Greasy hair

[omgkfclolz]

Does greasy hair come more from running your hands through your hair or the oil that forms on your face and touches your hair? is there any shampoo that can at least get rid of, or significantly minimize the amount of oils/grease produced by your hair for at least 12/24 hours? If so, what kind of shampoo/conditioner can I use?

[Leena7]

Well, I think that it is better for your hair in general to try to keeps hands off of it for the most part. You could always try washing the roots with shampoo and going easier on the length. You could then condition the length and keep it away from the roots. Or you could wear your hair up, that seems to help the greasiness, or it at very least hides the greasiness a bit. I know friends with light hair who sometimes put baby powder in their roots to "absorb" the grease, but idk.

[Peter]

Your scalp produces sebum too. If your roots get greasy quickly, it could either be from a very active scalp or touching it too much. Pretty much any shampoo will get rid of the oils, but as far as I know, nothing can stop your skin from producing more (and that's a good thing, in a way).

I'm not sure about others here but my hair takes longer to get greasy now that I don't wash it as much.

[amoulixes]

It can definitely come from touching your hair frequently, touching your face then your hair, but it also comes from your scalp. I am particularly oily, and I try to use tea tree shampoos. They cut down on the "greasiness" but can also be drying to the scalp. For this reason, I try to wash every other day to give my skin a break :) Also, keeping your hair out of your face so you're not tempted to touch it will help, and avoid putting conditioner on your scalp; this will only make it worse, just condition the ends (maybe say, below the ears).

I also use rosewater on my face to cut down the oil there. I actually had a post recently about oily scalp/skin, and was told that I might be making it worse by using these drying products (which is the cause for moderation).

[Tresses]

Use a gentle shampoo, and as counter-intuitive as this sounds, avoid shampoos for oily hair. Over washing your scalp will cause it to "rebound" and produce more oil. (Your face will do the same.) I avoid shampoos with ammonium lauryl/laureth sulfates and sodium lauryl sulfate for this reason. (Sodium laureth sulfate doesn't give me this problem.)

[nature-head]

I agree with OP. Most people's scalp is too greasy from overwashing or washing with too harsh of shampoos. Cut down and your hair will recover. There is a period where it will be bad, but in a few weeks it will get used to being washed less. I currently wash with a non SLS shampoo about ever 4 days, but I'm trying to stretch it out even farther to 5 or 6 days. It has made a huge difference with the greasy scalp and also my horribly dry ends.

[omgkfclolz]

It can definitely come from touching your hair frequently, touching your face then your hair, but it also comes from your scalp. I am particularly oily, and I try to use tea tree shampoos. They cut down on the "greasiness" but can also be drying to the scalp. For this reason, I try to wash every other day to give my skin a break :) Also, keeping your hair out of your face so you're not tempted to touch it will help, and avoid putting conditioner on your scalp; this will only make it worse, just condition the ends (maybe say, below the ears).

I also use rosewater on my face to cut down the oil there. I actually had a post recently about oily scalp/skin, and was told that I might be making it worse by using these drying products (which is the cause for moderation).
i am starting to use conditioner now, i guess that's why it's more greasy. ? and for the poster that said for me to NOT wash my hair, so your suggesting i go to work with greasy hair? haha. I've heard that if you don't wash your hair for days it'll eventually stop producing grease, but wouldn't the cycle start over again once i hop in the shower and wash my hair even with a time period of me not washing my hair.

[Curlsgirl]

i am starting to use conditioner now, i guess that's why it's more greasy. ? and for the poster that said for me to NOT wash my hair, so your suggesting i go to work with greasy hair? haha. I've heard that if you don't wash your hair for days it'll eventually stop producing grease, but wouldn't the cycle start over again once i hop in the shower and wash my hair even with a time period of me not washing my hair.

There will be a "transition" period that varies from person to person while your scalp is adjusting to not getting washed as often. Some people tough it out by wearing caps, scarfs or something like that to disguise the greasy scalp during that time. For example if you wash every day right now you might try going to every other day at first then every 2 days after a couple of weeks or so. Of you could just be one of those people who need to wash more often. If that is the case, it won't really hurt but you might like others have said just want to do a scalp wash and just shampoo the length every other time, with conditioner only or with diluted or sulfate free shampoo.

[Anje]

Conditioner generally doesn't cause greasy hair -- most conditioners aren't oil-laden enough for that. Lots of us actually wash with only conditioner because it dissolves and removes the oils.

As others have said, your scalp naturally produces a considerable amount of sebum (grease), though it'll show up more on your hair if you touch your hair and move it off the scalp and into the hair. If you have greasy hands for any reason, naturally that'll transfer to the hair too.

If your hair is really unpresentable within 24 hours, then yes, you might be producing extra oil in reaction to over-washing your scalp. If you don't want to just bite the bullet and stretch your washes by just skipping a day or alternating days and nights (about 36 hours between washes that way), why not switch to a less stripping wash method to start? Dilute your shampoo in a squirt bottle with water and shake it up, then squirt it on your hair. Try CO washing. Something like that.

And hahaha, yes, lots of us go to work with less than fresh hair a few times to get to the point where we won't have greasy hair by afternoon.

[teela1978]

Trying to extend washes and use gentler shampoos never worked for me. A lot of this sort of thing really depends on your particular head of hair. For me, using gentler shampoos made me get oilier faster, and because of the excess oil I'd end up getting little scalp pimples/sores.

On my scalp I generally use ALS or SLS shampoos, and only condition from the ears down. Conditioner won't make your hair greasy exactly... but it will help to seal the cuticle... I have this theory that when you seal down that cuticle and have an oil producing scalp, that any oil your scalp is making will sit on top of the hairs instead of soaking into the hair... making it look oily faster.

Also, hands off. The more you pull your hands through your hair, the more you spread oil from your skin/scalp through your hair. Again, making it look greasy.

Some people do have sensitivities to strong shampoos, and see a decrease in oil production after switching to a gentler cleanser. But not everyone. If you try it and it doesn't work, realize that its not going to work for everyone.

[GoddesJourney]

Touching it a lot makes it worse. Some people have good results from washing less. This gave me horrible long term dandruff. I eventually switched to SLS free shampoo and now I wash daily, guilt free. My hair does seem slightly less greasy now that I'm not using the harsh detergents that I was using before. Also, heavy, coney conditioners tend to make my hair feel more greasy.

[Madame J]

and for the poster that said for me to NOT wash my hair, so your suggesting i go to work with greasy hair? haha.

Actually, that's exactly what the poster is recommending. Yeah, you feel kinda gross for a few days/weeks/however long it takes to adjust, but ultimately your hair feels better and produces less oil because it's not being stripped regularly. What I did was cut back to washing my hair every other day, with a water rinse in between shampoo days. Then I started washing every third day, still rinsing most days.

Now I wash twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday, with water rinses on non-shampooing days that I exercise. I can generally wear my hair down with no problems the day after I wash, and sometimes wear my hair down on the second day after a wash. I find French braids are great at disguising greasy hair, as are bandannas and headscarves. If your hair is too short for anything else, you can put it in a ponytail, or back with a headband, and the oil just makes it look like you put some styling product in to tame things back. Most people find that others don't notice greasy hair as much as they do themselves.

Also, if you are using a heavy conditioner and notice your hair getting greasier, perhaps you are using too heavy a conditioner, or need to make sure you don't use it on your scalp. In general, conditioner that is properly rinsed should not make hair greasy. As Anje mentioned, some people here wash their hair with just conditioner -- it contains surfactants and emulsifiers that can break down scalp oil if used properly.

[Sokudo Ningyou]

Changing my shampoo and washing my hair less definitely worked for me; I was brought up showering every other day, and I HAD to wash my hair, because it would be a greaseball if I missed even one day. However, I've noticed that if I sweat at night when sleeping, my hair tends to get oily again fast.

[omgkfclolz]

Alright so i'm posting back on this topic to let you guys know that i didn't use conditioner today and haven't had greasy hair all day. Or a greasy forehead, it's weird... i mean i understand that conditioner does make your hair greasy but it never did for the first 2 weeks or so once i started (which was like 2 months ago)...now... it makes my hair very greasy. I asked somebody today and they said that i need to wash my hair more thoroughly, let the water fall on my hair for at least 5 minutes after i put conditioner in it because it's hard to get out. But doesn't that make conditioner pointless then? Is there even conditioner in my hair anymore? Will i have the same greasy results if i start using conditioner a month from now, but use it rarely?

[kittensoupnrice]

Another thing you can do, if you're finding that your conditioner is making your hair greasy, is to cut out conditioner completely.

Instead of using conditioner, I've been trying a leave-in detangler spray. It's very very light, almost like water, and I just apply it to my hair shoulder length and down. It detangles, and it dries invisibly. No greasies!