Ugh, greasy hair troubles

[Pegasus Marsters]

Ok, on a good week I wash my hair every 2 days. On a bad week... I wash my hair probably once a week. Lately it's been every 2-4 days which isn't that unusual for me but my hair gets SO greasy. I've tried using different shampoo and conditioner but my hair STILL Feels greasy even when it has the shampoo in it. It's horrible.

My hair LOOKs fine (except my fringe, which hates me) but it feels really greasy and icky to me.

I need to condition otherwise I get tangles. Help please?

[spidermom]

Shampoo for oily hair, maybe. Or a clarifying shampoo. Bend forward to condition; try to keep conditioner off scalp as much as possible (hard with short hair, I know; do your best).

And - HI!

[Tangles]

You might want to blow-dry your hair straight using a cool setting (only when you know you have a bad week ahead, ofcourse). Grease looks more tolerable on straight hair I find.

[Pegasus Marsters]

Hmm maybe you're right, spidermom. I'll have to try and get some clarifying conditioner and try and avoid getting so much shampoo on the roots. My hair is shoulderlength now though! :)

Tangles, the trouble with the bad week thing is I have depression so I don't know if a bad week is coming or not. I try and have a bath whenever I have a good day because I don't know when I'll next have the motivation to have one. And also... I'm not even sure I own a blow-drier! XD

[jojo]

I'm sure nettle rinses are supposed to good for greasy hair, check the henna and herbal threads I'm sure Ive seen something there.

[Phalaenopsis]

If you have a depression, you really need to look after yourself and pamper yourself a bit (even if you don't have the energy, I know...)
Maybe you should check your diet, are you eating well? My hair became a lot less greasy when I was eating right.
And for the rest, don't get all wounded up about some greasy hair with your depression, there are other important things to think about, for example yourself and how you are feeling :flower:

[Pegasus Marsters]

I'm sure nettle rinses are supposed to good for greasy hair, check the henna and herbal threads I'm sure Ive seen something there.
I'm not into the herbal side of stuff... It's just easier for me to use more commercial products, ya know?


If you have a depression, you really need to look after yourself and pamper yourself a bit (even if you don't have the energy, I know...)
Maybe you should check your diet, are you eating well? My hair became a lot less greasy when I was eating right.
And for the rest, don't get all wounded up about some greasy hair with your depression, there are other important things to think about, for example yourself and how you are feeling :flower:

Thank you so much. I know my diet isn't very good right now (I have next to no appetite) but i'm trying to pamper myself when I can. I was focusing on my nails but since I changed meds they keep breaking, which is odd. So pedicures are in order and my mother is seeing to it that I get regular neck massages to help release some of the tension I hold in my neck and shoulders. I had a nice bubbley bath tonight so I feel more relaxed :)

[Kirin]

Fellow -greaser- here. I have very fine yet lanky greasy hair. Within 24 hours of a shampoo, I can hardly stand it its so yicky. Regardless of whats touted as the best hair healthy routine, i shampoo every single day and am much the happier for it.

Watch out for clarifying shampoos, its a big no no for us greasers. Once a week is fine to get out product build up, but NOT daily (even ones that say daily on the lable). They are VERY stripping, and strip away so much oil oily hair goes into overdrive. If you want to check this out yourself, shampoo three days in a row with a clarifying shampoo, by day three you'll likely get greasy by hour two after a shampoo.

I have yet to find perfection of greaslessness, but I'm getting there. This is what I do (at least for now until I perfect this!).

Use a gentle moisturizing shampoo, and use it every day. NO conditioner, and use a leave in on the length. At night, I use an oil (coconut currently) on my length and work it in, sometimes heavily, but none on my scalp. It looks like a greasball, but it moisturizes all night (braid or bun it for sleep) and protects the length (in theory) from the next morning's shampoo.

I do deep conditioning treatments once every two weeks or if my hair feels like it needs some extra love, but i -always- shampoo afterward.

Avoid the temptation to use harsh shampoos, as it might dry out your scalp, but it will dry out your length too!

[Rustella]

I have greasy hair too. I have given up on trying to fight it and shampoo every day. I do skip shampooing on Saturday if I'm not going anywhere. I've started diluting my shampoo as well, and find that my hair and scalp get just as clean this way. I save the clarifyer for once in a blue moon and right before I henna. If I don't shampoo every day it looks like I haven't shampooed in a week or two. I haven't had any problems with growing my hair long even when shampooing daily. My HD said there's a powder that you can put in your hair that soaks up oil to extend time between shampooing. She also said talcum powder works as well. Taking care of your hair will help your depression, so don't give up on that. Good luck!

[Indigo Girl]

I know my diet isn't very good right now (I have next to no appetite) but i'm trying to pamper myself when I can.

I can relate...

You should definitely take supplements while your appetite is away to ensure that your hair (and nails!) are getting the nutrients they need.

I'm a grease head too. Do you ever ACV? That helped me - a lot. I also just started using a dry shampoo on my "in-between" days. It helps too.

Hope you get some suggestions that work for you. :)

[Pegasus Marsters]

Thanks for the advice guys.. I might have to try ACV, I used to use it but when I bleached my hair last year I wanted to avoid the ACV bringing out any red tones. My hair's brown now so I wouldn't mind the red tones coming out.

[shelleybean]

I'm a greasy too. *sigh* I would love to extended beyond every other day full washes but just haven't been able to do so.

Indigo Girl I was intrigued by your mention of dry shampoo and did a little googling on it and came up with a decent article on the HairBoutique website. http://www.hairboutique.com/tips/tip1172.htm If you go below the intro that has less fabulous advice there are a few dry shampoo recipes/instructions. I may give that a try. What kind do you use Indigo Girl?

There was also this recipe on About.com...
Soda and Oatmeal Dry Shampoo
From About.comThere are always going to be days when you don't have time to wash your hair, but all is not lost. Whip up the following ingredients and keep them handy. It will give you at least one day's grace.

1 cup of ground oatmeal
1 cup of baking soda

Combine ingredients and then transfer into a clean jar.

How to Use:

Massage a little into the oiliest parts of your hair and allow the mixture to absorb the oil. To remove, brush and then shake the hair. That is pretty much it. I have used dry shampoos for years and they are perfect for that day when you don't have time to shampoo, or you simply don't feel like it.

Pegs I hope you can find a good solution to your greasies or at least learn how best to work with it. I'm still working on it.

[florenonite]

I tend to get greasy hair, though I'm trying to convince my scalp that it's really dry (I've got eczema and dry flaky skin elsewhere, and my face is oily and flaky at the same time, for crying out loud) and therefore am endeavouring to stretch out washings a bit. Anyway, three days ago I washed my hair with diluted shampoo, but didn't have enough water to cover my head, so went and did a second wash, and my hair is less greasy now than it is on day 3. I also find that if I touch it less it looks less greasy.

[Indigo Girl]

Hi shelleybean :)

I read your article below - I tried to use cornstarch for years, but no matter how carefully I "dusted" my hair, I would inevitably wind up with a halo of slightly white, ashy hair. It looked obvious, and horrible, so I stopped using it.

I use a product called Hair Fix now. I like it because it smells good, and it comes in colors - so you don't have to worry about the "ashy halo". I get it in brown (my hair is blonde in my avatar, but on greasy days, I'm a brunette).

http://myhairfix.com/index.html

I also like it because it's vegan, and quality vegan hair products are not as easy to come by as conventional ones. :D

[lady G]

I am greasy too, I know what is feels like, my skin and hair is very oily. I have to wash my hair daily or it looks like greasy string! I don't mind though to be hoonest it keeps it feeling fresh. Lots of people say it can damage your hair daily washing etc but really i think listen to your body! If you feel a daily hairwash is for you then go ahead and wash just as long as you care for thr hair with a good conditioner and not use hot tools like straighteners then you minimise damage that way.



xxxx

[lapushka]

What I do is, I:

* Wash every 2, 3 days (poo-less) & every 3/4 washes with a SL(E)S shampoo
* Style with Jessicurl Gelebration Spray, CCSS or regular (non-alcohol based) gel
* Avoid silicones (determinedly), SL(E)S as much as possible

For a no-poo, I love the Urtekram no-perfume version (anti-allergy). It is more careful with its ingredients, not that the Urtekram poos aren't great already (love them). My hair doesn't get less greasy by using a no-poo, it's hormonal, but it does feel less stripped, my scalp doesn't itch at all and feels less dry. So that's good.

Never use a shampoo for oily hair (sl(e)s one). If you have to use shampoo, then use a regular or a mild one (for dry hair). No-poos or more natural shampoos like poos with nettle or something like that would be okay to use, but me, I'm just happy with any no-poo.

I've tried CO washing, but my hair is just way too greasy for that, so the no-poo washes are great. BTW, I use the curly girl method by Lorraine Massey (says that you wash with sl(e)s no more than once a week). Since I can't last that long, I no-poo in between. Works great for me, and the one time I use sl(e)s, I get rid of build-up.

[anna1850]

Personally, I think a lot of peoples' hair would get greasy with a week between washes, I know mine would. I know some people can stretch it out but I can't go more than 4 days without it getting a bit manky. I think there was a thread on trying to stretch out distances between washes somewhere.

If you want to disguise greasiness, I find the best way is doing a plait (or 2) as I think these even look a bit better when my hair is slightly greasy as it stops them getting fluffy and they just look nice and sleek. You can even try different types (English, rope, French, Dutch etc).

For removing greasiness, I have used Body Shop Nettle shampoo for greasy hair a couple of times which worked quite well, although I haven't used it for ages as my hair went through a weird greasy stage which has thankfully gone now. The only problem is, the more you cleanse it, the more your scalp might try to compensate by producing extra sebum which will make your hair greasier so I don't know really.

I think some blondes use white wine vinegar instead of ACV as it doesn't mess with the colour. I don't know much about it though as my hair's so dark but you might want to search for that.

HTH :flower: