There are two kinds of thickening shampoos--those that coat your hair with thin, gel or hairspray like film, and those that remove those films and other build up.
Some Thickening shampoos contain a film-forming agent--that's the only part of them that makes them thickening! Nizoral is acutally a good (though very light) thickening shampoo of this type. Thickening shampoos give thinkness by coating the hair with a thin plastic like substance. this gives the hair added thickness. multiply that by the 100,000 hairs that we have on our head and you can see how that would give you some more body. It also causes the hair to stand up a little more--it make each hair a little more stiff--again causing greater thickness. But with time these film-forming agents can build up one on top of another until the weight of the hair is greater than the strenth of the hair shaft and the bonds of the film forming agent. Result--Your hair gets pulled down by all that weight resulting in loss of volume.
The other kind of thickening shampoo is the kind that removes buildup from gel, hairspray, conditioners, the oil from you scalp etc. So without all that stuff weighing down your hair your hair bounces up again--giving the apearence of more volume.
Too little -- no volume
Too much -- no volume
I would also like to clarify (and demystify "thickening shampoos" a bit) that those are the only differences between regular shampoos and thickening shampoos. Thickenening shampoos are very standard shampoos and the only difference is that the contain a gel or hairspray like plastic (these are film-forming agents like PVP (polyvilnylpyrrolidone), PVP/VA (polyvilnylpyrrolidone/vinyl acrylate) and various other vinyls and acrylics). That is the only difference. They dont contain any "special" "secret" or "magical" ingreadients to make your hair thicker. Just a thin film of a plastic-like substance.
So--what you want is to use a film-forming shampoo one day and maybe the next day too, but then using a clarifying shampoo every 2-3 days. Also go easy on heavy conditioners and heavy gels too. those contain the same film forming agents as the thickening shampoos. And they build up much faster--and in fact can weigh down hair after just one application.
I would recomend that you continue to use the Nizoral at least 3 times a week--it is acually a great shampoo that is gentle and can add volume. Use a clarifing shampoo every 3 days or so. A clarifying is a sampoo that does not contain a film forming agent and also contains a chelating agent to remove the buildup and does not contain any heavy mosturizers. I would recomend the TRESemme European Vitamin C Deep Cleansing Shampoo. I it gentle, does not buildup, and has disodium EDTA as a chelating agent. It is also cheap -- $2.70 at Walmart for 32 oz.
Dont use heavy conditioners. These are all light, good, and cheap.
Alberto VO5 Balsam & Protien Conditioner $1.19 15 oz.
Alberto VO5 Extra Body Conditioner $1.19 15 oz.
Dove Foam Conditioner, Extra Volume $3.39 9 oz.
TRESemme European Pro Vitamin B5 and Aloe Remosurizing Conditioner
Aussie Hair Insurance Leave-in conditioner $3..99 8 oz. It is a spray that doesnt weigh hair down at all, although it is a little tricky to alply evenly.
The thickening serums would probably be too to thick and heavy.
The thickening sprays would not work because you want the film forming agent aplied evenly over a good percentage of the length of the hair. Not only on the surface -- making helmet hair.
Also, you want to try to keep the conditioners, gels, foams, mouses etc off the scalp becauase it could interfer with the absortion of minoxidil.
Regarding gels etc. I would recomend the Vive for Men foam instead of gel. I used to use gel and I thought it was great but then I tried the foam and It was a huge difference.
I got to go. I'll be back to tie up the loose ends on this post in a couple of hours.
By the way, Vive for men doesn't have any great products for men with thin hair. Their shampoo doesnt do anything for someone with thin hair--it is just a very standard shampoo that is kind of exspensive. Their foam is a great option for fien hair though.
