Oil Slick

[Henna_Goddess]

I have oily hair, I have always had oily hair and can't seem to go one day with out my hair looking like an oil slick. I'm going to try to reduce the amount of sebum my scalp produces by cutting back on washing it to every other day. I just don't know how I'm going to get over the " Ick!" factor though.

Any suggestions?

[Delila]

I have oily hair too, and all I can say is that some shampoos do a better job at keeping the oilies at bay than others.

I'm not a fanatic about reading ingredients, or anything like that, I just know that my scalp tends to prefer a good cleaning.

Keeping conditioners off my scalp is a big help in extending washes, though.

Now that my hair is longer, it's much easier to let myself go a few days between washes. For me, day four hair looks about the same as day seven hair, but day seven feels so gross there's no way I could do that on purpose unless I had no choice at all.

[Eire]

For me, washing less frequently didn't really help... it just upset my scalp. I still wash every day, but I started doing the WO (water only) method and it really helped. I transitioned into it by doing daily rinses with diluted apple cider vinegar, eventually cutting back to weekly. You might want to check out the water only thread. No matter what shampoos I tried, it didn't help, but WO was the magic bullet for me at least! It basically operates on the assumption that shampooing is stripping your hair of its natural oils, causing your scalp to go into overdrive to make up for it. You could shampoo rigorously and then add conditioner to replace what was lost, or you could just let your scalp regulate itself. :) Warning: it takes about 4-6 weeks to fully transition.

[headtrip_honey]

For me, washing less frequently didn't really help... it just upset my scalp.

Ditto - I have to wash every day or at the very least every other day otherwise my scalp gets super irritated. I'm a grease factory, and stretching washes or COing never worked for me. I was on a medication once that cut down on my oil production, and I was able to CO then (LOVED it, so nice!) but alas, no more.

I've tried water only, and it didn't work for me. Scientifically, I'm leery of the hypothesis working behind it, but if you want to try it, go for it. It clearly works for some people! Just not for me.

[Henna_Goddess]

I was thinking that it could be the conditioner I'm using. I'm using Organix Coconut Milk conditioner so last night I brushed my hair out with a BBB then just washed my scalp to get rid of the oil.

Maybe I just need to condition every other shampoo instead of each time I shampoo?

[Elysium]

You could try using cold water when you wash your hair. I remember reading somewhere that using cold water makes the sebum that would otherwise come out of your scalp over the next day or so, come out straight away so you can shampoo is away.
Lemme see if I can find the article....

Edit: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=77
There we go :D

[NotInPortland]

I have a really oily scalp too, so far for me nothing has kept the oil at bay really I think I just have to wash it more regularly than others and there's not much I can do about it. I've tried regular shampooing, sulphate free shampoos and CO washing but all still have my scalp producing about the same amount of oil and my hair looks about the same after a day no matter which washing method I'm using. The only difference I've noticed between different methods is in the scalp itself (I have scalp issues and CO was the best so far for it but the conditioner I loved to use doesn't seem to be on the market anymore and I've yet to find a replacement that works aghhh :(). Stretching washes did nothing for oilyness either, oil production remained at about the same rate. Hopefully something will work for you but for me I just seem to have to wash it regularly and nothing thus far has changed that.

[BeckyAH]

My 'magic bullet' for balancing hair health/softness and not looking like a grease ball was CWC - I condition the ends (and bleached streaks), let that soak in, wash my scalp, and then condition everything from about the ears down again.

[celebriangel]

My hair used to be like this, and I never believed it would go away. Then I had glandular fever, and was basically unable to wash my hair for about a month, then about once every 10 days thereafter for about 4 months.

Now, I need only wash my hair once a week - and by that time, it doesn't even look greasy, just feels like it could do with a wash. I was COing as well.

I think I have a different standard of what is "greasy" these days, though - my hair used to be dry and frizzy on the ends, so when it became even a little oily on the roots it looked terrible because of the contrast. Now that all of my hair is shiny, the little bit of oil on the roots looks okay (and I preen to distribute it throughout my hair as well).

[Kelikea]

Have you tried Baking Soda diluted in water? Rub it into your scalp, rinse, then follow with an ACV rinse.

[McFearless]

Everybody is different. Some people can reduce how much oil their scap produces and some people have scalps that freak out if they stretch washes. To combat the greasies you can wear hats(fedoras, beanies) thick headbands, scarves, high buns, and use dry shampoo. You can also CO wash on the days between your shampoo.

[jeanniet]

I used to have to wash my hair daily, but around 40 the oil production changed and I could do every other day. Now I wash every 3-4 days with soapwort shampoo and then follow with an herbal conditioning rinse. You could try reducing the amount of shampoo you use first--cut it in half, then dilute with water. See if that helps. I find if I want to make a change in my routine I need to do it very gradually, so be patient and take your time. A year and a half ago I was using conventional shampoo and conditioner and thought that was the only way to keep my hair clean--now I seldom use either of those products. I just did some experimenting, gave it time, and found what works. Good luck!

[spidermom]

Wash your hair as often as it needs to be washed, but try diluting your shampoo in some warm water. You'll get better spread across your scalp that way.