The average head has approximately 2,200 strands of hair per square inch, for a total of approximately 100,000 hairs! Hair comes in all sorts of conditions, textures, densities and colors. Factors such as aging, chemical straightening, frequent coloring, and daily heat styling can do damage to hair and cause dryness. It is important to know your tresses well so you can identify exactly what it needs to look its best!
Dry Hair
Dry hair is fairly common. If you color it frequently, there is a good chance the chemicals have started to dry out your tresses. If you use a hair dryer, flat iron, or curling iron on a regular basis, you are probably frying your ends. If dry hair is your problem, first try to minimize the damage you cause. To give your hair extra moisture, use a thermal protectant spray before heat styling to moisturize and protect hair from the high temperatures. Once a week, use a deep conditioner on your hair. Try using products with coconut oil, or start using a leave-in conditioner.
Oily Hair
If you feel as if you are constantly washing your hair only to have it end up looking greasy a few hours later, you have oily hair. Very fine and straight hair is usually prone to being oily. Avoid pomades and gels. Try washing your hair once a week with a clarifying shampoo to help eliminate the buildup of the styling products you do use. Products like waterless or dry shampoo can also help manage the oil and let you go longer in between washings. For your regular washings, use a shampoo formulated especially for oily hair.
Fine Texture Hair
Fine hair consists of hair strands that are small in diameter. It can easily look limp and lifeless. Look for shorter styles and cuts with minimum graduation such as bob cuts and wedges. Avoid longer styles, as your hair can easily look straggly, shapeless and unhealthy. To create the illusion of more voluminous hair, root-lifting sprays, hair volume tonic, thickening creams and volumizing mousse can offer more effective styling. Also, look for a volumizing shampoo for washings and blow dry with a round brush for the best results.
Medium Texture Hair
If your hair is not flyaway or thick and coarse, it is a medium hair texture. Sometimes referred to as "normal" texture, medium hair texture is often thought of as the most manageable. If you would like to give the illusion of less hair, razor cut, layered styles work to make the hair appear slightly thinner. If you would like your hair to appear thicker, blunt cutting and minimum graduation cuts will work in your favor. Any styling product can be used, depending on the type of style you want to achieve.
Coarse Texture Hair
If your hair is coarse, the strands are rough and large in diameter. Look for hairstyles that lessen the bulky weight that coarse hair produces. You should stay away from minimum graduated cuts and choose layered styles for a lighter look. Products for coarse hair should be rich in natural moisturizers to condition and add moisture. Natural oils and products with fewer chemicals are best, and leave-in conditioners are highly recommended.
Sparse Density Hair
There are many hairstyles that are perfect for thin, low density hair. For example, all hairstyles that are longer and heavier on top are ideal, making your hair look thicker. A bob cut with hair at all one length gives the appearance of fuller hair. As for styling, you can create the illusion of volume with products like root-lifting sprays, hair volume tonic, thickening creams, volumizing mousse and volumizing shampoos. Blow drying with a round brush while lifting at the roots near the crown is a technique that can provide a fuller look.
Medium Density Hair
From a hairstyling point of view, having "normal" thickness, medium density hair means that you should always be able to change your hairstyles by adjusting the weight distribution. For the illusion of less hair, razor cut, layered styles work to make the hair appear slightly thinner. If you would like your hair to appear thicker, blunt styling and minimum graduation cuts will work in your favor. Any styling product can be used, depending on the type of style you want to achieve.
High Density Hair
If you have high density hair, it simply means you have more strands of hair on your head than average. With this hair type, you can use techniques like razor cutting or slicing to make your tresses appear thinner (although you should avoid these styles if your hair is curly). High density hair should be washed daily, as it is often much more resilient to damage and dryness of daily shampooing than more fragile, thin hair. Daily shampooing will also maintain the hair's natural shine and beauty. Pomades, waxes and gels work well with fuller hair and help manage frizz.