O Beauty Lab: We Tried It…So You Don't Have To

Hair Boosting Inserts

I'm very open to the idea of curve-enhancing prostheses. On more than one occasion I've slipped rubber cutlets into my A cups, and I once test-drove padded underpants. My latest experiment: hair-boosting inserts. The Divado ($25 or $30; DivadoHair.com ) is a rubber dome with a comb on the underside; the Bumpit ($10; Bumpits.com ), a plastic arch (shown here) edged with tiny teeth that latch onto your hair. Both—available in different sizes—are designed to be positioned at the crown of your head to add height. You make a part at the crown from ear to ear, brush the front section over your face, and secure the booster behind the part (a little preliminary teasing helps keep it in place). You then brush the front layer of hair back over the contraption. The problem I encountered with both models was keeping them concealed—even though my hair is relatively thick. After shifting things this way and that over the Bumpit (in its smallest size), I thought I finally had it under wraps. Then a concerned colleague asked how I'd managed to get a Lego stuck in my hair. So I called hairstylist Adrian De Berardinis, owner of De Berardinis Salon in New York City, for some professional input. Back away from the inserts, he said: Good old-fashioned teasing gives the same heightening effect with far less risk of embarrassment. Just spritz sections of hair with hairspray, back-comb each one, then brush out the teased hair on the surface for a smooth finish. For allover volume (a look De Berardinis finds "more modern" than a concentrated protuberance), spray damp roots with a root-lifting product (like Kérastase Expanseur Extra-Corps, $29; Kerastase-USA.com ) and use a flat brush to pull hair away from your scalp as you direct heat at your roots with a blow-dryer. — Jenny Bailly