Fine vs. Thin

Many times, when a client is sitting in my chair, their complaint is about how "thin" their hair is. Usually, the hair is FINE, not THIN. So, I thought I'd give my two cents on the difference. FINE HAIR: This refers to the diameter of each, individual strand of hair. It is tiny. People with fine hair can have thin hair. However, there are more people with fine hair than thin hair. People with fine hair can have a gazillion hairs per square inch, but it won't look as abundant as their thicker counterparts due to the diameter of their hair. It is what it is... In the majority of people, a strand of hair has 3 basic layers. The cuticle layer is the outermost layer of hair. It is a protective layer and can be up to 10 layers thick. Mind you, these are microscopic layers. The next layer is the cortex. This is where the melanin (pigment) of your hair sits. When you color your hair, the developer swells the cuticle, allowing the chemical to approach the melanin and do it's work to change the color of your hair. Everyone has these two layers. People with thicker hair also have a medulla, which is similar to a straw in that it is hollow and provides strength & extra structure to your hair. Those of us with fine hair (and that includes me) do not have a medulla. This is why our hair processes much faster than everyone else. THIN HAIR: When you have thin hair, you do not have a gazillion hairs per square inch. With thin hair, you have the ability to see your scalp through your hair. You can have any texture of hair, fine, medium, coarse, and still have thin hair. The trick with thin hair, especially if there's a full head of hair, is to give it as much texture as you can to give it the appearance of fullness. Chemicals will help with this, meaning color or perm. I prefer using color over perming, simply because with perming, you have that tire track effect until the perm relaxes a bit (usually a couple of weeks) so your thinness can be exaggerated until then. Not good. Coloring your hair is a better option, as it roughs up the cuticle a bit, making it appear fuller. Now, that being said...if you color your own hair, and you follow the directions on the box, you are doing more damage to already fragile hair than what you need to, simply because you are re-depositing color onto already colored hair, creating holes in the strand of hair. The only way to correct the damage is to come in for regular haircuts and only put the color on your regrowth, not your entire head. Doing this to yourself is rather difficult. (see my previous post about box color!) So, really, you should be in the hands of a professional.