Hair Experts Explain How Y2K Bumpits Can Hide Thinning Hair

When thinking of classic Y2K and millennial beauty essentials, Bumpits surely come to mind. These volumizing hair tools were sported by everyone from Snooki to Lauren Conrad to Adele throughout the 2000s, and as seen on TikTok, they might be making a comeback as other style elements from that era continue to resurge in popularity.

More recently, Anne Hathaway appeared to rock one inserted into her sky-high hairstyle at the 2023 Met Gala, and we have to say, her tresses looked incredible!

We checked in with hair experts and styling aficionados to learn more about the allure of these inserts, how they can effectively provide volume to hair, and also, how they can hide signs of hair loss and thinning. Read on for tips, suggestions and insight from Ghanima Abdullah, hair expert and cosmetologist at The Right Hairstyles.

How Using A Bumpit Can Conceal Hair Loss & Thinning

Bumpits, similar tools like bump sponges and ultimately, hair teasing, “really can help make thin hair appear thicker,” Abdullah notes. She says that what bumpits do so well is “giving an illusion of extra hair up top, as your hair falls over it.”

If you have thinner or finer strands and want to create instant volume, she suggests “teasing the area where you want the bump to appear, then smoothing unteased hair over it.” To use a bumpit tool effectively, Abdullah recommends “creating a bump anywhere on the crown of your head, and adding a barrette just behind it to keep it secure.”

The crown and hairline are “common areas of thinning for women with hair loss that’s related to age,” she notes. This, she adds, is why an accessory that promotes volume on this section of your head can take attention away from any bald patches or other signs of hair loss.

She also points out that there is a difference between a classic bumpit and a bump sponge for fine or thin hair, and that using the former is often much easier and successful than the latter. “The bumpits have small prongs to keep them in place, but the sponges don’t, so you have to be careful to make sure they are completely covered and won’t fall out,” she warns.

Style icons like Amy Winehouse, Lana del Rey and Katy Perry often rocked 60s beehive-inspired hairdos throughout the early aughts, and bumpits can help channel either stylish era. As seen on Hathaway at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, this look that a bumpit tool helps create never truly goes out of style— whether one of those volume-boosters is truly underneath the hair at the crown, or not.

Overall, we won't be surprised if we see the return of more of these "half-moon-shaped pieces of self-gripping plastic," as Southern Living deems them. Now that we know there could be some benefits for those with fine or thin hair, the potential resurgence of the bumpits might be even more positive and useful!