Hair oilier the more frequently I wash it?

[rosie91]

I switched from washing my hair every day to every other day recently, because I was getting build up in patches of my hair that I couldn't shift. My hair felt a lot cleaner on a wash day but it also didn't feel too bad on my non-wash day, but it wasn't ideal because I'm not used to it. But...this weekend I have washed it 3 times in a row and I have the greasy patch just at the crown on my head again and it looks less clean and more limp? Could it be that washing it every day seems to make my scalp produce the same amount of oil in one day than it would in 2 if I was washing it every other day?

[twilight]

definitely. everyone's head has a certain balance of oil that it likes to keep, and so for some people, washing every day can make the scalp overproduce oil. there are plenty of folks on LHC who wash VERY infrequently (and/or just with water) who don't have problems with oil because their scalps have normalized to lack of washing.

same is true in reverse...

it could also be buildup from your products or your hair chemistry just not liking whatever you are using. have you switched your routine other than the frequency of washing?

[rosie91]

Hmm.. yeah I thought it may have something to do with that. I just hope I can get used to how my hair feels on a non-wash day..I'm not too keen on it but I much prefer how it is when I wash it less.

[twilight]

you might think about trying to hold off on washing for a few extra days one week, to sort of tell your scalp "hey i'm only going to wash every [x] days" ...and then pick up to every other day again. sometimes that helps me when i feel like my hair is getting oilier than usual. i suffer through one more day before i wash, and it seems to calm down.

good luck!

[rosie91]

thank you! I've just bought a baby shampoo and another cone free one which i might try some time next week. i'm going to see how long i can possible go before i HAVE to wash it. thanks a lot

[Elphie]

Baby shampoo can be very drying, it's made to keep cradle cap under control and not something an adult would need. That could be your culprit.

[rosie91]

really? oh dear, I know nothing. i thought it would be gentle being for babies and everything!

[spidermom]

really? oh dear, I know nothing. i thought it would be gentle being for babies and everything!

It's gentle on the eyes, which requires a more alkaline pH than hair and scalp prefer. By the way, this idea that scalp produces less oil if you wash it less frequently is only that, an idea. It isn't a fact. I've found studies where the oil production was measured each day, and they concluded that the scalp produces the same amount of oil every day whether you wash it or not.

Another idea - perhaps your oily spot comes from the fact that washing your hair so frequently never gives your hair a chance to absorb the oil that is being produced to condition it. I've had days when my hair seemed icky-oily, but I didn't have time to wash, and the next day it looked much better. I assume that my hair absorbed some of that oil.

[rosie91]

ok..wow I have so much to learn!