Bunning oily hair?

[ravenreed]

Alrighty, I am trying to figure out what to do with hair on oily days, which is often just the day after I wash it. Some say they bun their hair on these days, but when I pull back my hair, the scalp hair looks more stringy than when it is down. I would love to wash every 3 days. I don't see it ever happening. I have tried rinsing on days I don't wash and for some reason, after rinsing my hair looks even oilier.

Also, yesterday, wash day, I put in cute double lazy wrap buns, high up on my head. Today, I thought I would do the same thing, and the ends slid right out. The first time I thought it was a fluke, so I wrapped them again and they unwrapped right in front of me! Does this mean my ends are healthier or, as I have always suspected, my hair has a mind of its own and has no desire to play along with my plans for it?

Right now, I am doing CO with ACV rinse, followed by a catnip rinse. Maybe the catnip really is adding slip?

[magpielaura]

I wear a wide fabric hair band (alice band) on stringy hair-no-wash days if I feel uncomfortable about how it looks. I think I've got better at dealing with less-clean hair with practice, and used to the way it looks and feels so don't think of it as dirty as soon as I used to! It takes a bit of ajustment when you cut down on washing, and finding things that work for you.

[ravenreed]

I just hate the stringy look! I am hair band challenged as the back of my head is pretty flat and stuff has nothing to grab onto. I end up tying things too tightly and get a head ache. I have found some fabric hat/wraps that are okay, maybe I just need to invest in more of those. However, I don't want to spend the rest of my life wearing a hat every other day. Can I have a hair tantrum now?

[flaming bunny]

On my greasy days I do tend to bun it...although this does lead to trouble with my hair parting in weird places which means my scalp shows through *eek*. Recently though, I have just been making braided pigtails and then wearing a hat. Ahh how I love thee black beenie :p not sure how that's going to work in the summer....shorts and a woollen hat, anyone? :eyebrows:

As for your hair unravelling (sp?) I find that my hair stays in place better when it's freshly washed. Maybe in the days afterwards, the non-oily ends have trouble mingling with the slightly oily scalp hair and just slide off???

[JamieLeigh]

I definitely bun mine on days pre-wash when nothing else suits it. And to make matters worse, on the day preceding my clarifying shampoo (which occurs every 3 weeks...trying to stretch it to 4), I soak my hair in olive oil, THEN braid it and bun it. So I make mine even oilier! LOL. I usually sleep on that bun and wear it the next day (no fly-aways, thanks to the olive oil). It really doesn't look that bad at all, and I actually got a few compliments on my bun the last time I did it. :D

I guess I really don't have any advice for you, I'm sorry. :( I've just learned to live with it and love it. Sometimes there's a transition period you have to get used to, when you're incorporating new things or techniques into your hair routine.

[marialena]

Hi ravenreed ! I had for a period the same problem with you,(my hair used to become oily one day after I wash them, but really oily). When I had this problem I used to rinse them with lukewarm water and dry them gently with a towel which kept most of the oil.. ( but not all of course).
But at last I found out that oily hair was an hormone problem. Mine solved just one month after I start using the pill, which manage someway to balance my hormones. I think that it would be better, instead of trying to hide the problem to check out your hormones.
It's not normal, and that I'm saying that for sure, to have oily hair just one day after you wash them.

[physicschick]

Alrighty, I am trying to figure out what to do with hair on oily days, which is often just the day after I wash it. Some say they bun their hair on these days, but when I pull back my hair, the scalp hair looks more stringy than when it is down.

i get this to. instead i braid my oily hair and it doesn't pull as tight so the scalp hair doesn't look as stringy.
ppl never mention that my hair looks gross so it must b working?

[viking_quest]

instead i braid my oily hair and it doesn't pull as tight so the scalp hair doesn't look as stringy

I braid my hair as well and it doesn't look oily at all.

[ravenreed]

I am using Mirena, an UID with hormones built in, the straight pill had too many side effects for me. I have always had oily skin and hair. Since I gave up sls, it is slightly better, but I have just learned to live with it! My hair used to get oily about 24-36 hours after washing, now it goes about 48...


Hi ravenreed ! I had for a period the same problem with you,(my hair used to become oily one day after I wash them, but really oily). When I had this problem I used to rinse them with lukewarm water and dry them gently with a towel which kept most of the oil.. ( but not all of course).
But at last I found out that oily hair was an hormone problem. Mine solved just one month after I start using the pill, which manage someway to balance my hormones. I think that it would be better, instead of trying to hide the problem to check out your hormones.
It's not normal, and that I'm saying that for sure, to have oily hair just one day after you wash them.

[ravenreed]

I have a greek fisherman's hat that I love, and it looks GREAT on me with two braids. However, the thing is wool. I wore it dancing on a summer night and almost died! :p


On my greasy days I do tend to bun it...although this does lead to trouble with my hair parting in weird places which means my scalp shows through *eek*. Recently though, I have just been making braided pigtails and then wearing a hat. Ahh how I love thee black beenie :p not sure how that's going to work in the summer....shorts and a woollen hat, anyone? :eyebrows:

As for your hair unravelling (sp?) I find that my hair stays in place better when it's freshly washed. Maybe in the days afterwards, the non-oily ends have trouble mingling with the slightly oily scalp hair and just slide off???

[Deborah]

Ravenreed,

Yes you can bun oily hair and have it look great! I tried WO (water only washing) for 22 months. During that time no one noticed because I wore my hair up in a variety of nice buns.

The trick is in how you put the bun in. Brush your hair well, all down the length, then begin putting it up in any bun you like. Make sure to keep the top layer of hair very smooth and sleek. You can accomplish this by careful use of a brush or a very fine toothed comb. Don't part your hair at all, just smooth it all back. Once you have the bun in place, if the surface doesn't look quite right, use the brush or comb VERY gently, only on the top layer to smooth from the hairline back to the bun. It is really quite easy, and it works very well.

Since you know it is oily, you may think it looks that way. But ask yourself whether it looks oily, or whether it really looks like maybe you just used hairspray.

Honestly, even if your hair is past oily and downright greasy, you can still do a beautiful bun, and have beautiful hair every day. :)

[Roseate]

If my hair is looking too greasy in a bun, I get out my soft BBB and run it over the oily bits (after it's already up in the bun). It distributes the oils and breaks up any stringy parts; makes it look sleek and shiny instead of dirty and greasy.

[ravenreed]

You know, the bbb just doesn't work for me! It makes my hair look worse. I have tried to love my bbb. I have tried several different ones. I use it to smooth my ends, but gave up on the scalp hair! Unless I just washed it, it makes things look horrible. :wail:

[ravenreed]

Hmm. Okay, I will try smoothing it. Honestly, my hair is dark so a little oily=shiny and sleek, and that is okay. People tell me that my hair looks healthy like that. What I am battling is the stringies.


Ravenreed,

Yes you can bun oily hair and have it look great! I tried WO (water only washing) for 22 months. During that time no one noticed because I wore my hair up in a variety of nice buns.

The trick is in how you put the bun in. Brush your hair well, all down the length, then begin putting it up in any bun you like. Make sure to keep the top layer of hair very smooth and sleek. You can accomplish this by careful use of a brush or a very fine toothed comb. Don't part your hair at all, just smooth it all back. Once you have the bun in place, if the surface doesn't look quite right, use the brush or comb VERY gently, only on the top layer to smooth from the hairline back to the bun. It is really quite easy, and it works very well.

Since you know it is oily, you may think it looks that way. But ask yourself whether it looks oily, or whether it really looks like maybe you just used hairspray.

Honestly, even if your hair is past oily and downright greasy, you can still do a beautiful bun, and have beautiful hair every day. :)

[nicolezoie]

The trick for me is to comb my hair back BEFOREHAND, so it's already aligned back (or into a part, depending on what I'm doing) so that when I secure it back and the oily bits are stringing, all I have to do is run a soft BBB or something to smooth things out. Also if I find bumps after putting it all back, I will slide a hair stick under the bumps to move them back and under the updo.

Hope this helps!

[Arctic_Mama]

On oily days I thing Dutch braid or anything that takes the focus off my scalp (unlike the long, greasy expanse I get with a bun or ponytail) is best, and still works with sleek or floopy hair. I don't know if you have fringe, but I do, and it often looks very greasy from my facial oils before the scalp is ready to be washed. To combat this I *just* wash my fringe over the sink with diluted shampoo and that make them fluff right up. Distributing a little sebum with my hands takes them slightly and makes them blend better with the rest of my hair and I'm good to go :)

[Arctic_Mama]

If my hair is looking too greasy in a bun, I get out my soft BBB and run it over the oily bits (after it's already up in the bun). It distributes the oils and breaks up any stringy parts; makes it look sleek and shiny instead of dirty and greasy.



That is a great idea!

[marialena]

I have a greek fisherman's hat that I love, and it looks GREAT on me with two braids. However, the thing is wool. I wore it dancing on a summer night and almost died! :p


Ha ha ha ha.. These hats can be very stylish but not for night summer dances.. ha ha ha ..
So by the time that you know that is not a health problem perhaps it would be good to try some anti- oily ( new word just made from me!! :D) recipies.. Have you ever tried lemon juice? (diluted with water of course otherwise is going to make your hair blond - if they aren't already! ) I have heard that is the best rinse for oily hair but I never try it because I dye my hair with henna.

[Hedera]

It makes a big difference for me if the bun is high, or low.
Low buns (or just braids) work best; they don't tend to show the greasyness at all.

But when I have to brush hair from my temples upwards or back (rather than down), it looks really greasy!

[Anje]

I also get the stringy hair look when I'm getting oily, and BBBs just pull up more oil from my scalp. When my Denman brush leaves toothmarks, it's time to schedule a wash. But before then, I usually comb it into a downward style. Low buns might work, but braids are better for me and they look nice and sleek when hair is totally greasy.

When you do a water rinse, I'd recommend sticking your head under the shower for maybe 5 minutes, and use your fingers to move the hair around and really get the water to run through it well. I find that it takes a lot of the sebum off, but you do need to do it for a while. Just wetting it down isn't sufficient. A diluted vinegar rinse that gets rubbed in a little and then rinsed out also moves sebum quite well for me.

[sweetbluesky]

When I have oily hair, I do a part. If i slick my hair back, it makes me look like a pinhead. If I part my hair on the left side, the next time, I will part it on the right. I find that switching the part helps with making hair look less oily.
French twists look beautiful on greasy hair because it makes it smooth and shiny. I will part my hair in the front, comb it back to smooth it out, and do the twist. I have no twisting skills so it comes out lumpy, but I still do it :rolleyes:. When you do this, even in greasy hair, it will lift the crown area of your hair. I take a comb and lift just a little bit before pinning everything into place. This makes the hair smooth in front, sleek in back, and has a little lift for some "oomph." This will also protect your ends and may help in distributing the oil on your length.
This sounds crazy, but I find that adding a little oil in my greasy hair makes it softer and more manageable. Maybe you can add a drop or two before you go to sleep and it should be absorbed by the morning. HTH!

[florenonite]

i get this to. instead i braid my oily hair and it doesn't pull as tight so the scalp hair doesn't look as stringy.
ppl never mention that my hair looks gross so it must b working?

I've started braiding lately when my hair's greasy, and it does work quite well, though I only do English braids as French braids don't work any better than buns.


On oily days I thing Dutch braid or anything that takes the focus off my scalp (unlike the long, greasy expanse I get with a bun or ponytail) is best, and still works with sleek or floopy hair. I don't know if you have fringe, but I do, and it often looks very greasy from my facial oils before the scalp is ready to be washed. To combat this I *just* wash my fringe over the sink with diluted shampoo and that make them fluff right up. Distributing a little sebum with my hands takes them slightly and makes them blend better with the rest of my hair and I'm good to go :)

I also find that a clean fringe makes your hair appear cleaner than a greasy one, so even if the hair at my temples is starting to get stringy you can't tell so easily if my fringe is nice and clean!

[Stevy]

I usually make a Dutch braid and then make a bun with the braid. It seems to get rid of the stringy look.

[Atalaya05]

I have this problem too! I braid my hair sometimes when it's oily, but I can't bun it at all. On me oily hair just looks stringy and not shiny =/ It also feels very dry and oily at the same time...it's a little hard to explain but it's not a good feeling at all! The best I can do is dilute my shampoo and wash every other day..I'm hoping that at some point it'll straighten itself out.