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9 best hair thickening products
Whether you've got naturally fine locks or they're getting thinner over time, here are our holy grail products to help combat the problem
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Fine hair or thinning hair can be a problem for many, meanwhile some of us just want to give our hair a little more fullness. Thankfully there are a lot of products on the market now designed especially for to help grow your hair or make it thicker.
Shampoo and conditioners are using more and more organic products, which strip away all the nasty products and really work into your scalp to revitalise it and help the hair follicles grow.
Look for products which contain aloe vera, as this will help will soothe the scalp and encourage hair follicles to grow, while caffeine will stimulate the roots and help you get that thick head of hair.
And while shampoos and conditioners are good, other treatments like oils and sprays shouldn’t be disregarded, especially light ones which will nourish your hair overnight or open up your hair strands letting more moisture in.
You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps us to fund journalism across The Independent.
Windle and Moodie ultra nourishing masque and essential oils elixir: £34 for the masque, £30 for the elixr, Space NK
Many of us avoid oils in our hair as we think it will make it greasy, but Paul Windle and his team have been testing and perfecting their natural hair products for years. This oil is best applied to dry hair and helps to expand individual strands, allowing more moisture in. We used it with steam too, as this helps to open the hair even further.
When used in conjunction with the conditioning masque, which contains pure white tea extract, it really soothed our scalps. Sulphate-free, but with natural oils including Tahitian monoi, babassu, and zaobab, it hydrated our hair while giving it a real shine. Over a few weeks we saw a visible difference in the fullness of our hair.
Paul Mitchell extra body thicken up: £15.40, Amazon
Paul Mitchell has a whole range dedicated to thinning hair. Their extra body line includes shampoo, conditioner, extra body boost and thicken up – to name a few. All products work on thickening up the strands, but we found that the shampoo and conditioner took a while to work – however, after using it over a couple of weeks we started to see a difference. But the thicken up, a styling liquid which can be applied at the roots when your hair is wet, worked the best for us. It gave our hairn that instant boost we were looking for which made us feel more confident about styling.
Grow Gorgeous thickening hair & scalp mask intense: £25, Look Fantastic
This mask, made from a blend of amino acids and caffeine, is said to make thin flat hair fuller and thicker looking. We loved the big circular pot it came in and the smell, but it didn’t seem to give our hair as much moisture as we’d wanted.
We found the consistency of the mask, which uses coconut oil and hyaluronic acid, quite thick but it didn’t seem to sink into the hair as much as we would have liked. But the coconut oil soothed our scalp, and after a few weeks of use our locks did feel thicker and bouncier.
OGX’s thick & full biotin & collagen shampoo and conditioner set: £10, Amazon
This combination from OGX are a firm favourite on supermarket shelves, but we wondered if the range could really thicken our tresses. The products use provitamin b7 biotin, which is great to strengthen hair, while collagen is great for cell renewal. The shampoo and conditioner both felt thick enough to clean the hair, but with no stickiness. We found it took about two weeks to see a visible difference, but as well as being shiny and bouncy after every wash, we also started to see an improvement in the thickness of our locks and healthiness of our scalp.
Revitalash shampoo and conditioner: £34 for the shampoo and £38 for the conditioner, Cult Beauty
Scalp health is Revitalash's main motive behind their range. The ingredients, exfoliating willow bark, antioxidant ginseng and strengthening jojoba seed oil, all aid scalp health and allow the hair to grow thicker. Many of us are more conscious of the ingredients we put on our hair these days, much like our makeup or skincare –all of Revitalash's products are paraben, pthalate, and cruelty-free.
We did see some great results from using the range, our hair was notiecably fuller – plus the products smell nice. But as they are on the pricier side, we'd suggest this set would be best for those who have really fine hair and are serious about thickening it up.
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Kiehls rice and wheat volumizing shampoo: £19.50, Kiehls
If you’re worried about thick shampoos weighing down your fine hair then this one is for you. Its light texture was suitable for sensitive scalps and instead of leaving any residue it cleansed our hair completely, without stripping it of anything natural. Made with rice and wheat proteins and the conditioning extracts of jojoba seed and rice bran, we loved the smell and how light it made our hair feel, while still giving it some volume.
Watermans grow me shampoo and conditioner: £22.95, Watermans
Watermans' products come in quite plain bottles, which don't really match their price point, so we were hoping that what was inside would surprise us. Luckily, they did. The shampoo and conditioner are both sulphate-free, which means no nasties and instead has lots of natural ingredients like caffeine and rosemary. There wasn’t many suds with the shampoo but we got used to it after a few tries. The smell of both products was quite clinical too, which may put some off. But after a couple of weeks, the shampoo and conditioner, which are said to strength hair follicles and improve scalp circulation, did just that, leaving our locks heavier and with more volume.
Bumble and bumble thickening serum: £22.50, Boots
As well as loving the dainty blue bottle, this nightly leave in treatment left our hair smelling gorgeous and over time became noticeably thicker. Every night before bed we made sure we put three pumps of the serum into our hair, which felt like no effort at all, making sure to brush it through. According to the brand, using the serum nightly helps to fatten and fortify hair strands.
The consistency wasn’t sticky like some hair serums can be and over a few weeks we could really see the difference in the thickness of our hair. The only downside is that as it’s a nightly treatment the bottle ran out too quickly.
Redken cerafill defy shampoo and conditioner: £28.60, Redken
Redken’s cerafill range is their first that's designed for thinning hair. Their shampoo, conditioner and special energising scalp treatment is said to plump every strand by nine per cent in volume. We liked the easy to use bottles and while the conditioner gave our hair a good finish, the shampoo really made it feel clean, which is quite unusual for specialised shampoos.
The shampoo also has menthol in it, which is said to stimulate the scalp and encourage growth. We didn’t notice much scalp stimulation but we loved the finish that both products gave our hair, making it look shiny, clean and a little bit bouncier.
The verdict: Hair thickening products
We loved the essential oils elixir and nourishing masque combo from Windle and Moodie, they really fed our hair and gave us that boost we needed for volume and a nourishment. However, if you want something which feels luxury but at a lower price point OGX’s thick & full biotin & collagen shampoo and conditioner leave your hair not only feeling thicker but soft and shiny, too.