Smelly hair! I don't want to be a social outcast!

[Charlotte:)]

About a month ago I started washing my hair once a week instead of twice. I put cornstarch in my hair which makes it look clean, so I thought I was all good. Then today I sat down by my mom and she told me right away that my hair SMELLED greasy, so I washed it (and it has only been three days since I last washed it)! I really don't want to disgust people with my smelly hair (which is only "smelly" because excess cleanliness is what's socially acceptable these days), but I don't want to wash my hair more than once a week either because I believe too much washing is unhealthy. It has been so much healthier and softer since I made the switch. What are your opinions? Should I wash more often, or is there a way to cover up the smell? Or should I just not care what other people think. I am already quite eccentric, so maybe I could pull it off, haha.

[Lamb]

Washing infrequently may seem healthier, but there is no point in it if your softer-looking hair smells gross. I'd wash it more frequently, twice a week is still quite infrequent compared to how often people in general wash their hair. (Besides, I'm not sure how much good it does to your hair if your scalp is greasy. Moisturize your hair in-between washes with leave-ins or oils, if you're worried about dryness.)

[xoxophelia]

You could try out just CO with a light conditioner like VO5. It will get rid of the smell but not be as harsh as shampoo.

[Gothic Lolita]

I wash my hair 3-4 times a week, because my hair gets smelly fast. Washing twice a week shouldn't cause you problems. Also keep in mind that cornstarch helps hiding grease ( I do that too) but it absorbs the oil and it will go old in there and smell eve more quickly.
What about rinsing your hair with only water every second day? It will get sweat and other smells aways without stripping your hair. Or extremely diluted CO washings. You could also mix some nice EOs with water or rose water in a mister bottle and spritz your hair with it. It smells nice and rose water is good for moisture.

[EvaSimone]

/snip/ I really don't want to disgust people with my smelly hair (which is only "smelly" because excess cleanliness is what's socially acceptable these days)/snip/

I don't find smelling neutral to be "excessive cleanliness" I think smelling dirty (body odor, sebum etc.) is slovenly. Just my :twocents:

My advice is to wash your hair more frequently if it smells; smelling bad will negatively impact your social life and work life. Some people can get away with washing their hair less often but others can't. If I don't wash every third day I smell sebumy and in order to be tolerable to the other humans that share my space (both home and work) I wash my hair.

[pepperminttea]

Wash as often as you need to. You can change the smell with your choice of oils (if you use them), or perhaps a spritz of water with a drop or two of your favourite essential oil.

I wash every five days, sometimes longer, and I've never noticed my hair smelling 'greasy.' Do you smoke, or spend time with people who do? Before I quit (I was a social smoker for a while), I had to wash more frequently because the smell it left on my hair and skin was... 'blergh' to put it kindly. Do you work somewhere with unpleasant smells? A friend of mine worked in MaccyD's for a time and she said she washed everyday because nothing else got rid of the smell and greasy feel on her hair and skin.

Bottom line, do what works for you.

[haibane]

Scalp washing is another alternative to CO/WO, as the scalp tends to be the smelliest.

[julliams]

It kind of depends on your lifestyle. If you are working out often, this will mean that you will need to wash more often simply because of the extra sweat.

I would have the "once a week" wash as your goal rather than what you start out with. Start off with washing every 3 days, then stretch it to 4 and so on until you reach your goal. I think that you and your scalp will adjust slowly.

[RancheroTheBee]

Why do you believe frequent washing is unhealthy?

[christine1989]

You could wash a little more regularly with a conditioner- its non damaging and makes hair smell good. If you really don't want to wash more than once a week then you could brush a few drops of essential oils in your hair to cover the unwashed smell.

[ChloeDharma]

My hair is fine and easily damaged but i can get away with twice a week washing without it damaging my hair. I do smother the length in oil though to protect it.
Personally if having long hair meant i'd have to smell of sebum then i'd keep it a bit shorter. That sebum smell kind of makes me gag though.

[frizzinator]

The combination of product residue (including corn starch) with sebum is what smells. Sebum alone does not smell bad, as long as the scalp is stimulated and aired.

Removing all product residue from the scalp and hair requires at least 80 minutes of rinsing, which might take several weeks of WO rinses to accomplish.

[Medievalmaniac]

Try running a few drops of an EO you love though your hair. Use a BBB to scratch and distribute the oils from your scalp down. Then smooth an oil you like the smell of down the length and "schluff" the residue on your hands through the top portion of your head. Then put your hair up in an updo.

I only wash 1-2 times a week, and I run about 80-100 miles weekly. At first, I definitely noticed my hair smelling more strongly, but it has since evened out - and I made DH sniff to check, in case I had just gotten used to it :p.You need to give your hair time to adjust to the routine changes you are making.

Just throw it up and forget about it - if it bothers you, then wash more frequently; otherwise, remember what much wiser people than I have said: I am not hereto decorate you world.:D

[Othala]

I think it may be that the cornstarch made it stinky. Try again without the cornstarch and see if it is still the same.

[Tabitha]

Be aware that cornstarch is a vehicle for bacteria to thrive. I've heard of people having a problem with this when using Bare Escentuals mineral makeup "Mineral Veil" (used for mattifying/setting the actual mineral foundations) which contains cornstarch, it can lead to breakouts for this reason.

I just wash my hair when it needs it. Sometimes this will be 4 days, sometimes 8 days dependent on all sorts of factors. I don't see any benefit to going around with smelly hair. I want to feel good about my hair including the look (no skanky roots) and the smell.

ETA if you're concerned about not drying out your ends you could try putting conditioner on them before you wash (CWC) if you're concerned about shampooing too often you could try CO washing which is very effective (I find only the long soak method gets my hair clean). For me, CO needs to be alternated with shampooing: at least one shampoo wash for every 2 CO washes.

[alabaster]

co is a very good way to go. It doesn't over dry your hair, but still leaved behind a nice clean scent.....

I had the same problem when i tried to go WO so i stopped. I now wash with a sulfate free shampoo every week or so and in between i just use conditioner....

[Pierre]

I third the EO. I wash with WO and use several EOs in my hair. Last week I showed it to a friend of mine. She could not place the smell (probably because she didn't know henna attar, the last scent I applied), but she liked it. The main EO for cutting the stink is probably tea tree or rosalina (same genus).

[twolunarspring]

I don't wash my hair, I just rinse it with water maybe three times a month, and my hair doesn't smell bad at all, it just smells like hair: neutral.
When I used to wash my hair more frequently, I found it would develop a stale smell after a few days.
I think that after a while, your scalp will get accustomed to your less frequent washing, and you'll find the smell doesn't happen.

[GRU]

If you don't want to use product on your hair, you could just rinse it with water more often.

[littlenvy]

The combination of product residue (including corn starch) with sebum is what smells. Sebum alone does not smell bad, as long as the scalp is stimulated and aired.

Removing all product residue from the scalp and hair requires at least 80 minutes of rinsing, which might take several weeks of WO rinses to accomplish.
I agree.
Sebum by itself does not have a ‘bad’ smell.
NOW, once in a while if your diet is high in animal fat (and that may include dairy), the amino acids within the sebum may have a more organic smell to them. But its still not bad.
The only time it starts to smell is when bacteria start to break down the sebum. And that may be either because of some minor infection (like fungus) or not grooming enough.
Not washing your hair actually takes more work then just washing since YOU have to do all the work instead of letting the chemicals or cleaning agents do the work for you.


Have you tried the SO techniques of massaging, scratching and BBB brushing?
Here is the SO thread that may help:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=144 (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=144)

May I ask you something? Did YOU smell it and it smelled bad? Or are you just taking your mom’s word for it? Maybe it was just that she didn’t smell the chemical/perfumed scent that most shampoos and conditioners have so she concluded that it smelled bad.

[xovictoryxo]

scented baby powder... lightly dusted thru your roots :) gets rid of grease and stinkyness

[countryhopper]

I think this really depends on each person and their own unique body chemistry. Some people never use deodorant and never smell bad. For the rest of us (I'm including myself) could NEVER get away with this! Some people could have truely stinky sebum and others could have a neutral "hair" smell.

Diet can also affect the body's smells. What works for one person may not work for another.
Experiment with different things to find out what works the best for you.

[luckyduck]

I have recently taken up vigorous exercise, and so I have had to change my routine a little to keep from smelling bad. I alternate between several different methods. Some days I just WO, other days I CO, or CWC and still other days I get distracted and forget to do anything to it, when I have cooled off and it is dry, I oil it and put it up. I like being able to listen to what it needs each day. (It is a bummer having to let it dry. If I am in a hurry, I turn on the box fan!)

[angelthadiva]

Just because you *want* to go a week w/o washing doesn't mean you can.

As many mentioned before your body chemistry, food consumption, environmental factors (smoke, odorous food preparation), current hair care routine etc. may be contributing to the undesirable scent.

What was your prior routine? It takes time for your body to adjust to things. I wish I could use shampoo bars. I like the idea of them, but they turn my scalp into a flaky mess. I wish I could do SMT (I ♥ Snowymoon), but that turns my scalp into a flaky mess. Heck I wish I could go without washing all together and just have rocking fabulous hair, but I can't.

I've tried many different routines, and finally settled on the one that worked the best for me (hybrid wash). Scalp washing might work for you. It would freshen up your scalp area, but keep your length from receiving product.

[In2wishin]

I agree with the majority of the posters here. Try doing a cleansing wash once a week and something else (WO, CO, EO, etc) in between. Also, ask a friend to smell your hair and see what they say: stink or neutral.

You could also get a job like one I had. For four years I worked at a local company called Penzeys Spices. My hair and clothes smelled like spices all of the time until I actually shampooed or did laundry :D I got a lot of interesting looks from people but I loved it.

[spidermom]

I'd be in favor of washing more frequently. You can protect the length from drying out by using the CWC method and diluting your shampoo in warm water (which makes it much easier to get the shampoo over your entire scalp). Then let it dry naturally as much as possible.

CO also works well for some people (but I'm not one of them so I can't recommend it).

[Carolyn]

I don't think washing your hair 2 or even 3 times a week is excessive washing. I'm including WO and CO in the term "washing". Why can't you just rinse, CO, CWC, or S & C on an as needed basis?

[May]

Personally I don't think washing hair is unhealthy at all. I actually believe that a dirty scalp will cause skin issues and prevent proper hair growth. I really don't see the big deal with washing your hair because when I smell dirty hair it's kind of gross to be honest. I would just wash your hair :)

[MsBubbles]

Well this is a very interesting thread!


The combination of product residue (including corn starch) with sebum is what smells. Sebum alone does not smell bad, as long as the scalp is stimulated and aired.


Is this true? I never knew this.



I only wash 1-2 times a week, and I run about 80-100 miles weekly.

You totally rock. :thud: I bow to your superior athletic accomplishment. I skate 80-100 miles a week, so I get to cheat on the downhills. LOL!



I want to feel good about my hair including the look (no skanky roots) and the smell.

Interesting phrase there. I think I have some of those.



May I ask you something? Did YOU smell it and it smelled bad? Or are you just taking your mom’s word for it?

Somebody once said to me (back when I washed my hair every day, so it wasn't about that) "When you smell yourself, you can be sure other people have been smelling you for days".

One other thing...whenever my freshly bathed kids would go outside in the humidity here in GA and come back in from playing, they would smell like a wet dog.

Yours...skanky roots! :D

[Tabitha]

Interesting phrase there. I think I have some of those.

Just to clarify, I didn't mean two-tone roots from needing touch-ups, I meant the way my roots look dark, piecey/stringy and greasy if I'm lazy and put off washing my hair for a day or two longer than it wants to be washed.

My length and ends don't seem to get dirty even after 8-9 days, but the roots :scared:

[MsBubbles]

I know what you're saying, Tabitha :). My roots actually get greasy after 24 hours!! Ugh. (oh and I also have the dark roots to boot. It just doesn't look good at all right now. :().

Actually, to the OP: I think you are a 1a/f/ii. If so, I am really envious that you can go so long between washes. A lot of fine, straight hair'ds can't really get away with that, looks-wise. I wish I could!!

[heynormy]

I tend to wash my hair 2-3 times a week in order to avoid a smelly scalp, so I would suggest adding in another wash day! I know the feeling of not wanting to smell outside of the LHC world! :D Oh..I also use updos when I want to get an extra day without washing!

[BattahZ]

FYI, I've found that adding some tea tree oil to the conditioner I use to clean my scalp pretty much eliminates any odor. I can go 4 days without washing my hair if I do that, otherwise I was every other day to avoid any smell or itching. Granted, I have a sensitive nose, so it doesn't smell to others, but with tea tree oil there's no smell at all. I don't like the smell of tea tree oil itself, either, but since it's in my "washing" conditioner, I rinse it out and can't smell it after.

[adiapalic]

I've had my mama tell me that my hair stinks only 8 hours or so from the time I actually washed it.

To put be frank, I know she was making it up because she had been in a bad mood toward me that whole day, and knew that I was changing my hair routine recently by trying to go without shampoo. After I told her I had washed my hair just earlier--with shampoo and conditioner--she seemed surprised.

I think she said it to make me feel insecure about the alternative methods I was trying out more than actually making an assessment of my hair scent. If anything, I know my hair smelled great that day--because that Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose stuff never fails in the wonderful aroma department.

Sometimes our female loved-ones can be "catty" with passive-aggressive comments like that... even when it comes to something as insignificant as the smell of your hair.

That's just what happened to me though. :o

----

Whether or not your hair smelled, it could also involve some passive-aggression on her part? Who knows. I think making sure your hair smell like flowers so as not to *offend* others with the non-neutral scent of sebum is overrated. Some body odors are more offensive than others, but I find the expectation that everyone must obsessively sterilize anything and everything on their body down to nothing in order to be completely neutral a bit irritating; and to believe that any smell on someone must be offensive if it's not a bottled and branded scent, that's just silly. ***This is just an opinion about the expectation that all people practice this, not the practice of washing often and covering body smell itself. :)

Yes, there is a degree of body odor that should never be tolerated--I've met people who I could not breathe around, and it literally brought on my gag reflex. But to reduce the human smell of the body to something that needs to be eliminated completely? I can't buy that. :twocents:

---

To the suggestions on your problem, I like the idea of using some EO's and taking away the corn starch. Possibly washing more to reduce the appearance of greasiness would probably be a good idea, because like someone said earlier, people with straighter finer hair tend to produce more oils. I found shampooing the scalp and conditioning the ends only to be a wonderful solution for me. :flower:

[klcqtee]

Did your hair feel greasy to you when she said it? My hair feels greasy long before it smells greasy. Some people mentioned cornstarch could be causing your problems, so that could be the biggest contributing factor.

I'd say make a mister bottle with water and your favourite EO. If you put in any leave-ins, try putting some EO in there instead. Once a week isn't that long of a stretch, if you can get away with it. I can if I'm not exercising, especially in the winter, but my hair is wavy, and up 90% of the time, so often times any greasiness is hidden. During the summer every 3rd day is about my max.

You may want to look into scalp only washing.

[lapushka]

Some body odors are more offensive than others, but I find the expectation that everyone must obsessively sterilize anything and everything on their body down to nothing in order to be completely neutral a bit irritating; and to believe that any smell on someone must be offensive if it's not a bottled and branded scent, that's just silly. ***This is just an opinion about the expectation that all people practice this, not the practice of washing often and covering body smell itself. :)

To me, it's actually much more annoying when people walk past that carry the scent of their shower products around them like it's perfume. <woosh> I always wonder, my God, did they spill the bottle? What happened to mild soap and water? Anyway, that's just a little pet peeve of mine. There's clean and coating your skin in product.

[paisley]

Gah, another thing to worry about. Smelling armpits, smelling HAIR. People smell like people. I have been around people who don't wash their hair for weeks and it doesn't smell bad. But sometimes in the monthly cycle i get very sensitive to smell, but that's obviously my problem :)

[PrincessBob]

Well, I'm not grossed out in the least. I think the forum is supposed to address such issues when they arise, am I right? Really not a big deal, here. If it is I am probably about to majorly gross some people out.

My spouse has hair that he washes Every Other Day, I wash mine once-twice a week, max. His hair smells on occasion, while mine rarely does. In our case, it is the sweat factor. (*As an aside, did you know that most women begin to sweat at a higher temperature than most men? I sweat a lot less easily that my spouse.)

His hair smells like his (slightly vinegary) scalp sweat. Now the rest of his sweat smells like sweat similar to my own (probably because we eat the same diet), and that not particualarly strongly unless it is a really hot day. However his scalp and face sweat is always slightly vinegary and sour smelling. When my hair smells, it smells like most of the pillows in my house have always smelled, like my scalp sweat (my dad's and uncles' pillows smell the same, so I assume it is hereditary).

Anyway, that is the smell I associate with "oily hair" because the oils trap the sweat loving bacteria and give them a place to live. That is usually my cue to at least WO my hair. Not a big deal, and not particularly off-putting. In this case, the problem will be much less of an issue in the fall and winter, when it isn't so blasted hot or humid.

Perhaps, though, what your mother is talking about is smelling you for the first time, rather than soaps and fragrances. Your natural scents are coming through without all the masking that people are used to (which would include your identifyingly unique pheromones).

My step-sisters said similar things when I was using fragrance free laundry detergent for the first time. They though the clothes didn't "smell clean," but they didn't smell sweaty or dirty, either.

I don't no what my point was, but I hope I've made it.

Princess Bob

[Feng-Shui]

To me, it's actually much more annoying when people walk past that carry the scent of their shower products around them like it's perfume. <woosh> I always wonder, my God, did they spill the bottle? What happened to mild soap and water? Anyway, that's just a little pet peeve of mine. There's clean and coating your skin in product.

I agree with you.

For some years I try to hissed on synthetic odoriferous substances.

I unite pure ethereal oils much like.
I love rose, jasmine, cocos and vanilla very for example.

I have determined that my nose am very sensitively reacted now to synthetic smells.

The synthetic smell is much too intensive and artificial me.

My sebum is smell neutral for me although my husband says it would have for its nose a very fine smell which it very much likes.

I love also the natural smell of my husband and also from our three cats.
I can smell hours over hours at the heads. It smells so finely.:crush:

But I think neither my husband nor my cats their own fine smells notice.

If I sweat of the sport on the scalp do have, I rinse out with clear water and it give not a problem with unpleasant smell.

I think hissed on synthetic odoriferous substances make the sense of smell more sensitive and finer.

Nature is smart.

I have read our lymbisches systhem us over the nose betray which humans to us fit and who not.

I think that is the reason why one the smell of some humans likes and the natural smell of other people than unpleasantly feels.

[ademtce]

shop some dry-shampoo's see which works best for you then.
im currently looking for good dry-shampoo's, since washing everyday is giving me unwanted dandruff

[virgo75]

Ok, as a mother I would say she's probably more sensitive to YOUR smell in particular because you're her child. Meaning, she can smell your scalp more easily than other people.

I wash my daughter's hair once a week. Depending on the products we used, sometimes it doesn't smell like shampoo and/or conditioner, but it doesn't smell dirty either. Some products will scent her hair almost till the next wash(Aussie & Herbal Essences). Others have very little scent.

Also, depending on how much she sweats and where she's at hormone wise - her scalp will smell oily(dirty) within a different amount of time. Sometimes when I wash it, there's no smell of oil there at all. Other times, I can smell her scalp after 2 days.

I don't agree on people being expected to smell like products, but I do think they shouldn't smell dirty. If this is a concern for you - CWC will keep your scalp clean and your hair conditioned. I don't know about CO washing as I don't think it effectively removes sebum for everyone. It doesn't remove mine because it tends to be thicker and more waxy so I get build-up on my scalp, itchies, shed like a beast, etc. :shrug: But you could see if it works for you in between shampoos.

Hope that helps. :flower:

[eezepeeze]

I generally only wash my hair every 5 days, but I couldn't do that if I didn't wash with a sulfate shampoo. I need the cleaning agent.

Maybe you should start CO every time you shower and then wash on the 5th day? Or maybe you work or live in an environment with a lot of food smells. My SO works in food service and always comes home smelling like french fries. So, he has to shower and wash his hair everyday to get rid of the smell.

I wash mine every 5th day, but keep in mind that I do not put anything in my hair after it is dry, like oil, cornstarch, dry shampoo, etc. The only time I add oil is the night before I wash it.

Well, this wasn't much help, was it? This is an interesting topic.

[Charlotte:)]

Ah, I think it's because I work in a smelly restaurant kitchen. Before I worked there I never had BO problems no matter how much I sweated. I think I will either try WO or CO in between washes and see if that works. Thank you everybody :)

[twolunarspring]

I agree with you.

For some years I try to hissed on synthetic odoriferous substances.

I unite pure ethereal oils much like.
I love rose, jasmine, cocos and vanilla very for example.

I have determined that my nose am very sensitively reacted now to synthetic smells.

The synthetic smell is much too intensive and artificial me.

My sebum is smell neutral for me although my husband says it would have for its nose a very fine smell which it very much likes.

I love also the natural smell of my husband and also from our three cats.
I can smell hours over hours at the heads. It smells so finely.:crush:

But I think neither my husband nor my cats their own fine smells notice.

If I sweat of the sport on the scalp do have, I rinse out with clear water and it give not a problem with unpleasant smell.

I think hissed on synthetic odoriferous substances make the sense of smell more sensitive and finer.

Nature is smart.

I have read our lymbisches systhem us over the nose betray which humans to us fit and who not.

I think that is the reason why one the smell of some humans likes and the natural smell of other people than unpleasantly feels.


I like this post :) partly because the way you have translated what you want to say into English makes it sounds like poetry, and partly because I agree with your sentiments.

[Feng-Shui]

I like this post :) partly because the way you have translated what you want to say into English makes it sounds like poetry, and partly because I agree with your sentiments.

Thank you for the nice complement Twolunarspring.:flowers:

[spidermom]

I cannot agree that it is the products that smell bad and not the sebum. My son is lazy about washing his hair. He uses shampoo every once in awhile and nothing else. After about a week, I notice. His scalp does not smell good to me.

My grandmother would only wash her hair in rain water with a mild castile soap but not very often, and I can remember not wanting to eat at the dining table because she smelled bad. When her hair was freshly clean I enjoyed combing and braiding it. When she had not washed it in awhile, I would stay away.

[Cheeks1206]

It kind of depends on your lifestyle. If you are working out often, this will mean that you will need to wash more often simply because of the extra sweat.

This. I think the foods you eat also play a large part in the way you smell. I wash my hair once a week as well, and I've noticed that my sebum doesn't smell nearly as bad now that I've started eating better and eating out less. The healthier you eat and the more "natural" the foods you put in your body definitely help to decrease funky bodily odors.

[katha]

If what you do to/with your hair doesn't feel right, you need to change it. What does it matter what others say as long as you're not directly involving them?

[Feng-Shui]

The basket for carried clothes is very popular to sleeps from our three cats.

My tomcat Jerry is a large lover of my feet.
I awakes very often at tomorrow because the Jerry chews at my toe. :lol:

But joke aside.

I often asks me which a nature people in a jungle from us would think if these humans to observe which civilized humans of everything on its body to do.

Probably these humans could not it to believe which see.

I believes it would laugh at most of us because it as many products to need to be over content with itself.

The advertising industry carried and earns themselves very good work out with us a golden nose at us.

I tries to get along with very few natural products because I thinks which for the people in the jungle is good also for me completely is sufficient over well with it to live.:)

[spidermom]

That's a good point, Feng-Shui. I'm glad we're not living totally natural in the jungle anymore because the human life expectancy was only about 25-30 years back then. But we don't need to be using 12 chemical-based products (I think that's the civilized average) on our bodies every day, either.

[ravenreed]

For some of us, natural products are just as bad as the human made ones. I am just as allergic to natural scents and soap nuts give me a bad rash.



The basket for carried clothes is very popular to sleeps from our three cats.

My tomcat Jerry is a large lover of my feet.
I awakes very often at tomorrow because the Jerry chews at my toe. :lol:

But joke aside.

I often asks me which a nature people in a jungle from us would think if these humans to observe which civilized humans of everything on its body to do.

Probably these humans could not it to believe which see.

I believes it would laugh at most of us because it as many products to need to be over content with itself.

The advertising industry carried and earns themselves very good work out with us a golden nose at us.

I tries to get along with very few natural products because I thinks which for the people in the jungle is good also for me completely is sufficient over well with it to live.:)

[EdG]

Ah, I think it's because I work in a smelly restaurant kitchen.That has to be the reason. My hair will smell after I eat in a restaurant. There's so much oil in the air.
Ed