Residue or oil?

[violeteyes]

I've noticed recently that my hair feels very "gunky" and 'sticky" underneath it, on the scalp area between my ears and just above my neck. I noticed when I went on vacation and stayed somewhere where the water is extremely pure, and I thought that maybe the water was so soft that it didn't wash all of the shampoo out (I used a mild shampoo- no sulphates), so the next day I used less shampoo and also rinsed my hair upside down as well as right side up. My hair still got funky. So I tried a sulphate shampoo and rinsed very well, and it was still the same. When I got home, I decided that maybe I needed to clarify and so I used a pretty good amount of a sulphate shampoo all over my scalp and even a little on the length. My hair came out fine, and I thought that the problem was over, until my hair began to start feeling sticky again after a few days. I use no silicone in any of my hair products and I have not really added any new products to my routine, so I don't know what the problem is. I wash my hair every day with a mild shampoo because the scalp gets oily but the place that now feels very "sticky" has never been a problem until now. Any ideas on how to get rid of it? Or any ideas as to what is going on?

[RachelRain]

I have something like that, it's just conditioner that hasn't been fully rinsed out. It sounds like you rinsed really good though, so I honestly don't know. Sorry - hopefully someone can give you some ideas.

[violeteyes]

Thanks for giving some input : ) but yeah, I rinsed really really good. Its weird because I never even had to use shampoo anywhere but the top of my head ever before this started happening. I'm getting really frustrated.

[Chiara]

Do you notice this as soon as your hair is dry, or is it something that happens after a day or so? If it happens after a while, could it be overheating at night, causing sweating? In that case, you'd notice it the morning after. Or could it be something your hair is picking up and wicking eg sunscreen on the back of your neck? In that case, your hair would probably be OK when you wake up, but be worse by the end of the day.

[violeteyes]

At first, I think that my hair is just taking longer to dry underneath the other layers of hair, but then it can feel like it never quite dried because of the stickyness. Even the days when I don't leave the house it seems to be gunky. I wash it every morning, so I don't think it has anything to do with not washing regularly. I even rotate between two shampoos because I was afraid of this happening.