Turn The Volume Up! How To Use Hair Extensions For Volume

If you swear by the old saying “go big or go home”, then you’re probably looking to make sure your mane looks big and fierce like a lion’s. No matter your hair type, you can make sure your hair reaches the height and size you want - with the aid of the right products, the right styling techniques, and (obviously) the right type of hair extensions. Let’s check out how to get the big hair of your dreams!

1. Prepping: How To Wash Hair For Volume

When you’re looking to get the big bouncy blowout of the century, preparation is key. First of all, choose your shampoo correctly: depending on your hair type and scalp conditions, you may need to go for a clarifying shampoo rather than a classic volumizing one (oily, heavy tresses won’t stay puffy for long). 

Best Shampoos For Volume: R+Co Dallas Thickening Shampoo

This is a miracle in a bottle for fine-haired people looking to add thickness and volume to their mane. The Palmetto berry in its ingredients list adds body to the strands, whilst the added biotin strengthens your hair for fuller, healthier-looking hair tresses.

Best Shampoo For Volume: OGX Thick & Full Volumizing Shampoo

If you’re on a budget, this drugstore option is the best on the market. I’m personally a huge fan of this brand, since it saved my hair after I ran out of my salon products. This particular OGX formula is infused with biotin and collagen, two substances that help your hair stay plump and full-bodied.

Best Shampoo For Volume: Maxxam Volumizing Shampoo

If you want to add body and thickness to your hair without missing out on the nourishing components for your scalp, then this product is going to be your perfect match. Why? Well, its formula is packed with a kelp extract complex that nourishes your scalp whilst gently cleansing your tresses, promoting volume and strength in your strands.

2. Prepping: Hair Conditioners For Volume

Conditioning your hair is a step you may sometimes want to skip, as it can add weight to your lengths and ends, resulting in heavier hair that won’t stay as fluffy as you want it when blow-drying it. But if you can’t skip conditioning for one reason or another, make sure you use the right product - and that you only apply it to your ends.

Best Conditioner For Volume: re:line Biotin Thickening Conditioner

This volumizing conditioner has a lightweight, balanced herbal blend of biotin and castor oil that strengthens fine and thinning hair, reduces hair breakage. Its formula, infused with keratin, aloe vera, and coconut oil, helps nourish and hydrate your hair.

Best Conditioner For Volume: OGX Extra Strength Biotin & Collagen Conditioner

This drugstore option works wonders, especially when used in a lethal combo for dull hair with the OGX Thick & Full Volumizing Shampoo. It contains vitamins and proteins that add volume to lifeless strands without weighing them down. Packed with biotin and collagen, its formula thickens and strengthens your hair.

Best Conditioner For Volume: Moroccanoil Extra Volume Conditioner

Is your hair flatlining? Moroccanoil Extra Volume’s conditioner formula will gently help you detangle and soften your hair whilst keeping it fiercely thick. Its lightweight ingredients will boost vitamins and proteins into your hair, and the added Argan oil infusion and body-building Linden bud extract will make sure you can manage your hair without a fuss.

3. Prepping: Hair Serum For Volume

Not many are aware of this, but hair serums are a thing and despite some of them may look and feel a bit oily, a volumizing hair serum’s formula is designed to turn the volume up in your mane, not down! 

Best Hair Serum For Volume: Moroccan Oil Root Boost

For anyone that struggles to get body in their blow-dries, this product is a must! Simply spray on your roots before drying your hair, and style as you wish. The spray creates a strong lift and texturized foundation, meaning you not only achieve more volume but it will last throughout the day. And of course, as it's made by Moroccan Oil, the smell is divine.

4. Drying: How To Blow Dry Hair For Volume

If you want lots of volume, you need to get your hands on: a hair dryer, a round brush (also known as a barrel brush), and some medium to large-sized rollers. If you’re wearing Nano tip hair extensions, Micro ring hair extensions or tape-in hair extensions, this technique won’t work for you - as it could seriously damage them or rip them off your hair.

You want to first roughly dry your hair until it's around 70% dry; if you are using hair products like mousse or root boosters apply them before the drying process beings. In sections, use your round brush to lift the hair under the roots, and drag the air along the hair, lifting the root up at the same time. Avoid directly pressing the nozzle onto your hair; you want to aim the air to the edge of the brush where the hair hangs off, so you are skimming the hair rather than smothering it. Repeat all over, until the hair is dry and bouncy, remembering to lift the hair up at all times for maximum body.

Once dry, add some medium rollers all over and leave in for as long as possible - but 10-15 minutes should do the trick, if you're in a hurry. Remove the rollers, apply some hairspray and you're good to go!

If you want to shape your ends either framing your face place the round brush underneath your hair and use it to curl your ends towards your chin and neck; if you’d like a Y2K flipped-out finish, place the barrel of your round brush on top of your hair, and use it to sweep it away from your face and neck.

5. Accessories: How To Use Clip-In Hair Extensions For Volume

Your roots should now have some more oomph to them, but if you are still wanting the mid and ends of your hair to look fuller, you can always add a little help. If you’re not too keen on permanently committing to hair extensions, you can always add clip-in hair extensions to your mane: a solution that you can pop on and off at any given time of your day in a matter of minutes. But what type of hair extensions is the best for volume? Let’s find out together.

Clip-In Seamless Hair Extensions

Quick and easy to apply, their concealed clips blend in perfectly with fine hair – for a natural finish and hair that looks and feels like your own. Nobody will be able to tell that you’re wearing them! Check out our range of clip-in seamless hair extensions.

Supreme Quad Weft Clip-In Hair Extensions

Does your hair already have some thickness to it? Featuring an application point that hides easily in your natural hair, and strands that will blend in with your tresses right on the ends, giving your mane that plump and voluminous look. Perfect to achieve camera-worthy, flowing lengths. Want to know more? Explore our range of supreme quad weft clip-in hair extensions.

Ultra-Volume Clip-In Hair Extensions

This is the best option for those who have been blessed with thick tresses and would like to step up their hair game for a big day. Blending in with the natural thickness of your strands, this hair extensions type will seamlessly add length and volume to your mane. Ready to make your hair go extreme? Shop our ultra-volume clip-in hair extensions selection.

6. Styling: How To Style Hair Extensions For More Volume

You have the right hair, you have the right hair products, now what about styling? There are many ways that you can give your hair an extra kick. Let’s see the most popular options to make the most out of your freshly new, thick and luscious mane.

Hollywood Waves

This glamorous hairstyle sees your hair crimped in glossy, soft waves. It’s a beautiful, timeless classic that has been trending in Hollywood and the celebrity showbiz for a long time - hence the name! With this bright, vivid shade of red, Hollywood waves will stand out and give a diva effect that is going to be hard to forget.

Retro Blowout

Big, 70s fluffy blowouts have been all the rage lately, and one of the biggest influences on #hairtok is, in fact, sporting gorgeous red locks. Imagine your hair looking as big and fluffy as Farrah Fawcett’s or Cindy Crawford’s from back in the days. Is there anything else to add? Grab your round brush and blow-dryer: we're travelling back in time!

Classic Curly Blowout

This is the most popular, classic blowout of them all. Curls are a glamorous method to cheat your way in having a fuller, thicker blowdry, as the spirals physically take up space - naturally giving the impression of more volume. Check out our blog on how to curl hair extensions to achieve the ultimate curly blowout.

7. Final Touch: Products For The Perfect Finish Of Your Volume Hairstyle

To finish this look you need the right products. To hold your curls in place, for example, you might need the right hairspray. Need to stock up? Get your Cliphair hairspray - designed to hold Remy hair extensions in place, damage-free.

8. Final Touch: What About Volumizers & Top Ups?

It's worth noting some prefer the flexibility of having different thicknesses and weight in different areas, perhaps because of localised hair issues or in order to realise a specific hairstyle. You can do this by using One Piece Hair Extensions instead or even with a full set of clip-ins. These pieces are often used as volumizers and range from 40g top ups, 80g quad wefts and 120g supreme quad wefts, these are perfect for adding volume quickly.

9. Conclusion:

You are now ready to achieve the ultimate big hairstyle of your dreams. Need more inspiration? Check out our blog about how to do a 90s blowout like Cher from Clueless. Or find your inspiration in the viral retro blowout everyone’s been talking about in our blog: How To Do A Retro Blowout With Hair Extensions. Happy styling!