If, like me, you were born with PS & PL (Poker Straight & Pretty Lifeless) Hair, I am safely assuming that obtaining the right amount of volume is or has been a pretty up-there #hairgoal and probably a weekly, if not daily, battle. Girls with naturally bouncy, frizzy, wavy or coarse hair will never understand, bless their cotton socks. Why? Because any waves, curls, frizzy bits or bends can be magically GHD’d away in about half an hour (unless of course your mane resembles Monica’s in that Friends episode in the Bahamas), but getting volume into poker straight & pretty lifeless hair takes a different kind of will power: #thestruggleisreal, people.
So, having tried and tested an insane number of volumizing mousses, sprays, root boosters & brushes over the years, I’m here to share my go-to products with you, to help make you look like #youwokeuplikethis:
Structure Glamtex Backcomb Effect Spray | I was introduced to this spray by my trusty Lameez Barendse, who does THE most phenomenal, volumizing blow-dry (she can be found flexing her blow-dry sculpted biceps at HAIR on Kloofnek Road, if you live in Cape Town: 021-422-2269). This product is amazing to spritz onto roots after a blow-dry, for that extra bit of grit and root boosting, and it works wonders to revive second- or third-day hair on them lazy days. If you’re feeling courageous, combine this spray with some good old-fashioned backcombing. Yes – I know – I should have been born in the 80s. Oh well.
- Kevin Murphy Powder Puff Volumising Powder | Another product that genuinely works to boost hair at the roots (which is obviously where volume is needed most, especially if your face, like mine, can lean towards the rounder side) is a little white powder in a little pink shaker can. This product that I have since become obsessed with (to put it mildly) was first introduced to me by my beloved Gilbert, also of
HAIR in Kloofnek Road, and – yes – I will be eternally grateful. It’s so easy to use and just so freaking effective: simply sprinkle some of this magic dust onto your scalp (after washing and drying hair), massage in to the roots and VOILA, it’s Dallas in a bottle! I started using this product on my hair for our new television show, MOOIMAAK, and – by the end of filming – the hair stylists and I became involved in some pretty hard-core negotiations and barter deals over what become known as “The Pink Powder” (I had the only supply on set). If you live in Cape Town, call Gilbert (021-422-4469, HAIR on Kloofnek Road) to get your hands on this stuff. If you live anywhere else, reach out to your nearest Kevin Murphy stockist or buy from Amazon. Do it!
The Phyto Phytovolume Actif Volumising Spray, aka the Holy Grail of hair-volumizing products | I got to know this spray as a cult hair product featured ad nauseam in the “best beauty buy” pages of magazines like InStyle and, when my skeptical self eventually decided to give it a go, it – literally – blew my hair back (sorry, I just had to slip that in:) Unfortunately, this product cannot be bought in South Africa, but Amazon sells it and, believe me, it’s worth the mission. Spray onto wet roots before drying hair upside down (at least for the first few minutes).
There you go, ladies. Here’s to good (aka big and bouncy) hair days!
Love,
Clare.
Clare Wiese-Wentzel 