Reading: Fine Hair: From Flat to Fabulous — in Seconds

I am the last person who should be giving you advice about hair products.

A fine hair dilemma

My style is wash, tousle, go — and hope the results look intentional. Here’s the long and short (see what I did there?) of my hair history: I wore it down to my behind through high school, permed in the ’80s (of which no photographic evidence exists, for good reason), cropped above my ears as a young mom, straightened and, finally, naturally wavy today. Except for the perm-that-must-not-speak-its-name, every style left me with fine hair and no volume. No foam, gel, or implement gave me any lift for more than a couple of hours. I accepted that fate.

And then, two weeks ago…an ad popped up in my Facebook feed for a volume-increasing crimper called Voloom™. The video showed dozens of gals with just-OK hairdos that the crimper morphed into lions’ manes.

A fine hair solution

I had to try it.

I figured I’d order one and return it if it didn’t work. (At $129, I wasn’t about to commit.) I chose the “petite” version, which seemed easier to handle than the full-size, and waited for its arrival in the mail.

The package that arrived was promising. It included a generous-sized carrying pouch with Velcro closure, a long-tailed comb for separating layers, and three large hair clips to keep inactive layers out of the way. The crimper itself was pink and adorable.

When I first turned it on, the temperature gauge went rogue, with numbers zooming all over the place. Turns out I had no idea how to set the heat ⎯ apparently, you set the + and – buttons to the temperature you want and then let the device do its own thing until it reaches the desired number. Or something like that. I haven’t had any problems with setting the temperature since then, so I’m assuming it’s all good.

The crimper was super-easy to use. And the results? Brilliant. In minutes, I had the volume I’d always wanted. I could pouf it out, smooth it down, even get caught in the rain. And the results lasted until my next shampoo.

The next morning, three near-strangers in spin class complimented my new “haircut” and another asked if I’d changed the color. Nope and nope. Everywhere I went, people told me I looked great. My boyfriend didn’t notice, but then again, he doesn’t notice when my hair looks like shit either, which is one of the reasons I love him so much.