The main ingredient in most root enhancers and volumizing products is polyvinylpyrrolidone/vinyl acetate copolymer (VP/VA).
Gone are the days of teasing, shaking and brushing your lifeless hair back or wearing a wig or extensions to have a full head of hair. A relatively new hair product, root lifter, volumizes even fallen hair to support styling. Almost every major hair care line offers a root lift product, but it may not be called a root lifter. Some other names that might indicate a root lifter are root booster, root booster, and volumizing spray, lotion, or toner.
A root lifter can cause unwanted frizz in curly hair.
The main ingredient in most root enhancers and volumizing products is polyvinylpyrrolidone/vinyl acetate copolymer (VP/VA). VP/VA copolymer helps add volume to hairstyles by preventing hair from absorbing moisture, which would make hair heavy and flat. Bulky products that provide extra hold will also have other important ingredients. The collective result of the list of ingredients will differ depending on the consistency of the hair care product.
Regardless of the consistency of the chosen product, the styling process will be similar. In addition to root-lifting sprays that are applied to dry hair, most other root-lifting products should be applied to damp or wet hair. The product should be sprayed or massaged into the root of the hair, depending on whether it is liquid, mouse or gel. Some people prefer to use the root enhancer only on the crown area to add more height to their hairstyle, while others use the root enhancer all over their head to achieve full volume. Most root lifters require heat activation to achieve maximum volume.
After applying the product to the desired place on the scalp, the best results are obtained with the help of gravity. Turning your head and completely drying your hair at the roots will add volume to the area applied with the root lifter. For best results, blow drying should be done with a concentrator nozzle, which allows the individual to aim directly at the areas of the root where the lifter has been applied. Root lifter applied to short hair will create soft, spiky hair, while medium to long hair will lift slightly or completely at the root.
It’s important to note that while the root lifter can be used on curly or thick hair, it probably won’t add much more volume than usual, and blow-drying will cause unwanted frizz. Also, very long hair without layers is very heavy and even drying the roots with root enhancer may not cause much lifting action. Root lifter works best on short to medium hair and short to medium layers on long hair.