How to Get Mega Hair Volume: My Secret Sauce Routine

Quick answer: To get mega hair volume, start with towel-damp (not wet) hair dried in a microfiber towel, work a volumizing mousse and root-lift mist into your crown and scalp, then blow-dry in small sections with a Dyson Airwrap, molding each piece and finishing with a cool shot to set it. The real secret sauce is Velcro curlers: roll small sections while the hair is still slightly warm, spray, and let them set while you do your makeup. It works on thin, thick, short, and long hair.

Key takeaways

• Always dry with a microfiber towel, never a rough regular towel that causes breakage, split ends, and frizz.
• Style on damp, not soaking-wet hair, and apply volumizers at the crown and scalp first for real root lift.
• Work in small sections and finish every section with a cool shot to lock the shape in.
• Velcro curlers are the secret sauce, that is what turns a nice blowout into mega volume.
• Let the curlers set while you do your makeup, then use a light oil only at the ends to tame frizz without weighing hair down.

Hey ladies, welcome back. I get asked how I get this volume literally every single day, so I finally filmed my whole routine, secret sauce and all. I am a professional makeup artist, and honestly hair volume is half science, half patience. The good news: none of it is complicated, and it works whether your hair is thin, thick, short, or somewhere in between. Here is exactly how I do it, step by step.

How do you prep your hair for maximum volume?

Volume starts before you ever pick up a tool. If you skip the prep and just try to dry everything down, it will fall flat, so follow the process in order.

1. Dry with a microfiber towel. Wrap your hair to whisk the water away. A regular towel flipped upside down creates breakage, split ends, and frizz. Not all microfiber towels are equal, so use one that actually absorbs.
2. Use a bonding wash system. I do an Olaplex bond builder for 10 minutes under a shower cap to seal it in, rinse, then shampoo, then the bond maintenance conditioner, and finish later with the bonding oil. This is what keeps my hair smooth and healthy enough to hold volume.
3. Add volumizers at the roots. Section your hair, then spray a volumizing mist right into the crown so you can feel it hit your scalp, and massage it in. I like a stronghold volume mousse plus a root-lifting leave-in mist for uplifted roots and fuller lengths.
4. Do not forget heat protectant. A long-wear blow-dry heat lotion protects the hair before any hot tool touches it.

One key detail: your hair should be towel-dried and damp, not dripping wet and not bone dry. Damp is the perfect starting point.

How do you blow-dry for lift with the Dyson Airwrap?

I use the Dyson Airwrap, an investment I made and was very happy with, because it gives me bounce and lift without getting so hot that it burns my hair. Start with the volumizing brush attachment.

1. Separate your hair. This is the most important thing. Start at the base and work your way around in sections, crown first.
2. Mold as you go. Move through each section, shaping the hair the way you want it to sit rather than just drying it straight down.
3. Lift from the roots. Going in underneath, hold at the roots and pull up a little so the heat gets to the base, then pull down through the length. You will see the lift happen.
4. Set with a cool shot. Once a section is dry and where you want it, hold it and blast it with the cool setting. This seals and sets the shape before you move on.

Repeat section by section. This first pass is really just layer one of the volume, so do not expect the mega result yet, the curlers come next.

What is the secret sauce for mega volume?

Here it is, the thing I say on my channel over and over: Velcro curlers. Even if you skip the full wash-and-dry process, setting your hair in Velcro curlers is how you get that fullness. I get mine in all shapes and sizes from Sally's, Amazon, you name it.

1. Switch to the barrel attachment. On the Dyson Airwrap, the barrels have arrows, one wraps toward the right side and one toward the left, depending on how you are turning the hair.
2. Work in small sections. Smaller sections give a far better result than big ones. Use larger curlers in the front and smaller curlers elsewhere, especially if your hair is short and will not hold on a big curler.
3. Curl, cool, then roll. Let the airwrap curl the section, hit it with the cool blast to set it, then wrap it into a Velcro curler and let it hold. Use a clip if a curler will not stay.
4. Leave the base slightly damp. The ends need to be dry so the curler grabs, but the base can stay a touch damp so it sets with more lift.
5. Spray while curlers are in. Mist a big volumizing hairspray over the curlers while they are set in place.

Then let it set. Put all the curlers in first, do your makeup, pour a glass of wine or champagne, and enjoy the getting-ready time. When you take them out you get real bounce and fullness, the kind you simply cannot get from a blowout alone. And it is not just for thick hair, my mom has thin hair and hers looks incredible after Velcro curlers too.

How do you tame and finish the volume?

Once the curlers come out you will have big, almost out-of-control volume, and that is exactly what you want because it settles over time.

1. The clip trick. If your makeup is not done yet, pull all that volume up into a clip nice and tight so it stays lifted. When you take it down later it falls beautifully and keeps the volume for your event.
2. Oil the ends only. Warm two drops of bonding oil or hair oil in your hands and run it underneath and through the ends, where frizz lives. A little goes a long way, do not weigh the hair down.
3. Finish with hairspray. A light pass of volumizing hairspray holds everything without crunch.
4. Care for it at night. A nourishing night serum and a scalp-and-hair serum keep the hair hydrated, which matters even more for gray or dry hair like mine.

The products I used

Everything below is mentioned in the video. You do not need all of it, these are simply what I reach for.

• Microfiber hair towel, in a few colors, chosen for how well it absorbs.
• Olaplex bond builder, shampoo, bond maintenance conditioner, and bonding oil.
• Kerastase Volume Mousse Bouffante, a stronghold volumizing mousse.
• Christophe Robin Instant Volumizing Leave-In Mist with Rose Water, for uplifted roots and fuller lengths.
• Heat-protectant blow-dry lotion with a long-wear hold, applied before drying.
• Dyson Airwrap, with the volumizing brush and the curling barrel attachments.
• Velcro curlers in assorted sizes, plus sectioning clips from Sally's.
• Sexy Hair Big Spray & Play Volumizing Hairspray.
• Nourishing night serums and a scalp-and-hair serum concentrate for overnight hydration, plus a rice-starch dry shampoo for refreshing between washes.
• Hair mists for scent: Baccarat Rouge 540 and A La Rose by Maison Francis Kurkdjian, and Acqua di Parma Rosa.

The bottom line

Mega volume is a process, not a single product. Prep on damp hair, lift from the roots, set every section with a cool shot, and let Velcro curlers do the heavy lifting while you get ready. Do it in order and it is genuinely doable for every hair type. For more of my makeup and getting-ready favorites, browse my best sellers.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nikol's secret sauce for mega hair volume?
Velcro curlers. After prepping and blow-drying in sections, she rolls small sections of hair into Velcro curlers of varying sizes, sprays them with volumizing hairspray, and lets them set. It is the step that turns an ordinary blowout into full, bouncy, long-lasting volume, and she considers it the single most important technique.

Do I need a Dyson Airwrap to get this volume?
No. The Airwrap makes it faster and adds lift without excess heat, but the real volume comes from the Velcro curlers. You can create the same set with any blow-dryer and round brush, or even by setting damp hair straight into Velcro curlers before an event. The tool helps, but the technique is what matters.

Should my hair be wet or dry before I start?
Damp, not soaking wet and not bone dry. Nikol towel-dries with a microfiber towel first so the hair is damp when she applies product and heat. For the curler step, the ends should be dry enough for the curler to grab while the base stays slightly damp so it sets with maximum lift.

Does this technique work on thin or short hair?
Yes. Nikol notes her own hair is short and that her mother, who has thin hair, gets incredible fullness from Velcro curlers. The key adjustments are using smaller sections and smaller curlers so shorter or finer hair can wrap and hold, rather than trying to force large sections onto big curlers.

How long should I leave the Velcro curlers in?
Long enough to set, ideally the time it takes to do your makeup and get ready. Nikol puts every curler in first, then does her makeup, then removes them. The longer they set, the more the volume holds. A tight clip afterward keeps the lift in place until you are ready to take the hair down.

How do I keep the volume from looking frizzy?
Finish with a light touch. Warm one to two drops of bonding oil or hair oil in your hands and apply only underneath and at the ends where frizz forms, never at the roots. Add a light mist of volumizing hairspray. Using too much product weighs hair down and flattens the volume you just built.

Disclosure: This article mentions third-party products. Some links in the video description may be affiliate links, meaning Nikol may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Product mentions here reflect what was used in the video and are not paid endorsements.