Problem with Waxy Hair

[AuburnTresses]

Hi all. It seems like the sebum of my hair is a very sticky, waxy type. When I wash my hair it keeps looking dirty and oily but I can't get the sebum off. I've tried clarifying and AVC rinses but they don't seem to change it.
I mean even my brush, a Denman, keeps getting covered in the sticky, waxy oil from my hair and turning gray with all the dust it collects! (yes I do wash it, but it never seems to last) :(

I was wondering if any of you have sebum like that and what you do about it? Or what products (shampoo and conditioner) do you use?

Thanks!:)

[krissykins]

Have you chelated as well? :p

[AuburnTresses]

No I haven't. What's chelated?

[BlazingHeart]

I get that effect when I'm using products that don't agree with me. I think the last time it happened was when I flirted with Aussie stuff - it made my hair feel nice at first, but over time this kind of waxy feeling developed and it felt like it never went away.

For me, switching products was enough to get rid of it. I think I switched back to Garnier Fructis stuff, which I used for a long time. I did have to wash twice that first time to get through the build-up. (More recently, my scalp seems to have taken exception to that line, though, so I'm now using a CV shampoo bar, VO5 kiwi conditioner, and an ACV rinse.)

Sorry I can't give you better advice!

~Blaze

[krissykins]

Chelating is getting rid of mineral buildup from hard water. There are several different shampoos that can help, like Joico Chelating shampoo and Kenra Clarifying shampoo, but you can also remove the buildup by rinsing with club soda. You might want to follow up with a clarifier to help get rid of any other buildup. I would give that a try and see if that helps at all.

And contrary to popular belief, ACV does not clarify hair. It only washes away any residue left on hair from products/hard water/etc. :flower:

[AuburnTresses]

Chelating is getting rid of mineral buildup from hard water. There are several different shampoos that can help, like Joico Chelating shampoo and Kenra Clarifying shampoo, but you can also remove the buildup by rinsing with club soda. You might want to follow up with a clarifier to help get rid of any other buildup. I would give that a try and see if that helps at all.

And contrary to popular belief, ACV does not clarify hair. It only washes away any residue left on hair from products/hard water/etc. :flower:

Thank you so much krissykins! I will definitely be trying the club soda later today.
I hope it works. :pray:

[BroadwayBeauty]

Not knowing what products you use on your hair, this may be a shot in the dark, but... I would check to see if any of the products you use have wax in them. I was using a conditioner a few years ago that left me with waxy hair, and when I looked at the ingredients, lo and behold there was paraffin in it...

[sedonia]

And contrary to popular belief, ACV does not clarify hair. It only washes away any residue left on hair from products/hard water/etc. :flower:

What does "clarifying" mean then? :confused:

I thought clarifying meant washing away product and hard water residues? At least, that is always how I have used the term.

[spidermom]

As far as I'm concerned, vinegar most certainly DOES clarify. Ever poured any over some old, hardened soap scum? It even dissolves the glue that holds lice eggs to hair.

[Anje]

To the OP: I second the suggestion to look at your products. Maybe something in there is causing this feeling.

Another thing to try that might help is giving your hair a heavy oiling and massage. Then wash that out, either with CO or perhaps a couple shampooings, whichever works best for you. Oil might help remove the wax based on like-dissolves-like, and I've seen it used before by people doing water-only washing to deal with waxy sebum.

What does "clarifying" mean then? :confused:

I thought clarifying meant washing away product and hard water residues? At least, that is always how I have used the term.
I think what it gets down to is that vinegar removes some buildup sources, but not everything the way detergents tend to. It's not particularly effective at getting rid of silicones, for example. Since silicones are a major source of buildup, it doesn't seem fair for someone to insist that clarifying doesn't help if all they've done is a vinegar rinse.

[Rhea]

By waxy sebum... I think on 'more drinking'... do you drink enough? :)

[krissykins]

As far as I'm concerned, vinegar most certainly DOES clarify. Ever poured any over some old, hardened soap scum? It even dissolves the glue that holds lice eggs to hair.

I did not know that about the lice. I had been using ACV rinses for some time and I still got to the point where I needed to clarify and chelate my hair. So, in my experience, I have not found that ACV clarifies. :p It does help slow down the buildup I got from my hair, though.

As for what clarifying means, I found one definition that stated "Sedimentation is a physical water treatment process used to settle out suspended solids in water under the influence of gravity." [1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarification_%28water_treatment%29)

But from my experience, I have defined clarifying as getting rid of buildup other than hard water buildup. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=194

[AuburnTresses]

Not knowing what products you use on your hair, this may be a shot in the dark, but... I would check to see if any of the products you use have wax in them. I was using a conditioner a few years ago that left me with waxy hair, and when I looked at the ingredients, lo and behold there was paraffin in it...

Thank you for the thought, but the only products I use are natural shampoo and conditioner with occasional oil treatments. I do have an aloe hairspray but I've used it only 3-5 times since I got it last year.

[Artsy]

I get waxy sebum usually around my period, but then it turns back to normal. I usually apply a bit of oil (usually something that smells nice) to my scalp only the night before washing and massage it for few times. This helps very well to remove the sebum.

[skara_brae]

Not to threadjack, but I get this issue too. I use water-only (no products at all). It stays constant throughout varying hormone cycles. ACV hasn't helped it either. (And in response to Rhea's note, I drink a couple liters of water a day.)

AuburnTresses, can you post the results from your club soda experiment when you have them? Inquiring minds want to know.

[AuburnTresses]

Okay here are the results of the Club Soda:

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It worked. My hair feels like it's old self again, but actually even better. My hair color went back to it's old shade and I'm auburn again. I can see the "fire" in my hair now! It's also so soft and silky I can't keep my hands out of it. :) The club soda lightened the weight of my hair so now it has a little bounce and movement again instead of being stringy.
Also I can brush or comb through my hair with basically no tangles (which was how my hair used to be, but with the build up it just got more and more tangled). But what really shocked me was my hair dried within 2 hours! I was so excited because my hair had gone from 1-3 hours drying time to 8-10, and sometimes after a day and a half it would still feel damp!
I probably will need one more rinse on the back of my head because a couple strands are still lightly coated, but they were so bad that I understand why they need a little extra.:D

So I have to say I'm one happy camper! Thank you krissykins for the advice! :cheese:

[Eire]

I've been doing water only with ACV rinses for months, and do find that the occasional clarifying is still necessary. Lemon water works well for me.

[CareBear]

I will have to try the club soda!
Last night I did a scalp oiling (I too have that build up on the scalp, but I also have dandruff and itchies) The oils I used were grapeseed, castor, neem, a drop of vit e, and tea tree. Between the neem and the tea tree can you say pee-u?? Let it sit for about 45 min then co'ed it out. No more buildup on the scalp, dandruff def less, but hair itself is a bit oily looking. I'm guessing the co didn't get all the oil out.
Thanks for posting this question, as I've had the buildup and resulting grotty hairbrushes all my life and never knew it didn't have to be that way!!

[skara_brae]

*scribbles club soda onto the grocery list for this week*

I tried ACV rinse again today, only this time I doubled the amount of ACV. It seems to be having a minor but I think good effect on the hair's colour and greasy/waxiness, although it does give it a rougher texture...which is okay, because it gives my hair more grip. ;) I'll see how it acts over the weekend and maybe give the club soda a shot if the ACV stalls out.

[krissykins]

Okay here are the results of the Club Soda:

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It worked. My hair feels like it's old self again, but actually even better. My hair color went back to it's old shade and I'm auburn again. I can see the "fire" in my hair now! It's also so soft and silky I can't keep my hands out of it. :) The club soda lightened the weight of my hair so now it has a little bounce and movement again instead of being stringy.
Also I can brush or comb through my hair with basically no tangles (which was how my hair used to be, but with the build up it just got more and more tangled). But what really shocked me was my hair dried within 2 hours! I was so excited because my hair had gone from 1-3 hours drying time to 8-10, and sometimes after a day and a half it would still feel damp!
I probably will need one more rinse on the back of my head because a couple strands are still lightly coated, but they were so bad that I understand why they need a little extra.:D

So I have to say I'm one happy camper! Thank you krissykins for the advice! :cheese:

I'm so glad to hear that it helped! :joy: Congrats on your "new" (old) hair, hee hee!

[McFearless]

Sounds like your hair is not agreeing with the products you use. Do you have weird, sticky build up on your scalp? I gently scritch(is that the word?) my scalp with my nails, very gently, to remove the build up.

[krissykins]

Another member reported to me that rinsing with club soda really helped with her hair as well, so if anyone out there is having problems with their hair, I highly recommend a club soda rinse!

I was so sure that my hair needed a trim, but after rinsing with club soda and clarifying my hair, I realized it was just buildup! My hair was so happy and bouncy and soft after that little pick-me-up.

[ktani]

Great news that club soda helped!

From what I have been able to determine, I do not think it can chelate certain metals as well as coconut and argan oil can chelate iron and copper for example.

However, it can break up other mineral deposits on the hair and it can also neutralize chlorine, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=115.

[ktani]

I saved this, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=631280&postcount=954