Hey everyone, this post is filed under "I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet".
Clipping is my favourite way to get volume at the roots without using heat (my second-favourite being going to sleep with wet hair spread behind me on my pillow, which unfortunately gives me a slight cold).
You need either these flat clips you see on the photo. or butterfly clips. I got mine in a drogerie, but you can also find them online if you search for duckbill clips. If your hair is short or fine, choose smalls ones like me, for bigger curls or longer/heavier hair try bigger ones. When in doubt start with something cheap, because the right kind of clip can be a very individual thing. I also like smaller clips right now because I don't want to flatten out any waves or curls close to my scalp.
After washing, towel-drying and plopping, bend forward to clip small sections of your hair. Put the clips in vertically, to make sure that your roots are as lifted as possible. Leaning forwards helps because in that position your hair is hanging away from your scalp. Clip against the direction of hair growth -- imagine lifting the hair away from the direction it would normally fall, and propping it up.
Lean backwards and clip a few sections at the back of your head, especially near the whorl. I do this because it looks weird if my front in voluminous and the back is flat.
As your hair dries, you can move the clips to a different spot if needed.
I use up to 10-15 clips for my entire scalp. I find that clipping smaller sections is better, as the hair is not too heavy. It took me a couple of times to figure out how I need to clip the hair around my part, as I don't have a "clean" part.
As my hair is heavy when wet and prone to frizz, I wait till it is completely dry to remove the clips. But I know some people who remove them after 15-20 minutes. Go slowly, so as not to tangle your curls.
As a bonus: two lazy-girl hacks --
I have used on huge claw clip on the top of my head instead of the little clips. Works well for volume, but you don't get much control.
I wrap a scarf around my hair, babuszka-style, if I have to run errands before my hair is dry. I use a very thin silk scarf (to allow circulation and prevent electric charge) and pretend it's a look.