Teasing Your Hair: A Complete Guide

Regardless of the type of hair you’ve got, a little volume on top never hurt a girl. Sure, fine-haired ladies are likely more interested in putting a little oomph into the crown of their heads, but once you know what you’re doing when it comes to how to tease hair, girls with any type of hair can benefit.

Because the whole process can be a little daunting (and has the tendency to come out looking disheveled if you’re not careful), we’re giving you the complete guide to teasing your hair. Read on below!

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The Tools You’ll Need:

• A long tail comb: Using the extra long tail to section off hair and the thin tooth comb to tease near the root, the long tail comb will be your best friend when it comes to hair volume.
• Hairspray: Using a flexible hold hairspray will keep your teased hair in place without it looking too stiff. Apply hairspray during and after styling your hair.
• A long hair clip: You can really use any kind of hair clip you’re comfortable with, but the idea is to be able to section off your hair easily.

What You Should Be Doing:

• Part hair and section off the top: Depending on what kind of hairstyle you’re trying to achieve, decide where you’ll want to part your hair. If you’ll be styling it straight back, you won’t need a part. Next, section off your hair by creating a “top” layer and an “underneath” layer. The idea is to tease the underneath layer and lay the top layer over it, leaving hair looking finished and polished instead of messy.
• Take the underneath layer and begin teasing with comb: Clip the top layer away from the underneath layer. Taking your long tail comb, gently tease the underneath layer by backcombing towards the root. Begin by combing about two inches away from the root, then move to three inches away, and so on. The bigger the tease, the bigger the hair, so it’s up to you how much to comb.
• Smooth back the front section over the teased section: Once you’re finished teasing, unclip the top layer and comb it smooth, laying it over the top of that bottom layer to cover the teased hair. This way, your hair looks like it’s got a ton of volume, but there’s no evidence of teasing.
• Spray with hairspray: Once you style your hair, spray the flexible hold hairspray to get the look to stay in place. Voilà!

MORE: The Do’s and Don’ts of Hair Volume

How to Get Your Hair Back to Normal 

• Gently brush out the teased hair: When wet hair is brushed, strands are more likely to break, causing major hair damage. Using a brush, gently brush out the teased hair working from the ends towards the roots (it’s the entire process in reverse). If you can’t get it all, the next step will help.
• Apply loads of conditioner: For hair that’s just not allowing a brush to do its job, use a lot of conditioner in the shower (before shampooing!) to smooth out hair. Wash out the conditioner to reveal smooth, good as new hair.
• Give yourself a deep conditioning treatment: If you’ve got extra dry or damaged hair, teasing can take a toll. Treat yourself to a deep conditioning session to get your hair looking great again!

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