How do I tell the difference between "silky" and outright "oily"?

[ApprenticeWrit]

Exactly as it says in the title. How the heck do I tell if my hair is a healthy silky or if it's gotten outright oily? I'm the only one in my immediate family with my hair type and length (thin, straight, and about mid-back length), so I have nothing to gauge against.

[MusicalSpoons]

In my experience, oily will clump together, silky just feels really soft. Beyond that, I don't know. Do you mean roots, ends, lengths, some other context?

[ApprenticeWrit]

Well, as far as I can tell, oil tends to stay around my scalp/roots if I don't brush it down to the rest of my hair frequently enough. So I guess it's mostly the roots that's an issue for me?

[MusicalSpoons]

Ah, right. Sounds a bit like mine, though further to my initial comment (just remembered): I recently saw a young girl with hair in a ponytail that was very obviously clean and not oily, but it clumped just like mine does. I realised the clumping is in part due to the way the hair grows out of the follicles, and then being held in a direction against that (in a bun or other style) makes it kinda clump together. So now in that situation I'm still not entirely sure of the difference for myself, but I have noticed that oily will definitely sort of slick together if I run my hand over it, whereas silky won't.

[Cg]

Oily, not really. More I can tell when the roots need washing. Silky is how hair feels when it's clean and soft from root to tip.

Straight hair benefits from daily brushing with a boar bristle brush to distribute sebum throughout.

[milosmomma]

Oily hair will leave my hands shiny after rubbing over it, but silky sheeny hair will not leave a shine on my hands.

[Corvana]

Oily hair will leave my hands shiny after rubbing over it, but silky sheeny hair will not leave a shine on my hands.

I was just about to say this exact thing! I can't see the oil in my hair until it's quite dirty, but I'll know it's there when I rub my roots.

[Knightly]

Silky- slippery, shiny, soft and easy to handle
Oily- opaque and sticky, looks darker, probably more difficult to handle

[RottenMango]

Silky- shiny, moist but not wet.
Oily- leaves residue if you touch it, stains headrests, clothing, etc.

[Stray_mind]

My hair gets rough and greasy feeling when it's oily. I can even feel the oil on my fingers when i touch my hair. My waves straighten out significantly and my hair just lies limp.

When it's silky, my waves are more defined, my hair feels soft and leaves no residue on my fingers.

[Milkchocolate]

In my opinion, silky feels plumped and smooth and absorbed within the hair shafts with no residue. Oily feels tacky and clumped together with a greasy feeling on your fingertips