Sticky Hair

[florenonite]

Last night when I was combing my hair out before bed, I hit a really sticky patch that I had to carefully detangle. It was just above the nape on the right-hand side. It felt greasy (and my fingers were covered in oil by the end), but didn't smell of anything.

Before washing yesterday I did a pre-wash oiling, using a little less than a teaspoon on my length. It's possible that I didn't wash this out entirely, because I'm not used to shampooing the length and might have missed this spot. However, if that's the case, I'm surprised that it didn't smell of coconut oil and made the hair actually stick together.

Does anyone have any idea what it was?

[Aisha25]

I got that before too but on my ends. I guess I didnt wash them properly. I had to soak the ends in water and wash them again.

[Gumball]

I get that a little up and back from my right ear. It's like a waxy patch. No other spot on my head seems to get areas like that. I can't quite explain why it does that. I can shampoo, condition, and rinse for almost ten minutes and a few days later it will just appear. Maybe my scalp is really active there? Suddenly my comb will just tell me, "Nope. Not working there."

[Presto]

I have a patch of skin that is just in front of my hairline on my forehead that produces more oil. It was never noticeable until I started wearing hardhats.
Why is there always a nasty patch right there on my hardhat liner??? Every time I changed out the liner it was a matter of days before a pasty dirt patch would reappear in the same place. It seemed thicker than just oil, like sebum. It was really really close to my hairline, like plenty of baby hairs grew in that area.
Certainly possible to happen randomly at other places on the head too.

That or maybe a bird pooped in your hair and you didn't notice? :lol:
Er, okay, no. But maybe something got in your hair?

[Merlin]

Errr ........

Note to self, spring clean mind at once....

[Anje]

I haven't had hair get "sticky" from coconut oil, and I'd think that coconut would actually help dissolve some sebum, preventing a greasy lump.

I agree with Presto -- perhaps something got in your hair? Toothpaste and maple syrup are my favorite sticky hair culprits, and usually the most likely. (Also the reason I try to have my hair up when eating and brushing my teeth!) Protein also tends to make my hair feel sticky or tacky, but that probably would give you a greasy result.... Anyway, I'm just rambling here. You might want to give it an extra rinse, just to make sure whatever's in there is out, and if the rest of your hair starts feeling that way, take a look at ingredients.

ETA: Merlin, you're already a few months behind schedule if you're only getting to spring-cleaning your mind now!

[florenonite]

I have a patch of skin that is just in front of my hairline on my forehead that produces more oil. It was never noticeable until I started wearing hardhats.
Why is there always a nasty patch right there on my hardhat liner??? Every time I changed out the liner it was a matter of days before a pasty dirt patch would reappear in the same place. It seemed thicker than just oil, like sebum. It was really really close to my hairline, like plenty of baby hairs grew in that area.
Certainly possible to happen randomly at other places on the head too.

That or maybe a bird pooped in your hair and you didn't notice? :lol:
Er, okay, no. But maybe something got in your hair?

I can't imagine anything would have gotten in my hair, because it was on the underlayer right by the nape and I wore my hair down yesterday. I'd have to be quite the contortionist for something to end up in my hair. ETA: reading Anje's post, it might be toothpaste, as I didn't notice it until after I'd brushed my teeth. Maybe I got some in my hair trying to keep my hair out of the sink.

Hmm, it sounds like I might have just not washed it properly, and it was either the coconut oil or just sebum. It's possible that that area produces more sebum, but it's only when I added the coconut oil that it became sticky because there was so much oil there or something.

[Deborah]

A teaspoon of oil is a LOT on hair your length. I'll bet you just didn't get it all out. Some find that CO washing is really good at getting excess oil out; maybe you could try that. Good luck with whatever you do. I'm sure your hair will be fine.

[RancheroTheBee]

Did you maybe get soap in your hair? I did this a few weeks ago, and the nape of my hair felt awful until I washed it.

[florenonite]

A teaspoon of oil is a LOT on hair your length. I'll bet you just didn't get it all out. Some find that CO washing is really good at getting excess oil out; maybe you could try that. Good luck with whatever you do. I'm sure your hair will be fine.

I've got really thick hair; I used about twice as much oil as I normally do for a leave-in, so my hair wasn't even visibly greasy before washing it.


Did you maybe get soap in your hair? I did this a few weeks ago, and the nape of my hair felt awful until I washed it.

I doubt it, as I'm WO on most of my body. I might have managed it while doing the washing up, though.