The best tips for thinning out thick hair include actually reducing the bulkiness of hair through cutting techniques, creating the appearance of thinner hair using styling techniques, and smoothing out the texture of the hair with styling products. Special cutting tools and techniques can reduce the volume of hair in different ways and may work for some people. For others, styling techniques that can be used with certain haircuts provide a good option for thinning out thick hair. If cutting or styling changes are not an option, hair can also be thinned out by using products that change the texture of the hair.
Some stylists use a special tool called thinning shears to thin out thick hair. These special scissors literally make the hair thinner by cutting a certain amount of hair much shorter than the rest. Spaces in the blades of the shears automatically cut some hairs while skipping others, allowing the hair to become thinner without the different lengths being noticeable in the hairstyle. This technique usually works best with straight hair or hair that has a smoother texture because coarse or curly hair may actually become frizzier when some strands are cut much shorter than the others.
Thinning out thick hair by reducing the overall bulk of the hair can also be achieved by actually altering the hair's style with certain haircuts. Layers are probably the most popular way to do this because having the hair at different lengths breaks up some of the volume and makes the hair lighter and thinner overall. This type of style often works well for people with curly hair or for those who simply enjoy the look of a layered hair style. Other styling techniques such as using a flat iron or changing the location of a part can also work to thin out thick hair without creating to a layered look.
When changes to a hair's style are not desirable or are not possible, another option for thinning out thick hair is to make the texture of the hair as smooth as possible. This approach will have the most dramatic effect on people with coarse or curly hair but might be helpful for people with other types of hair as well. Chemical straighteners, applied by a professional, can last for months and are very effective in smoothing out hair but can be rather expensive. Other store bought products can be used daily to reduce frizz and make the hair follicles actually become smoother. This approach is probably best for people who don't wish to reduce the actual volume of their but do want it to appear thinner and to lie flatter.