Greasy hair......help?

[Bubbjo5]

Hello, I was wondering could anyone help please? My hair seems to be getting more greasy these days, I wash my hair and a day later its greasy. Does anyone know a good shampoo to use don't mind how much it costs? Or any tips please? I feel I have to wash my hair every other day because it gets so greasy even if I leave it for 3 days and wash it its still greasy. I stopped dying my hair August 2013.

[meteor]

My tips are:
- clays (bentonite is supposed to be on the drier side, but many other clays are great too);

- cassia/senna ("neutral" henna);

- experimenting with some Indian cleansing herbs like aritha (more drying) and shikakai (softer).

Dilute them with warm water to a paste/mud-like state and use them on your roots as you would shampoo or let them sit for a while in your roots, like you would with a mask. Rinse out very thoroughly. Don't put conditioner on scalp or close to scalp.

I think clays and herbs are better at absorbing excess oil, and that is better than using shampoos for oily hair, because many of those tend to dry out the scalp and therefore overstimulate the scalp to produce even more oils to compensate.

[Budgie]

You could try cowashing. Use a lighter conditioner like VO5.
You could also use dry shampoo. Batise is a good brand. Basically when you spray, you spray the bottom side of your hair. Sorry if doesn't make sense. Like when you apply to the left side, lift up the hair move it to the right. Spray the bottom, then gently rub it in. Move the hair back down and then comb/brush until the white powder is less noticeable. They make brown batise if you have brown hair and the white powder shows up too much. I use the white powder and my hair just looks a bit ashier.

I have greasy, this hair and I can go about 3 days with dry shampoo. Also it makes your hair super voluminous.

[Bubbjo5]

thanks for the replies, will give anything a go to try and get normal hair. Does dying make your hair greasier perhaps? There is a Rituals Shikakai for 8.50 I might try and also going to get some of that dry shampoo.

[meteor]

Does dying make your hair greasier perhaps?
It might. The usual effect of dye is drying out the ends, but sometimes it exacerbates the greasy-roots-dry-ends kind of situation.

Also... is only your scalp greasy or your other skin as well? Clay is a really good solution for both skin and scalp greasies, as it's super-absorbent. So if you get some clay, you can multipurpose it.

Another thing I haven't considered is seasonal change. Winter is very dry for hair and skin in many locations, so when spring comes, we notice more greasies (I certainly do) and need to change to much lighter products. For example, less oils, butters, waxes and silicones, but more humectants, proteins.

[Valkyriejae]

Do you use products with silicones? I find my hair gets "greasy" much faster with silicones than when I'm cone-free, even if I clarify...

[meteor]

Great point about silicones. They act like artificial oils, and often build up and are harder to remove.

Bubbjo5, have you ever tried an acidic rinse on your scalp and hair? About 1 teaspoon of vinegar or lemon/lime juice to a cup of water, but your ideal measurements will vary from person to person. These rinses are mildly conditioning, smoothing down the cuticle thus adding shine, but they tend to work like toners on scalp, being a bit drying and removing extra grease. Blondes tend to stick with white vinegar or lemon rinse, everybody else can use apple cider vinegar (because it can temporarily give slight reddish tint).

[Maid M]

Hi, I have a real problem with hair greasiness as well! My hair is super greasy by the end of the 2nd day and I have tried dry shampoos (which I don't really like as I am a brunette and it kind of makes my hair dull and ashen looking). For the first time I did a co-wash and I actually feel ok about leaving my hair go a little longer. It is super soft and not greasy at all and I am on day 3 now. Normally I wouldn't be seen in public by now! Definitely worth a try :)

[meteor]

My hair is super greasy by the end of the 2nd day and I have tried dry shampoos (which I don't really like as I am a brunette and it kind of makes my hair dull and ashen looking).
There are dry shampoos for brunettes, as well. And some brunettes successfully use cocoa powder as an organic version of dry shampoo.
That said, I'm glad co-washing is solving the problem for you! :)

[Bubbjo5]

no my skin isn't greasy my face is combination really can have dry patches and greasy areas. I think I will try co-washing and see how that works but I like the idea of the clay. Where do you buy that from? I just feel like my hair is only nice the first day I wash it and then after that its dull and lifeless. I am still trying to grow dye out have about 4 inches of natural hair growth now and this hair looks much healthier than the previous dyed hair. feel like cutting it but its very long and don't want to lose the length either. do you think perhaps a trim might make me feel better thinking even just an inch. I have never tried the acidic rinse. I am a light brown/dark blonde hair. thanks ladies! I will have to get experimenting!

[ravenreed]

I have great results with normal dry shampoo on my dark hair. The trick is to use a normal brush to distribute the dry shampoo through the crown area, and then follow with BBB until all the residue is gone. It is the only time my poor BBB gets any use.

[meteor]

I think I will try co-washing and see how that works but I like the idea of the clay. Where do you buy that from?
If you have any ethnic/Middle Eastern/Indian shops around, check there. Also, clays are available at organic shops, but may be overpriced there. You'll probably be able to find clays at local pharmacies and grocery stores, but the selection may be limited. Clays are cheap and easy to find, so I don't recommend buying online and paying for shipping.

I just feel like my hair is only nice the first day I wash it and then after that its dull and lifeless. I am still trying to grow dye out have about 4 inches of natural hair growth now and this hair looks much healthier than the previous dyed hair.
I experienced the same when I started growing out highlights. But it could be just a "feeling" that roots are super greasy, because you compare them with your dyed ends, and dyed ends are always somewhat porous/dry/damaged. Basically, virgin hair is slippery because the cuticle is tight and lying flat, so natural oils from scalp don't penetrate that hair as much, but sit on top of it, making it look greasy. It's a phase to grow out, but clays and absorbent herbs and powders help the process be more palatable.


I feel like cutting it but its very long and don't want to lose the length either. do you think perhaps a trim might make me feel better thinking even just an inch. I have never tried the acidic rinse. I am a light brown/dark blonde hair. thanks ladies! I will have to get experimenting!
If the problem is greasy roots, why trim the ends? If your ends are totally velcro-like, tangly, you can't handle the detangling anymore, and the situation is never solved by clarifying/chelating and a deep conditioning treatment (like SMT), then a trim will help.
Trim splits if you can because you can't mend them. You can S&D (search & destroy) individual splits with very sharp hair shears that you don't ever use on anything other than hair (or they'll go dull and cause more harm than good to your ends).

But you don't have to cut! You can always baby those ends with penetrating oils (coconut, palm, avocado, olive), hydrolyzed proteins and other patch-repairing conditioning ingredients.
I highly recommend regular pre-poo and leave-in oiling for bleached and dyed ends.

[Bubbjo5]

yea maybe it is just because the undyed hair looks different against the dyed hair. I hate the colour of the dyed hair has gone all brassy and cannot wait for it to grow out!

[xoChesleyy]

Do you tend to use lots of hair products? If so, then product build-up could partially be the cause. Have you tried clarifying your hair using an ACV rinse? If you wash your hair every day or too often, that also makes hair get a bit on the greasy side.. The next time you wash your hair, maybe try just applying the conditioner on the hair from your ears down.

[Larki]

Do you tend to use lots of hair products? If so, then product build-up could partially be the cause. Have you tried clarifying your hair using an ACV rinse? If you wash your hair every day or too often, that also makes hair get a bit on the greasy side.. The next time you wash your hair, maybe try just applying the conditioner on the hair from your ears down.
Sorry to hijack, but I didn't know vinegar clarified! I thought it just made your hair shinier. I've seen people talk about clarifying shampoos, I thought that was the only way to clarify. It'd be awesome if vinegar worked though.

[meteor]

I think ACV primarily neutralizes alkalinity (after soaps, for example), brings ph back to normal, it can help with neutralizing very light mineral buildup in hard water, but I wouldn't call it clarifying because it does not contain surfactants necessary to remove serious buildup. But I'm curious what others think about vinegar rinses.

[mary*rose]

My tips are:
- clays (bentonite is supposed to be on the drier side, but many other clays are great too);

- cassia/senna ("neutral" henna);

- experimenting with some Indian cleansing herbs like aritha (more drying) and shikakai (softer).

Dilute them with warm water to a paste/mud-like state and use them on your roots as you would shampoo or let them sit for a while in your roots, like you would with a mask. Rinse out very thoroughly. Don't put conditioner on scalp or close to scalp.

I think clays and herbs are better at absorbing excess oil, and that is better than using shampoos for oily hair, because many of those tend to dry out the scalp and therefore overstimulate the scalp to produce even more oils to compensate.

Will these herbs affect hair color? For example, I enjoy my blonde hair and wouldn't like it to get darker because of these herbs.

[Lady Neeva]

My scalp is extremely greasy, and my sebum is hard to wash off. The product that I use is actually a Olay body wash, and I can wash about every two days instead of every other day (as previously before using the body wash). It tends to dry out my hair quite a bit, but it stays clean longer.

[xoChesleyy]

Sorry to hijack, but I didn't know vinegar clarified! I thought it just made your hair shinier. I've seen people talk about clarifying shampoos, I thought that was the only way to clarify. It'd be awesome if vinegar worked though.

Hmm, that is interesting! The ACV rinse seems to have always worked pretty well on my hair anytime I feel I need it. Then again.. I don't think I ever have much build-up in the first place. :p http://theurbannaturalista.blogspot.com/2012/05/clarify-hair-naturally-apple-cider.html There are also several articles about ACV being used to clarify you can find on Google, but with no scientific evidence behind any of them. :(

[meteor]

Will these herbs affect hair color? For example, I enjoy my blonde hair and wouldn't like it to get darker because of these herbs.

Clays won't, at least not the white (kaolin) or blue (bentonite) clays, but I think they are all safe.
Cassia can give a golden tint on white or very light hair, but it won't last.
Herbs can stain (depends on the herb, how much you use, long you keep it in your hair and how light your hair color is).
Here's a thread with LHC-ers experiences on whether aritha and shikakai darkened hair: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=22481