of these, there are haircare tips you should follow and styles that work best. Today, we’re all about the best hairstyles for thin hair.
There are many hairstyles that flatter people with thin hair, such as choppy pixie cuts, wavy lobs, and fringe bangs. To find out what hairstyles best suit thin hair, we tapped five celebrity and professional hair stylists to ask them which hairstyles for thin hair they thought were best for short, medium, and long hair—and they gave us 27 looks.
1. Short Pixie Cut
While a pixie means having less hair length, the super-short cut delivers movement and volume, according to celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai, creating the look of density and fullness.
For this look, he recommends towel drying the roots, and then spray his brand’s Full Blown Volume Dry Texturizing Spray into the hair to give it some added texture and relief.
2. Short Choppy Pixie
“[This pixie] requires lots of layers, which allows for height in styling, especially on top and in the crown, which makes it easier for the hair to look much fuller than it is,” says Beverley Simmons of Hair La Vie.
With a very textured pixie, she recommends styling with a light mousse or a light texturizing spray to create fullness. Additionally, she recommends avoiding products with silicones, oils, and other such ingredients as they tend to be much too heavy for fine, thin hair.
3. Medium-Length Pixie
A classic medium-length pixie can deliver the dramatic edge of a close-cut pixie while giving off a more low-key vibe.
To add a bit of separation and texture to the hair, warm up some hair pomade between your palms and lightly work it in.
7. One-Length Bob
A strong one-length bob maximizes every single strand on the head, according to Paul Mitchell’s editorial director Noogie Thai.
He recommends using a blast of the Paul Mitchell Invisiblewear Undone Texture Spray to give finer hair some volume and bulk.
8. Wavy Bob
Los Angeles-based hairstylist Cherilyn Farris loves a wavy blunt bob for thin hair to add movement and volume for an overall fuller appearance.
Farris uses a flatiron to create waves and finishes the style off with a texturizing spray to add fullness.
11. Textured, Braided Bun
Farris is a fan of wearing thin hair up in a textured bun, as opposed to a regular messy bun. She says, “braiding your ponytail before pinning it into a bun gives the style grip and hold so you can pull and loosen it up without it falling out, making it appear bigger.”
To prep hair, she recommends applying R+Co Aircraft Pomade Mousse from the mid-shaft to the ends. Then, pull hair into a ponytail, braiding the hair and tugging the pieces apart to make them appear wider before wrapping the braid around the base of the hair tie and pinning it into place.
12. Classic Lob
Longer than a bob but still just as versatile, the lob gives length and movement, without compromising on volume. Plus, according to celebrity hairstylist Jonathan Colombini, a lob keeps the ends looking fuller.
He recommends using “a booster, like the L’Oréal Paris Advanced Hairstyle BOOST IT High Lift Creation Spray, on your roots before blow drying and tipping your head over to create more volume.”
13. Beachy Lob
A beachy lob is the epitome of careless and flirty, and it looks great on people with thin hair.
To get that salt-hair-don’t-care look, use a sea salt scrub to add a bit of grit and texture to the hair, like the Davines SOLU Sea Salt Scrub, before braiding your hair and letting it air dry. To enhance the waves and give them more hold, use a sea salt spray and scrunch it into your hair after taking out your braids.
14. Curly Lob
Curls will take up more space and give some fun movement. Make sure to use a heat protectant and to curl at a moderate heat—Simmons recommends going no higher than 325° F to prevent hair damage.
16. Half-Up, Half-Down
Los Angeles-based celebrity hairstylist Laura Polko says she lives for the half-up-half-down style, especially for people with thin hair.
17. Textured Layers
Thai recommends textured layers to help add movement to fine hair—but says not to go overboard so you don’t end up thinning out the hair and making it look sparse. Before getting this haircut, ask your hair stylist to keep the layers long.
18. Deep Side-Part
Sorry Gen Z, but there’s nothing quite like a deep side-part to change up a look and give movement to tired, flat hair.
For extra volume, use dry shampoo to soak up excess scalp sebum that could be weighing your hair down, such as Briogeo’s Scalp Revival Charcoal + Biotin Dry Shampoo which is non-aerosol, meaning its molecules are bigger and can soak up more oil to allow for more volume at the roots.
19. Fringed Bangs
“A fringe bang can hide the hairline and scalp, which can often be a challenging area for those with finer hair,” Thai explains of this flattering and trendy hairstyle.
22. Braided Topknot
When you have enough hair to pull into a topknot, infuse plumpness and fullness by braiding the hair. If you’re finding that your hair is having a hard time staying gripped, use a dry texture powder on the sections to give your strands a little grit and hold.
We recommend Kristin Ess’s Working Texture Loose Styling Powder, as it provides tons of grit without feeling unpleasant or heavy.
23. Vintage Waves
Vintage waves never go out of style. With the combination of a deep side part and bouncy curls, this style is all about classy volume. Make sure you remember to curl all your hair in one direction and to comb it gently afterwards—the combing helps the curl pattern join together.
24. Long Layers
Just as long layers on a lob will give some texture, so will long layers on long hair. Remember to hit your hair with a texturizing mist to give a bit of separation between the layers and encourage movement.
25. Curtain Bangs
Curtain bangs have made quite the comeback, and they’re perfect for people with thin hair. Additionally, a curtain fringe can help obscure the forehead and hairline, and also brings a bit more framing weight around the face.
