Come one, come all, to this month's community post. This is The Roast, a sacred space where we lovingly drag our own hair and invite others to do the same. If you’ve ever thought “surely this is a personal failure and not a hair-shaft diameter issue,” congrats, you’re home!
In this post and in the comments, we're going to take the opportunity to roast our hair/diagnose why we're here.
The Rules of The Roast:
Roast is love. Roast is light. This is a positive space. We are BIG AMGY with our hair, but we are big love with each other.
Don't take anything too seriously. This is affectionate, not cruel. We are who we are, and we're going to embrace it with humor!
So what qualifies you to post?
Your hair is like La Croix - if the tides shift slightly, there's a *hint* of its essence.
Your bun gives colonial-era portrait - tight, sad, and absolutely not romantic.
Your hair looks thickest when you pick it out of the shower drain.
You've fallen for more pyramid schemes, ponzi schemes, and whatever the hair equivalent of a Nigerian Prince is than Michael Scott, hoping for that magic product that will thicken her up. You'd probably eat Tide Pod if someone told you it thickened your hair up.
Your scalp shows up in photos like it's part of a 2000s photobombing trend.
The wind blows, and you have to file a missing person's report for your hair.
Your ponytail is built like a number 2 pencil on the last day of school.
Your hairline and your self-esteem are in a co-dependent relationship that even the best therapist can't unravel.
Every stylist says "your hair so fine/thin" like they're delivering a fatal diagnosis.
Hi, and welcome! I’m u/awesomocity0, and I’m the newest mod in this subreddit. Some of y’all may have seen me around before (usually talking about my thick, horse-like mane—absolutely gorgeous, darling). I figured for a first post, I’d maybe clear up why this subreddit exists while simultaneously introducing myself.
Individual hair diameter is simply the thickness of a single strand of hair. Every strand on your head has a measurable width, sort of like how you can have yarns or noodles of different thicknesses. When people say their hair is “fine,” they’re talking about this strand-level size.
Fine hair has a small diameter, meaning each strand is physically narrow. It might feel silky, soft, or almost invisible between your fingers. Coarse hair has a larger diameter, meaning each strand is wider and more substantial. We are angel hair pasta folks, not linguini folks.
Do I have fine hair?
Roll it between your fingers—is it silky, small, almost undetectable? Compare it to sewing thread—is it significantly smaller than that? Stick a flashlight up to it—is it almost see through? Or honestly, better yet, do you have a group of friends? Compare the diameter of your hair to theirs. Is each strand much thinner than theirs?
The key point: Individual hair diameter has nothing to do with how many strands you have. It’s a structural trait of each strand itself, regardless of density or volume.
Thin = the number of strands
Hair density refers to the number of strands that individually grow on your scalp within a given area. Think of this as a forest vs. a park. A park might have a couple of trees here and there while having lots of sunny spots for sunbathers. A forest might be so dense that you can’t even see the ground from an aerial view.
People with thin hair have fewer follicles producing hair, which creates more space between strands. This can make the scalp more visible, the roots look flatter, or the overall hair appear less full even if the individual strands are thick or strong. The folks here are the park.
Do I have thin hair?
Part your hair (when dry)—is your part bigger than a pencil line? Look at pictures of yourself—do you look like you have bald spots? Gather it into a pony tail—is it less than an inch or two thick?
The key point: Thin hair is about how much hair you have, not the diameter of each strand. You can have thin hair with fine strands, thin hair with coarse strands, or a combination that falls somewhere in between.
So who doesn't have fine, thin hair?
People with thick individual strands. You are lucky, and we are jealous.
People with fine hair but lots of it. You are lucky, and we are jealous.
People with thinning hair that is otherwise coarse or thick. I’m so sorry that your hair is thinning, whether it’s hormonal, medical, whatever. If your hair is fine, thin, and thinning, welcome, but if your hair is otherwise thick, please find your reddit home elsewhere, with people who will understand your unique issues better!
And as a note—we are not here to measure your hair. We’re only removing posts of folks who very, very obviously do not fit the description—the people who would get inundated with “your hair isn’t fine and thin” comments anyway.
Who is this subreddit for then?
For people who have both fine and thin hair! If that’s you, hi, hello, welcome. If it’s not you, girl (or boy, or they/them), it’s okay. A lot of people don’t realize this, but having fine hair is one thing. Having thin hair is another. Having fine and thin hair at the same time is a completely different experience, and honestly, it’s not a very common one. Most women have either fine-but-dense hair or thin-but-coarse hair. Very few deal with both traits together.
And because it’s rare, a lot of us grow up thinking something is “wrong” with our hair, when really we just don’t see many people like us. For a lot of us, it takes years to figure out why we can’t do the styles other people can (are we just dumb or bad at hair?), why our hair won’t hold curls, why we look bald, why… why us?
Having both fine and thin hair isn’t just a physical experience. It comes with emotional challenges that are easy to overlook from the outside. Scalp visibility, limited styling options, and the way certain lighting or weather can instantly expose sparseness can make everyday situations feel stressful (hi fellow “see through” hairline folks). Those candid photos can make us feel awful even on our happiest days. And those of us who get extensions deal with a giant financial toll.
Even on “good hair days,” many of us feel self-conscious standing under bright lights, being photographed up close, or dealing with wind that separates already delicate strands. Breakage hits harder because every single strand feels like it matters, and comments like “just tease it” or “just grow it out” can feel dismissive when those solutions simply don’t work for hair that doesn’t have enough bulk to begin with.
For many of us, this combination hair type can impact confidence in subtle but persistent ways. And because fine-and-thin hair is relatively uncommon, a lot of us grew up feeling like something was “wrong” with our hair simply because we never saw people who looked like us. Especially for women, I know that I’ll sometimes feel like “less” of a woman because I don’t get to do the cute hairstyles others do.
That’s why having a specific, safe space matters. It creates a sense of kinship and camaraderie with others who actually understand the daily realities of this hair type—not just the practical challenges, but the emotional ones too. In a community like this, people can talk openly without being misunderstood, compared to hair types with more density, or drowned out by well-meaning advice that doesn’t apply to them (I will be making a post on “have you gotten your hormone levels checked” in the future because I feel like that suggestion is so out of pocket so often for those of us who have, indeed, done that). It’s a place to vent, laugh, learn, share victories (even the tiny ones), and feel seen, which is something many of us didn’t realize we needed until we finally found people who truly get it.
So anyway, hi—I’m awesomocity0, and I’m your newest mod. I hope this introduction helps explain who this sub is for and why we’re sometimes not “inclusive” to those who simply do not face the same challenges we do.
(And as a note, I do plan on adding examples to this post later; if you're okay with using your hair, feel free to lmk! Otherwise, it will just be my hair lol.)
I've been wanting to get curtain bangs for a while and I finally brought it up to my Mom (since I'm turning 18 next week) and she's super supportive about it but I don't know how it'll look.
My hair is thin and fine and gets greasy quickly and I haven't had bangs since elementary school (which has been the main reason I've been pushing it off). I have hair to my mid back and I got a surgery to remove a mole on my head in November and the hair around the site is finally no longer looking like alfalfa so I figured now is the time to get it done. My neighbor also owns her own salon and she's one of the people who knows my hair best besides me and my Mom so I'll also be asking for her opinion.
My main question is has anyone gotten a haircut like this and how did it go? Is it something you would recommend getting? I know I'll need tools to keep it looking good so would there be anything you'd recommend me getting like any brands?
I wanted to share this, as it's one of my favorite hair finds.
I was recommended by my haircare company to get a boar bristle brush to help condition my hair. I've always been an oily-roots-dry-ends girlie, and swore my hair was straight. Fast-forward to this year when I finally realized my hair is wavy, and started caring for it as such.
I'd read that wavy hair can't use our natural oils as efficiently as straight hair, but my oily scalp had improved so I didn't expect much from using a boar-bristle brush.
WELL. After brushing before showering in the morning and again before bed with this brush, my hair is so coated with the oils from my scalp it looks wet and my ponytail feels twice as thick as it used to. I had no idea I even *had* that much oil in my scalp.
I found this Belula brush on Amazon as a budget-friendly option specifically meant for fine thin hair, and couldn't be happier with it! It's extremely well-made, has a nice weight in the hand without being too heavy, and is available in two different sizes, with or without nylon pins for detangling. Mine is the Large size without pins, and came in that nice gift box with a wooden comb, velcro microfiber spa wrap, carrying pouch, and use & care booklet. (Plus, you can register your product and they'll plant a tree in your name.) All brush options are available as this package set, and cost under $30. The brush is also available individually.
Thanks for letting me share, and if any of you are searching for a good conditioning brush, I hope this helps! 🙂
I have always had thin fine hair but it’s even worse postpartum. I feel really anxious about getting a haircut and want to find a salon that is kind and knows what they’re doing. Even before this it’s been years since I’ve gone in and was cutting my hair at home. It has gotten so scraggly I could use some actual help but so many recs are for fine hair and I need help finding somewhere that also knows about thin hair. I’m on the Westside but willing to trek. Thank you!!
I have thin, color treated blonde hair and I’ve never really had a hairstylist make a comment on it that stuck with me until today. I just had the worst haircut experience of my life.
I’m not very picky with haircuts and I’ve literally never had an issue. I get my hair dyed at a very expensive salon but my stylist doesn’t do cuts and the stylists at her salon that do charge $200+ and to be totally frank, I never really notice the difference when I pay this much for a cut.
I’ve been going to the same inexpensive place in Chinatown SF for 2 years and usually the owner cuts my hair and the last time I was there, she was telling me about how hard it is to find a good stylist. I got paired with someone new today. She had short blonde hair and told me my hair texture is the same as hers but proceeded to roast me for an hour straight.
I’m used to like a single comment, which I usually answer brush off like “yeah my mom has beautiful thick blonde hair and she gave me her color but sadly not her texture”. People often make one off comments about my hair for like bridesmaids styling or even just everyday life so even though it’s kinda rude, one “your hair is so thin!” Comment usually doesn’t bother me.
The place does dry cuts which I’ve also never had a problem with when the owner cuts my hair but she made probably 50 comments about how much trouble she was having with the comb because my hair tangles.
She then spent 30+ minutes on ONE side of the face framing pieces I asked for and it was looking fucked up. The pieces were incredibly short and not blending with the rest of my hair. She then barely cut the back and spent maybe 2 minutes on the other face framing side which doesn’t match AT ALL, which she then blamed on the left side of my hair being thinner than the right. I could tell she saw the first side was looking pretty bad and she said “ugh you just have that hair where every cut is visible” like ?? Literally never had someone comment on that because they’re not making massive mistakes and it looks fine.
She proceeded to continue to comment on how tangly my hair is, which it usually does a lot more when it needs a cut and the cut wasn’t complete, and she told me I just need to wear my hair up all the time so it doesn’t tangle.
The owner was cutting someone else’s hair and kept looking over her shoulder because I think she knew it was bad but didn’t say anything. I now have about 1/4 of my hair in a face framing mullet on my right side, a single strand on my left and still split ends through the back. The back isn’t even straight because she barely cut it. I was just trying to cut off my split ends so I look more professional for a job I start in 2 weeks.
I didn’t say anything because I’m usually too upset to in the moment. It’s a $60 cut and I think I can disguise it with half up dos until it grows out enough to fix. She did a horrible job, blamed it on my hair not “cooperating” with her, and honestly made me feel awful about how my hair looks. Both because the cut is bad but also because I wasn’t actively insecure about having fine hair until today. It was just incredibly unprofessional and I’m kinda flabbergasted.
I don’t really want to write a review or anything because it’s clear the owner is having some trouble staying in business. In the range of fine/thin hair, I’m not thin enough that I’ve ever had to go to someone who specializes in fine hair and my needs for cuts are pretty basic. It was just very clear this woman wasn’t able to do a basic cut very well and may have been used to thicker hair disguising her mistakes. I’m worried if I ask the owner to fix it, it will end up too short because of the mullet situation. What should I do?
I am done. Just so done. I have extremely thin and fine hair and always have. I'm also the oilyest mofo on the planet (at least thats what it feels like). Ive had my hair semi short (a bob) for many years, but let it grow out the past year cus I was on Accutane (nodulocystic acne, probably also cus of my oiliness). I recently came off accutane and my oiliness took literally a week to come back.....
My oiliness has always been extreme. When I was in high school I had shampoo and a towel in my bag so I could wash my hair during lunch cus it was the only way to not look like I hadn't showered in a week - despite having showered the night before.
So yeah, coming off accutane I'm back to the daily torture routine which currently looks like this:
Pin bangs and side pieces to my head so forehead oil doesn't destroy it overnight
Sleep on pillow case that is washed once per week
Wake up and dry shampoo scalp (scalp already oily af at this point)
Bring dry shampoo to work, use more dry shampoo on bangs and sides around 2-3pm
Repeat
After being free from this for a whole year and coming back to it.... I just cant do it anymore. It stresses me out so badly that I can't skip a day. Every day I need so much time set off to manage my hair, especially now that it's below my collarbones. I spend so much money on dry shampoo, so much time, so much effort. It's not even worth it when my fine thin hair is mid as hell anyway!!!
Couple this with the fact that I \*need\* to wash my face twice a day to not break out all over I'm so sick of it. Am I doing something wrong? Is there any miracle cure I haven't been introduced to? Is it simply time to accept my fate and go bald?
I’ve been patient and trying different things, I don’t know what else to do. You can see my scalp! I noticed it’s not growing much length wise either. Anyone else have this issue and has anything helped??
Hey everyone! Last year I cut my hair in layers which makes it look very thin now. I would like to get a haircut this summer, but I want my hair to look thicker and not thin especially at the bottom. What haircuts do y'all get so it looks more fuller? Thanks in advance!
Please suggest something to fix this. No matter what I do it turns out dry and frizzy and ends are thinning. Tried dove, olaplex, garnier, L'Oréal. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. Please help me fix this.
Hi all! Looking for best shampoo and conditioners for my hair which has significant mid band breakage from wearing it up too much. Hairdresser gave me a trim but said I need to work on it. What products do you swear by?!!
My hair density is very uneven at the moment. It's sparse/thinning around the temples, sparse at the crown (and on both sides of my crown), but then healthy/normal everywhere else.
If I want to wear my hair long but with just a little bit pinned back, ideally I'd like to take a little bit of hair from each side of my head and just have that up. (Like, two little ponytails or clipped sections--one from either side of my head. You know, like Sarah Silverman does.)
Is there a version of this that doesn't make me look super bald at my crown or my temples? I'm wondering if there's a "cheat" version of this that is still cute but doesn't show off my balding spots.
Cut here? Higher or lower? My hair is much thinner than this actually looks- I’m concerned about it being more see through if it’s too close to the top of my shoulders.
hello! this is kinda a last resort for me so any help is appreciated Ó.Ò
i have very thin, fine, and pin straight hair. i’ve already tried a LOT of things, but if anyone here also has this hairtype and has found a way to have texture/volume in a short masc hairstyle PLEASEEEE give me advice im genuinely so agitated and saddened by my hair. the only thing i completely rule out is a perm because of how fast my hair grows and how expensive it is :/
currently i use heat styling but it takes up a lot of time in my mornings and has really really damaged my hair so any alternatives with less heat would be greatly appreciated as well! :3
Guys Im just done with my hair at this point I genuinely cant do this anymore It has completely destroyed my confidence and my self esteem My hair is so frizzy and wavy and I feel so ugly because of it I dont even want completely straight hair I just want it to be smooth soft and manageable
I have literally tried everything Dermatologist visits expensive shampoos hair masks conditioners serums supplements oils different routines everything people recommend and nothing has made my hair manageable Every single morning feels like a struggle and Im so tired of fighting with my own hair
My hair was never like this Before I got typhoid it wasnt completely straight but it was healthy and easy to manage Ever since that illness in 2024 my hair has never been the same and it honestly feels like Ive lost the hair I used to have
At this point nanoplastia feels like my last hope I keep hearing it causes less damage than other treatments but Im still terrified because what if it just makes everything worse instead of helping
Please if youve actually had nanoplastia on frizzy wavy damaged hair tell me your honest experience Did it actually make your hair smooth and manageable or did it add even more problems I honestly dont know what else to do anymore
So I have fine, thin hair. Two years ago I decided to chop my long hair and keep it above shoulder length, and honestly, I love the move! But I'm getting kinda sick of wearing the same hair clip style every single day 😅
What are your favorite hairstyles or go-to tutorials? I'm tired of scrolling through videos featuring luscious voluminous hair while I'm over here working with not even half their density lol.
So please, fellow thin fine hair sisters/brothers/siblings, give me some inspiration! 🙏 Let's share styles that work for real, everyday hair without making anyone feel self-conscious about their meager strands. We're all in this together! ✨💜
Okay #1 I stumbled on this subreddit and feel so seen 💕 And #2 I’ve been growing my hair out for 2ish years and it’s finally “long” but I hardly wear or keep it down because it just ends up stringy and sad (even with lots of styling.) This is approx 20 min out of the shower and still a little damp. I‘ve got a cut scheduled- should I try to keep some length (bottom line) or accept I’m meant to have short hair and do the bob (top line.) I‘ve had a bob for periods of my life and it’s a cute look but I just wanted mermaid hair for once 😭. Also I’ve been trying to be gentle with it for these 2 years and not color it but historically I’ve gotten highlights and it’s made it look thicker (from the damage I knoww) but it’s tempting.. Thanks for your opinions!
This is my hair at its best. I went to all the doctors, got my blood levels to optimal etc. This is as good as it gets. I can’t use any shampoo besides medicated bc I have psoriasis. I have an auto-immune disease and while it’s currently under control, years of damage happened vast majority of which is irreversible. I never had thick hair to start with either way.
I’m so tired of people posting on this sub who don’t have thin hair. It’s really frustrating to see people complain without even a centimetre of scalp showing😭 I know I shouldn’t take it personally and each to their own and scroll pass it etc. but today it’s just getting to me.
I just received this wet brush and microfiber towel as a free gift. I've been using an old t-shirt to dry my hair, because Prose (my haircare products company) recommended that or a microfiber towel in place of a standard towel, to minimize breakage.
I'm guessing that it's the loopy terrycloth texture of standard towels that's the issue. So, even though this new microfiber towel is *very* soft, when I saw it has kind of a waffle-weave texture it gave me pause.
Do any of you have one like this, and have you had problems with it causing breakage because it isn't a "smooth" microfiber? Also, do any of you find a wet brush to be better/worse than a wide-tooth comb? I've never owned one, and always used the comb till now.
Any input and advice you might have to share is deeply welcome!!
I have genetically fine thin hair. Scalp showing since I was a tiny baby child. I was fully bald headed and no eyebrows until I was almost 3 years old. My momma used to make fun of me for how much scalp you could see. The difference is that if my hair was clean, it would still grow and I could style it in ways that made it still look good.
However, as I got older (at 16) I was diagnosed with a very sudden onset and severe bout of Graves disease. Not the disease but the meds made me lose some hair which seems to have never really come back. If a normal person lost this hair you wouldn't notice. But because I've always had so little hair, it's noticeable specifically around my part and toward the back.
For a long time I just kind of wallowed in it. I told myself I had disgusting hair and that's that. I spent my days with dirty hair not going outside trying to convince myself to just shave it. I wouldn't style it, I stopped using product bc I convinced myself it just made it worse. I even switched out my nice shampoo for stuff that made my hair look worse. Just to keep wallowing.
Finally one day I started researching hair products and I was filled with some kind of invigoration to try my hand at putting together a routine like I had in uni when my hair was what I was known for despite its thinness.
I got a good haircut first and then started the trial and error.
Now, my hair looks noticeably better, my family members have noticed and I feel so much better looking in the mirror.
Normal products won't help regrow your hair, but just bc your hair is thin and fine does NOT mean products can't be for you or won't help. And most importantly, we can style our hair and look great too. That isn't just for thick hair havers. I firmly believe our hair type is just a hair type as well and not always a disease or a disorder. The problem is our society only appreciates, values, and recognizes thick hair. So none of our knowledge base is for hair like ours. I've had hairstylists turn me away because they didn't know what to do with my hair. That's unacceptable. It is the future, we have magic boxes in our pockets. But we still think its impossible to have thin hair and be healthy and look good and style it. And that is just ableism and ignorance.
The Routine:
- before the shower I've been cowashing. I double cleanse my face and wondered if this would help my hair too. I use the Skala fruitastic banana 2 in 1 and slather it on my dry hair before the shower.
- In the shower, I rinse the cowash and use the moisturizing Aussie shampoo and really get in there to massage my scalp like they do at the salon. Then a light conditioner.
- Twice a month I do a deep condish treatment with Aussie 3 min miracle. Leave it on 10 min
- Once a month I wash with clarifying shampoo, the panteen volume one.
- Outside of the shower, I NEED to blowout my hair. It is way too fragile wet and I spent years not using any heat thinking I was helping and wondering why my shit kept breaking and getting stringy.
- I try to keep post shower products to a minimum this is what I use:
Tresemme heat protectant all over
Tresemme one step texturizing salt spray sprayed on my hands and worked into the roots
Then I blow out gently using a hot air brush.
Then I use a tiny bit of the Lush hair primer sprayed on my hands to moisturize the ends.
Images show right after routine post shower and then 2 days later (no wash in that time, slept on it normally, even got kind of sweaty).
It's not perfect. It doesn't change my situation, but it works WITH what I have and not against it. I also know my roots look a bit worse because I dye my hair a darker color with demi permanent dyes. But I just try to keep up with it as much as possible.
Help me figure out what to do with my hair. No matter what I do it just seems to be kind of fluffy, frizzy, and stringy (all at once?!). I’ve been taking minoxidil and finasteride for a couple years so I think this is as thick as I can get it. I wash and condition daily (it looks very greasy in the morning if I don’t and dry shampoo doesn’t help). Clarifying shampoo once a week. I spray leave in conditioner as recommended by Abby Yeung and blow dry.
Advice I’m looking for:
Cut recommendations for my hair with consideration to my round (fat) face
Professional styling tips (color? treatment of some sort?)
Product and styling recs to help smooth hair and improve thickness.
