How to Add Volume to Curly Hair: 6 Easy Tips

1. Avoid moisturizing products on your roots

When using a moisturizing product, make sure it’s at least 2.5 inches from your roots.

Your natural sebum is enough to hydrate the roots and even down the strands. Using conditioner or a mask at the roots will weigh down fine hair.

If you’re concerned about frizz, add a bit of gel on your roots.

2. Avoid leave-in conditioners

Leave-in conditioner can make fine hair too smooth, meaning that you ultimately lose volume.

I experimented with several different products and determined that a cream gel is a better alternative because it gives hydration with a light hold.

I now pair this cream gel with this curl styling product for extra hydration and definition.

3. Find a curl role-model and learn about porosity

Find a source you can trust for styling advice for curly hair.

I started following the curl ninja and learned a lot about porosity in hair. My hair has a high porosity, meaning it absorbs a lot of moisture.

I learned that for high porosity hair, I should scrunch excess product out with a towel before diffusing the curls.

Focus on the mid to top section when scrunching since it’s the bottom part that needs to retain more moisture. 

4. Follow the natural direction of your curls

I used to do a lot of hand coiling to force my curls into the direction I wanted.

This is fine, but because I wanted to explore my hair’s natural volume and texture, I started paying attention to the natural direction of my curls, based on “families of curls”. 

For me, the result of this method is that my hair feels like it has more body.

On days when I want really defined curls, I might opt for hand coiling to create those beautiful, yet less natural, ringlets. 

5. Give your products a chance

This means to be patient and use products more than just a few times to see results.

Use the products for at least a week and if you don’t see results, try changing the amount of product or the frequency of use or even try pairing it with another product.

6. Day 2 is usually better

My final piece of advice is that your day 2 curls are typically better looking in terms of volume than on the day when you style them, so don’t be discouraged by your day 1 curls. 

How to add volume to curly hair 

I hope these tips for how to add volume to curly hair are helpful for you! Us curly girls have to stick together!

Next, check out my easy curly hair wash day routine with me.