This is part of a beauty series we started in January  called 10 Easy + Affordable Beauty Tips, all taught by our resident hair and makeup stylist to the stars, Christie Somers, and fabulous photographer Alisia Packard (you can read more about them in my about page here).

Our first post was all about Creating the Perfect Curl, last month was basics for 5 Minute Makeup, and this post is all about creating perfect luscious volume. Thanks to Jenny Badger for modeling!

Here are Christie’s instructions:

If you have fine hair or just want a little extra bounce, knowing how to get volume that lasts will change your life!

1. Spray roots (until wet) with a volumizing spray. I love the Redken spray starch.  You can apply this to damp or dry hair. (2nd to last pic)

2. Time to blow dry. I like to rough dry the hair until its about 90% dry before I use my brush. While rough drying, it’s important to pull up at the root so as to get the hair up off the scalp and get the roots dry first. That will really help to add height and volume. If it helps to turn your head upside down, that’s good too.

3. Once the hair is about 90% dry, grab a round brush. I like the metal 1″ ones from Paul Mitchell. Roll your hair up on the brush from the ends to the scalp. Once the hair is rolled up on the brush and resting against the scalp, give it a shot of hot air from the blowdryer. If you’re round brush challenged when it comes to your own hair, you can also do this with a curling iron.

4. Once you’ve done that, unroll the brush and roll the same section you were blow drying/curling back down to your scalp (in a curl shape) and clip with a long clip. I like to give these curls a shot of hot air as well. It’s the heating up and cooling down that will set the hair and give you the volume that will last all day!!!

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until the top section of your head is rolled up into pin curls. Ideally, you want to let your hair cool like this for about 10-15 min. I take that time to get dressed and put on makeup. Then take the clips out let the curls fall out. You should be rocking some pretty great volume at this point.

7. If you’re need a little more lift, or if you want a quick fix for volume, my last 2 tricks are: Redken powder grip is my new FAVORITE product. Sprinkle a little at the root and then rub in (back and forth and a couple of circles) with your finger tips. ONLY USE A COUPLE TAPS PER SECTION!! If you use too much, you will be hating life. It feels really grippy in the hair.

8. And finally, back combing (or ratting as some of you like to call it). Understanding how to do this properly will make a world of difference. We’ve all seen those ladies that didn’t quite get it right on the back combing. Take a mohawk section of your hair. I like my part to go right down the middle of the section so the volume isn’t lopsided. Then take inch wide sections and start about two inches from the root using a fine tooth COMB. Insert the comb into the hair (about 2 inches from the scalp) and push the hair down to the scalp. Repeat about 2 or 3 times depending on how much height you want. Smooth the hair over the surface so you don’t end up with a rats nest on your head.

*This is also a great trick if you want to put your hair in an up do or pony tail but don’t want it to be flat.