How to Take Care of Thick Hair

Thick hair can be a blessing and a burden. On one hand, your hair flows in the wind as if you’re Beyoncé on stage. On the other hand, there’s a landfill of worn-out hair ties that couldn’t survive another attempt to tighten up that ponytail.

Whatever wonders and woes you face, excellent hair care is essential for maintaining optimal strength and luster for every hair type. This blog discusses why setting a solid foundation with the best shampoos and conditioners is vital for your entire head of hair. But first, what does it mean to have a thick mane?

What is Thick Hair?

The adjectives we use to describe hair often get mixed up in their meanings, so let’s clear things up. Thick hair, along with thin and medium hair, refers to its density, and it’s one of many ways to describe the physical structure of your strands. Thick, or high-density, hair means there’s a higher-than-average concentration of hairs in any given area.

If you think your scalp is strong in numbers, there’s no need to start counting to determine your hair’s density. A simple observation will do. First, there will be very little scalp visibility without a well-defined part. Second, you’ll have a very full hand (about 4 inches in diameter) when gathering hair up for a ponytail. It’s really that simple.

Other factors to consider when understanding how your hair functions:

• Type – This refers to your curl pattern or lack thereof. Straight, wavy, curly, and coily types can all have thick hair as well.
• Texture – This is where terms often get confused. Hair texture describes the diameter of an individual strand, which can be fine, medium, or coarse. Fine hair is delicate and the smallest in diameter, while coarse hair is the largest in diameter, tactile, and easily holds a style.
• Health – Healthy hair should be relatively resilient and easy to manage, possess a nice sheen, and be free of split ends. Damaged hair just hits differently, and not in a good way. It’s dull, dehydrated, frayed, difficult to style, and in desperate need of loving care. Repairing your hair’s health should be the center of focus if it’s damaged.

Whichever factors describe your hair, living the thick life means that you need your haircare products to go a long way to get into all those nooks and crannies. Here are the best shampoos and conditioners for thick hair and how these concentrated formulas will help you maintain all those glorious locks.

The Best Shampoos and Conditioners for Thick Hair

Deep Scalp Care

With so much density to get through, one issue may be a buildup in the scalp, especially for those with thick, fine hair. It can come from styling products, oil, or dirt that’s not getting a thorough enough washing. If your scalp isn’t getting clean enough or you’re noticing a higher-than-usual amount of natural shedding, get your scalp back to square one with Aveda’s Invati Advanced Exfoliating Shampoo Rich.

This sustainably crafted, vegan shampoo uses salicylic acid to restore your scalp with gentle exfoliation. Lactic acid, a mild alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), provides the assist to free your congested pores from buildup while keeping the skin moisturized. This sulfate-free, low-lather formula promotes healthy growth while leaving your thick hair feeling refreshed and soft.

A Curly Hair Combo

It takes some serious arm strength and a strong wide-tooth comb to get through a thick head of curls on wash day. Getting a thorough comb-out is key for good curl health, and when your only chance is to do so while it’s wet, start getting silky smooth strands with Redken’s All Soft Mega Shampoo.

Made for curly and coily hair, this deeply moisturizing shampoo supports shine and elasticity, so hair stays bouncy and won’t be held down by weight. Follow up with Redken’s All Soft Mega Conditioner for an extra creamy texture that makes detangling a breeze. It deeply hydrates with aloe vera, fortifies hair with plant proteins, and locks it all in with glycerin and Inca inchi oil from the Peruvian mountains. 

Color Safe Conditioner

COLOR WOW’s Color Security Conditioner extends your color treatments and keeps blondes bright in multiple ways. It protects from heat and UV rays that typically fade color or turn blondes brassy or yellow. There’s also nutrient-packed and antioxidant-rich avocado oil that guards against oxidative stress. Lastly, Color Wow’s proprietary SealiconTM complex completes the color-preserving benefits that are perfect for coarse, dry, and fragile textures, resulting in frizz-free thick hair with a gorgeous shine. 

Daily Use

While it’s not typical for a person who’s blessed in the hair department to wash their hair daily (how exhausting!), there are lifestyle circumstances that may warrant the need to cleanse and condition more often. We know how much conditioner you go through, so an all-purpose concentrated formula like It’s a 10 Miracle Daily Conditioner is useful to keep on hand.

It provides rich moisture from botanicals like argan and flaxseed oils and aloe vera. There’s also strengthening support from silk proteins, squalane, and panthenol. This color-safe restoring conditioner rinses clean and leaves your hair soft and ready for action during those more active times.

No Rinse Required

After unraveling your freshly washed mane from a towel, another thick hair hurdle to face is how painfully long it takes to dry. The good thing is that there’s plenty of time to load up on moisture and heat protection with the Sexy Hair Healthy Sexy Hair Tri-Wheat Leave-In Conditioner.

The tri-wheat proteins and panthenol strengthen hair for dramatically reduced breakage, and this silky mist seals strands to withstand up to 450 degrees of heat. With so much hair to manage, it’s actually a silver lining to get to take your time for optimal hair and scalp care. To use, section your hair, spritz, and comb through this luscious leave-in to experience effortless detangling, less frizz, and brilliant shine and strength.

What’s Next?

Now that you’re prepped and ready to style your thick hair, head over to our Beauty Resource Center to learn which styling products will hold up and stay put. Dense hair can handle heavier and stronger hold products, so make sure to use the best high-quality products that match your new shampoo and conditioner. It’s your next step in having the best haircare routine for amazing hair days ahead.