Thinning Very Thick Hair

Cutting hair with thinning scissors — Photo: Schankz/Shutterstock

Q: My hair is very, very thick, and I cannot get my stylist to thin it as much as it needs to be thinned. It also grows very quickly, and I have to get it cut every three weeks.

What type of thinning do you recommend for my type of hair, and can I thin it every few weeks? My hair is not one length - it ranges from about 2 1/2" at the crown to a bit shorter in back, and my bangs are longer.

A: Well, first of all, you have not told me what your hair type is. You state that it is "very, very thick" but I don't know if by thick you are referring to the hair's texture or its density. I also need to consider your hair's wave pattern (i.e., straight, mildly wavy, wavy, curly, very curly, kinky) to have some idea how the hair that has been thinned will react.

All of these factors dictate how the hair should be thinned. The last thing you want is for your hair to be "over-thinned" and suddenly find hairs sticking out of the style at odd angles.

Even so, most hair can be thinned using standard thinning shears to good result. However, you don't want your hair to be thinned every time you get a haircut. If you do, before long your hairstyle will begin looking ragged. The thinning shears cut only a percentage of the hairs with each pass, and yet the percentages add up if you get it done frequently.

The typical guideline is to have the hair thinned no more frequently than every third haircut. This gives the hairs that were cut in the thinning process a chance to catch up to the rest of the hairs in your hairstyle. It also prevents the above-mentioned ragged look.

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See also:

The texture, density and wave pattern of hair explained

Hair thinning gone wrong

Should people with naturally curly hair have it thinned?

How to thin out hair without thinning scissors