- Celebrity hairstylist Jay Small has coiffed A-listers, including Matt Damon and Luke Grimes.
- The stylist has also helped people with thinning hair.
- Small said a good haircut or a well-done comb-over will help thin hair look fuller.
If you're losing your hair, going in for a haircut might feel like the last thing you want to do. But a smart, stylish cut can make thinning hair appear fuller, according to celebrity hairstylist Jay Small.
Small has two decades of experience that includes work with celebrities like Matt Damon, Luke Grimes, and Noah Centineo. He also cofounded Arey, a dietary supplement and hair serum brand for aging and graying hair.
The stylist told Insider that "hair thinning and hair loss for men, specifically," is the most common issue he encounters at the salon. Here are his top tips for making thinning, aging hair appear fuller and healthier.
A comb-over can look chic if done properly
Don't dismiss the comb-over, Small said, especially one done at the hands of a skilled stylist.
"I know it's a cliché to talk about a comb-over," he said, but "there are ways in which you can leave a little bit of hair and not have it be very obvious."
He recommends a comb-over to some clients who are losing a significant amount of hair on the crown of their head.
But maintaining a chic comb-over requires more frequent visits to the salon, to make sure the combing isn't too obvious. A man with thinning hair who chooses to rock a comb-over might need to visit their stylist every four to six weeks to ensure the remaining hair remains neat and not overgrown.
Small also recommends using a powdered dry shampoo to minimize greasiness, which can make hair lie flat on the scalp. Keeping hair dry can add volume, making your hair look fuller.
He says look for a dry shampoo that is not aerosolized — those spray cans can be loaded with up to 95% propellants like benzene, which isn't actually helping absorb any oil; it's just pushing the spray out of the can. Also avoid dry shampoos with alcohol in them, which can dry out your scalp. Instead, find a small bottle of dry shampoo powder, ideally one where 100% of the ingredients target oil absorption.
Consider changing your part or chopping off some length to help your hair look fuller
If you're noticing a visible bald spot on your head, you might want to change up your part so more hair covers the exposed thinning area, Small said.
Though the change might feel "awkward" at first, the stylist recommends trying out a new part with wet hair and blow-drying your hair in the direction of the part. Changing your part later on, once hair is dry, might make the hair "stick up" unnaturally, Small said.
If you happen to have a longer hairstyle, chopping off some of that length can also help make hair look fuller.
"The longer your hair is, the finer your hair will look," he said.
Finally, don't let your hair loss deter you from keeping your scalp healthy and clean. If you wash your hair frequently, find a gentle shampoo that won't over-cleanse. You may also want to consider a weekly scrub, like an acid-based exfoliating treatment that can help "balance the bacteria" on your scalp, Small said.
Above all, be open with your hair stylist
Small says he understands it can be hard for clients to bring up new hair loss issues with their stylist.
"A lot of times people aren't really willing to talk about it," he said.
He tries to find "tasteful" ways to broach issues or changes he's seeing on a particular client's scalp.
"Our job is to have a conversation that a wife or a friend might not have," he said.