Want to know how to get thicker braids without hair extensions? You’re in the right place! We all love big, voluminous braids, but if you have fine or thin hair, it might feel impossible to achieve that full, Pinterest-worthy look. The good news? There are plenty of tricks to make your braids look thicker using just your natural hair!
I’ve been there—scrolling through photos of gorgeous, chunky braids only to realize that most of them are packed with extensions. But don’t worry, I’m sharing all my best secrets to help you get the fullest, most beautiful braids possible, no extensions required.
Here is a video with bonus tips and a braiding tutorial:
This post is all about how to get thicker braids without hair extensions.
We need to set our hair expectations FIRST!
Now, your hair is different from mine and from everyone else’s you see on the internet. Just like how we can’t and shouldn’t compare our lives and bodies to others we shouldn’t compare our hair as well. It might seem silly, but it’s true.
Your hair texture is different, it holds styles differently, and pictures that you see of amazing thick braids most of the time are filled with hair extensions.
Example: Hair By Chrissy. I love her braids but all of your tutorials and photos are with girls who have hair extensions that they do in her studio. If you don’t have extensions, there is no way your braids are going to look like her photos.
I will give you the tips and tricks to work with your hair to make the best possible braids you can with YOUR specific hair for thick braids.
Extension real talk
Most influencers have extensions and a lot of regular people whose hair looks AMAZING 24/7 might have hair extensions as well.
I personally have only worn hair extensions for my wedding and they were clip ins. To me they aren’t sustainable for my budget or lifestyle.
I used the BFB ones and I loved them! You can get a sample pack to match your hair which is perfect to find the perfect match. I do have thicker hair and I only needed 1 set which in the past I’ve had to get 2 sets from Sally’s Beauty Supply in high school. But I have also heard that Luxy Hair is amazing too.
Don’t think that you need hair extensions to have fabulous hair because they can cause more damage than good. Depending on the type and hairdresser of course.
How to make your braids look fuller
- Add color dimension
- The dirtier, the better
- Avoid straight hair
- If you need it, micro crimper
- Teasing brush
- Deep side part
- Dutch Braid
- Pancake your braids
Now, we will break them down…
Add color dimension
One all-over color, especially if you have dark hair, will be very difficult to see any details in your hair.
Adding in highlights into darker hair or even lowlights into lighter hair can really make your braids and twists pop!
You don’t have to do a full head of foils, these changes can be subtle. Like adding some peak-a-boo pieces underneath and some ‘money pieces’ or around your face.
The different colors help the braids stand out more and look fuller.
The dirtier, the better
If you have super shiny, silky, smooth, clean, and healthier hair, that’s great! But it might be harder to achieve those big braids and keep them look full.
That’s because there’s no grit to your hair. We need a little bit of grip to make the braids look piece-y and hold their full shape all day.
Try braiding on second- or third-day hair or add a texture spray/puddy to add that ‘grit’ into your hair.
Here are some I recommend:
Avoid straight hair for thick braids
You can definitely do braided styles with straight hair, but if you find it harder for your braids to stay or look fuller, try having some sort of style in your hair already.
This ‘style’ could be a curl, wave, or crimp even from days prior and it doesn’t look 100% polished. This is a great time to incorporate a braid because your hair has texture and is a little dirty, like my previous tip.
I have a few posts and videos about my favorite ways to style my hair that lasts. Here is how I curl and here is how I use a deep waver.
Mirco crimper
If you have really fine, thin hair, try using a micro crimper on the hair you want to braid. This will help with volume instantly for thick braids and give a little style to the hair.
Even if you just need some volume for every day, this is a good tool to have especially for thin or fine hair. You can add this one to your Amazon cart.
This is also a really good tip if you have super shiny, silky hair that is hard to keep in bobby pins.
Teasing brush
I don’t always use a teasing brush or always recommend it because it isn’t the gentlest on your hair, but another great option.
I just get my teasing brushes from Walmart or Sally’s Beauty for a few bucks and are great to always have on hand. Here, just add this one to your Amazon cart.
Just do a slight backcomb to the hair you are going to add into the braid to help with instant volume and fullness to the hair for thicker braids.
You don’t need to go too crazy, just a little will help. Also by adding texture spray will help it hold.
Deep side part
You want to get as much hair into the braid as possible.
Create a deeper part than you would normally to start the braid sooner and add more hair. Obviously, the more hair in the braid the thicker it will look.
If you don’t want your hair to look thinner on one side because of how deep the part is, do a middle part after the braid.
This way your hair that is down will look more even on each side. And no one will see because the part is behind the braid, or if they look at you from behind but who cares.
Dutch braid
A dutch braid looks fuller in general because it sits on top of your head.
For a dutch braid, you will want to braid the side pieces under each other and under the braid you are making.
Whether you are doing a Dutch French braid (incorporating hair as you go) or just a regular Dutch braid (only working with the hair in your hands) this braid will always look bigger and better.
It’s way easier to make it look fuller for the next step which is the money maker.
Pancake your braid
The money maker, the epic trick to making your braid look bigger and fuller is pancaking!
Pancaking the braid is pulling and fanning the braid to expand it to make it, say it with me, look bigger and fuller looking braids.
The trick is to start at the bottom of the braid and work your way up to the top.
When pulling, only pull the outside of the strand and not the whole strand.
If you want the whole braid to be full, you can slowly start from the outside of the strand and work your way towards the inside of the strand.
I hope these tips were helpful to get you bigger, better thick braids!
XO, Annie
