This is a secret I have known for several years and I can't believe it's taken me this long to share it. You know Bumble and bumble Thickening Spray? Or Aveda Volumizing Tonic? They're not really for volumizing. Well...they are, but there's more to that story. Tyler Colton can explain it better than I can:

'All products are meant to create texture,” he says. “So you can think of it all as some version of a watered-down gel. The products are all the same general thing, they've just been reworked. Everything can be multi-purpose,”

Which means that if you're actually trying to tame volume, you might want to reach for the product that says volume because it's going to give you that grip and hold you need to style your hair. Think of it like those oils that fight other oils. Or how the only thing that gets an eggshell out of a cracked egg is another eggshell.

Of course, if you really are looking for volume, you're golden too. Lacy Redway (she does Jourdan Dunn's hair, so...) says, “If you plan on blowdrying your hair, blow-dry by over-directing the hair for maximum volume at the root. Using a velour roller, or pin-setting your hair until your strands have cooled down, will give you the lift you're looking for,”

See? Everybody wins.

—Emily Ferber

Photo via ITG.

More tips from our friends: Kardashian kolorist Tracey Cunningham advises on how to get the balayage you're looking for right this way.