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View Full Version : Huge increase in oil production! Why?



contradiction
December 26th, 2009, 10:50 PM
Over the past year or so I have been dyeing and bleaching my hair blonde. The last time I bleached was in November 2009 - about 4 1/2 weeks ago.

I always thought, even before I started colouring and styling that my hair was dry. I never had problems with oiliness before, even if I went for several days without washing my hair.

Over the past month I went from washing and conditioning in hot water every other day with Redken products and blowfrying, teasing and flatironing twice a week to washing in cold water with Jason Biotin S and C, wearing my hair up as much as possible, using a wooden comb, giving away my flatiron and blowdryer. Even though my hair is still very damaged it feels a lot better, except well....

The new growth that I have (about an inch and a half, which is a lot as my hair is still short and layered) is so oily! I kid you not it gets oily after half a day and after 2 days my hair is completely covered in sebum! Even before I started heavily styling my hair I never had this problem. My hair also seems to be growing a lot faster as well (which is good)

Has anyone else experienced this? What are your thoughts? I would love some input. My roots are so oily that I am starting to get little pimples among the neckline - not good! I don't have oily skin anywhere else on my body.

Merkaba
December 26th, 2009, 11:04 PM
You may be overwashing it, or if you are using a clarifying shampoo or conditioner could be causing some problems. I had this- oily hair so I washed every day, which my body tried to overcompensate by producing more oil- I had greasy hair by every day's end. I stopped washing every day and used a much gentler shampoo- had horrible hair for about a week, but eventually it evened out. Now I wash every 2-3 days and my hair is much less oily.

contradiction
December 26th, 2009, 11:10 PM
I've switched to a gentler shampoo, wash only every other day and only wash in cold water. My hair has become oilier and my scalp producing more sebum since making these changes :(

RocketDog
December 27th, 2009, 12:47 AM
Have you tried using a natural bristle brush to try and distribute some of that oil to the length? I found that a good long (but gentle!) brushing did wonders for helping when I was having a particularly 'oily' day. I just take small sections and brush from the scalp to the ends a few times, really focusing on trying to pull the sebum from the scalp through to the ends as much as possible. Once I've gotten a patch a few inches wide, I brush it a few different directions to make sure all the 'scruff' is loosened, then smooth it out and move on to another area of my scalp. My hair always looks worse immediately after, but it FEELS better, and by the next morning a lot of the oilies seem to magically disappear as the hair absorbs the natural oils that have been worked down the length.

Might be worth a try, since your current routine doesn't seem to be working for you...

Syaoransbear
December 27th, 2009, 12:52 AM
Damaged hair needs more oil so it absorbs more of it, so your new virgin growth isn't absorbing as much oil as the damaged hair used to. Your scalp just needs to figure that out.

freznow
December 27th, 2009, 12:54 AM
Diet influences my hair a lot - I know by looking at my head when I've had too much popcorn or pizza. Has your diet changed drastically since your styling and pre-styling days?

However, seeing what you say, I think it may just be your hairtype and the fact that you now have healthy hair, plus you probably went through some hormonal changes in the time period. When you tease it and fry it, it gets all puffed up and the sebum (theoretically, I'm not sure if this is the precise case) seems to absorb into the shaft and the raised cuticle you've created. When it's healthy, the cuticle is smooth and the oil can more easily just sit on top. Plus your hairtype may change over time - oiliness is part of that.

I'd recommend experimenting with different washing methods (CO? Shampoo bars? warm-hot-cold rinse cycle? scalp massage?) and seeing what happens.

Jeni
December 27th, 2009, 01:25 AM
Damaged hair needs more oil so it absorbs more of it, so your new virgin growth isn't absorbing as much oil as the damaged hair used to. Your scalp just needs to figure that out.

I'm going to agree with this. I have always had an oily scalp (I wash every day) but when I use to dye my hair blond it wasn't as oily as it is now (no chemical dye since March 08 ). I figure my damaged hair just sucked more of the oil up.

Your hair/scalp may also have just changed since you started dyeing your hair.

I agree with other people, you could try using a different shampoo/washing method, see if that helps the oiliness.

Do you use conditioner on your scalp? If so, don't.

Its late and I'm tired but if I'm reading your post right you said we were s/c everyday and now your not? A lot of people here had to go through a period of oiliness when they tried to extend their washings. Other people (like me) found their scalp just never adjusted and needed to be washed everyday. If you want to cut down on shampooing what about trying CO'ing on the days you don't shampoo or instead of shampooing?

hydrangea
December 27th, 2009, 04:26 AM
I have fine hair too, and I think that exacerbates the problem. I tried using "all natural" shampoos like Jason. I love the way my hair felt the first day, but I would have to wash every day if I continued using those products. My hair needs to be really cleaned at least 2x per week to keep the greasies at bay. I don't have to use a clarifying shampoo every time, however I do have to use a "strong" one with naughty chemicals and a conditioner with cones...(fine hair tangles easily if I didn't use cones I'd have more breakage!) I have found herbal essences long hair relationship to be the perfect balance for my hair type. It feels real creamy in your hands, but it doesn't leave my hair weighed down at all. Perhaps once I get to the point of washing just once per week with herbal essences I'll be able to wash like 3 times per week with Jason and go from there. Any change in your typical routine will take your hair time to "catch up" with the changes. It took me like 6 months to get to where I could wash my hair every other day.

Wicked Princess
December 27th, 2009, 05:17 AM
I can't really give any advice :o, but I can sort of share my experiences:

It sounds like you've made excellent progress towards taking better care of your hair! When I first started taking care of my hair, I drastically changed my shampoo, conditioner, combing regimen, and started using oil. I did this all over the course of a week and my scalp went crazy! There was oil everywhere! This went away after about a month and a half. I read later that slower change is probably better. :laugh:

Anje
December 28th, 2009, 08:10 AM
As others have said, it could be the change in routine. Gentler products take some time for the scalp to get used to, and they don't clean quite as effectively (which is what makes the gentler, after all).

I mainly wanted to put forth that it might not have anything to do with what you're doing. Some people (like me) have seasonal swings in sebum production, and now that you're washing less and paying more attention to the health of your hair, you're noticing this more. I was totally oblivious to the fact that I produce gobs more sebum in the winter when I was shampooing nearly daily. Now that I CO more or less as needed, I've discovered that I need to wash my hair about every 3 days in the winter or parts get heavy and stiff with sebum. In the summer, I can easily CO weekly, and generally wash because I've been in a lake or something rather than because my scalp is oily.