If there was a god of hair care, it would be Chris Appleton [1]. The celebrity hairstylist is a master of his craft, and as a lifelong beauty aficionado, you can say I'm an avid believer in the products and tactics he uses to make his clients [2] look red-carpet-ready. As not only one of Appleton's biggest fans, but also as someone with extremely fine, flat, and brittle hair, I've taken his tips to heart [3] in hopes that one day my hair will look as voluminous and healthy as his many celebrity regulars.

In my efforts to accomplish this, I've tried some of his most-touted products, only to find that my hair is much less receiving than say, J Lo's. Because my hair is so thin [4], I usually stray away from adding too many additional products to my routine in fear of weighing it down. I usually just shampoo and condition, add a dollop of argan oil [5], and a spritz of leave-in conditioner, and call it quits after that. I've always dreamed of having voluminous hair, but after attempting to use sticky foams and greasy sprays, I've been hesitant to add others to my "To Try" list. That is, until I saw Appleton using ColorWow Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer [6] ($26).

This product caught my attention because of one single word on the bottle: lightweight. The blend of ingredients are minimal, featuring bamboo that, according to the brand, "mimics a raised outer cuticle layer but leaves hair's essential cuticle layer smooth, intact, and hydrated." While we can't confirm if that's true, I do know that most thickening products use alcohol and salt to create volume in the hair, so this water-like foam feels like a welcome change, given that my hair is also dry.

Prior to trying out the volumizing spray, my hair usually looks a little something like this if it's not in my signature ponytail:

It's relatively fine and flat, but I can achieve some volume by adding some dry shampoo [7] or hairspray to my roots. The main downside to that is it weighs down my hair after about a day, so I have to shower to make my scalp feel clean again.

Cue trying out the new product: after a quick shower using my the Chris Appleton-approved product [8] to achieve J Lo-like results, I must say that I'm on the right track. If you're looking for the same head-turning results, remember that love don't cost a thing — but if it did, volumized hair is worth every penny.

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