Hair Styling Tools

With so many types of haircare products such as gel, mousse, cream and serum on the shelves and online, is there a standard rule of thumb as to how much to use? 

Well, according to the styling professionals, less is more.  One of the problems that so many of us experience is when we buy hair product, many of them do not specify how much to use.  And, what typically happens is we use more than we need.  Our hair ends up looking flat, greasy, dull, or shellacked.  So, what then do the experts recommend?

Most styling professionals base the amount of product used on their client’s hair by the length and amount of hair.  Of course these are very obvious answers but for many of us, we need more clarity.  To put the amount into visual terms, think about the size of coins and even a shot glass.

SHORT HAIR

When using cream and gel use between a dime and nickel size amount.  If your hair is extremely thick you will probably need the nickel size amount over the dime size.  For serum the amount needed should not exceed the dime size and in some instances a little less.  When using mousse imagine using about three quarters of a shot glass of mousse on your hair.

MEDIUM LENGTH OR SHOULDER-LENGTH HAIR

The amount needed for styling cream or gel for this length hair is the size of a nickel.  When you are using serum use only a dime size amount.  And, for mousse you will need a full size shot glass of the mousse.

LONG HAIR

When you have long hair a lot will depend again on the thickness of the hair.  The amount of styling cream or gel to use on your hair typically will be between the size of a nickel and a quarter.   As for serum the amount to be used will fall somewhere between the size of a dime and a nickel.   The amount of mousse to use will be the size of a full shot glass and then some.

Of course all styling professional recommendations are just recommendations.  Every individual’s hair is a different texture, thickness and state of health.  Therefore, practicing with different size portions makes the most sense for what you are trying to achieve.  Again, as stated previously, less is more.  You can always add more product if needed, but to try to remove hair product from your hair is a little more challenging.