When we were young, my brothers and I lived in constant fear of my mother with a hairbrush. Nothing to do with corporal punishment but everything to do with follicular foibles – we all have curly hair and because my mother has straight hair, she had no understanding of how essential it was not to brush our hair. If she ever got hold of us the resulting pouffy, fluffy look was a cause for great embarrassment. 

We all had to figure out the curly hair rules on our own: only brush when wet, steer clear of anything that causes frizz (balloons, sweaters over the head, exceedingly dry weather) and, if you do use a blowdryer, it MUST have a diffuser. But I am getting to the point where, as my fine curly hair gets finer, I feel I could use some more density – my usual trick of turning my head upside down and shaking out my curls is no longer cutting it. I have tried biotin supplements for thicker hair – but I’m terrible at taking them daily – and a red light scalp stimulating mask feels like a major investment. Instead, I decided to do something radical: use a brush on my hair when it’s dry. I had noticed fluffy, ’80s-style volume showing up on stars and stylists alike in my Instagram feed – maybe it was time to stop trying to make my curls look perfectly curled.

The key to gaining this type of soft volume is, of course, finding the right product. The brushed-out frizz has to look healthy and intentional, not damaged. For fine hair like mine, mousse is once again my friend. But just like me, mousse has evolved from the ’80s, it no longer has that crunch (remember that sound?) and is now weightless, lending subtle, healthy looking volume. My favourite is Kerastase Mousse Densifique Densimorphe. I have discovered another trick in this new era of the brush: when my hair is looking a little too flyaway, Olaplex No.7 Bonding Oil, lightly applied when dry, tames it subtly – another first for me, as oil anywhere near my hair usually leads to limp strands, not shine. And of course, my shampoo regimen is essential. I alternate between Kerastase’s Desensifique Bain Shampoo, and  L’Oreal Vitamino Colour Spectrum Shampoo and Conditioner – curly hair is moody and changing shampoos keeps things fresh and full. 

Now comes the scary part. The brush. For maximum fluff, I reach for my stalwart Mason Pearson brush – its soft boar bristles are kind to fine curly hair – and rather than using it after the shower only, I wait until my hair is dry, then carefully fluff the ends to give it the density I’ve been missing. Then, I work the brush around the roots to volumize and backcomb a few of the less full patches where my texture is different. This may not sound radical to you smooth-haired people but, for me, this is a revolution. Do I brush my hair earnestly, from roots to ends, as I have seen straight-haired women do without a thought? Absolutely not! I don’t want to scare my children. But I am enjoying the flexibility and volume that comes with the simplest of styling tools: the brush. Maybe my mother was right after all.