What can I do about my dry/greasy hair?

[SopphireGem]

I shampoo every 2-3 days, condition every day, but my hair either feels dry or greasy, not soft. On the day I shampoo it and the day after, it feels dry even though I condition it, and on the second day after I wash it, it either feels a bit dry or a bit greasy, and on the third day it gets greasy and needs washing again. It hardly ever feels soft. Am I doing something wrong?

[isabelx]

I wouldn't condition every day. You may have build up which is causing your hair to be dry, and I don't think it's too good for your hair to be wet every day. Maybe try clarifying?

[jesis]

What kind of products do you use? Any oils or butters to help seal in moisture? Do you use products with a lot of protein?

It's pretty normal to need a wash every now and then, at least I think so. You could work on stretching washes, but you probably won't want to condition every day.

If you start COing you might notice that your hair builds up a sort of "tolerance" and is no longer as greasy. Sometimes your scalp can overcompensate if it is dry. Oils could help that, too.

[akilina]

whatever you are using is causing a buildup on your hair. you should clarify. i never clarify my hair because i dont feel the need to. some products contain waxes and other things that cling on. mix a little bit of baking soda into your hand with your shampoo. do it whenever you feel like your hair is dry and greasy at the same time

[mneh]

I shampoo every 2-3 days, condition every day, but my hair either feels dry or greasy, not soft. On the day I shampoo it and the day after, it feels dry even though I condition it, and on the second day after I wash it, it either feels a bit dry or a bit greasy, and on the third day it gets greasy and needs washing again. It hardly ever feels soft. Am I doing something wrong?

Hiya, I have oily scalp and dry ends. It sounds like you have similar hair to mine: I used to only get 1 day from my hair before it got too oily, but now can get about 3 days from my hair before it gets greasy roots. Some people just need to shampoo their hair more often than others.

I improved my hair by switching to gentler SLS-free shampoo (I use shampoo from PureNuffStuff.co.uk but you could try Naked Bodycare sensitive shampoo from Boots). Gentler shampoo means the scalp doesn't get stripped of oil and then go into overproduction to replace the missing oils. I also put conditioner on the lengths of my hair before I shampoo the scalp (that helps to protect the length from the drying effect of the shampoo). I shampoo my scalp with a Kent shampoo brush (from feelunique.com) and find that is much better for my oily scalp than washing it with fingertips.

I do a light apple cider vinegar rinse (I get my vinegar from Tesco or the Co-op) to make my scalp more acidic and to make the lengths of my hair softer. I don't know what your budget is but I can recommend some conditioners, in different price ranges, that helped my dry ends:

Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose - www.aubreyorganicsuk.co.uk/product/50576/honeysuckle-rose-moisturising-conditioner/

Curly Qs Coconut Conditioner - www.feelunique.com/p/Curly-Qs-Coconut-Dream-Moisturizing-Conditioner-480ml

Naked Rescue Conditioner - www.boots.com/en/Naked-Rescue-Conditioner-250ml_863348/

[Tota]

I have greasy scalp and dry ends, too. I CWC and then do ACV rinse 2-3 times a week. It works great. When my ends feel dry, I oil it with EVOO a night before washing. This simple routine make my fine, greasy and dry hair very happy.

[holothuroidea]

whatever you are using is causing a buildup on your hair. you should clarify. i never clarify my hair because i dont feel the need to. some products contain waxes and other things that cling on. mix a little bit of baking soda into your hand with your shampoo. do it whenever you feel like your hair is dry and greasy at the same time

I agree that you should try clarifying but I disagree with this method. If the baking soda doesn't completely dissolve it can be abrasive and damaging. I also find that baking soda on it's own is enough to clarify and adding anything else can be too drying.

I dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in 4oz of warm water and it clarifies really well. It should feel "slick" and not gritty and will make your hair feel a little slimy when you use it, if that happens you know you got the ratio right.

Always follow a baking soda wash with a dilute acid rinse. I like white vinegar diluted 1:10 in water, other people use diluted ACV or lemon juice. Most people use a stronger dilution than I do but I find the vinegar is hard to rinse out if I use it any stronger. It is personal preference but never use anything stronger than 1:4. I think Ktani has an excellent vinegar article somewhere...

There are a ton of things you can try to help balance your hair but first I think you should clarify so you are starting with a clean slate.

I have trouble with scalp/hair balance, too. What works for me is very dilute gentle shampoo with some oil in it (I use jojoba, but if you use another oil you should stick with it), just on my scalp and not on my hair. I shake it up in the bottle and make a foam and apply it to a dry scalp. If I do it right nothing gets on my ends and I don't need to condition. I find that doing these very gentle daily washes makes my scalp happy and keeping shampoo off of my ends stops the dryness.

ETA: I try to avoid using conditioner as well because it builds up. I think it might be a problem with the conditioner that I've used, though.

[Avital88]

do you use shampoo on all of your hair?
if so, only wash the scalp,mine gets dry when washing the length too..
if not, maybe you can try some good oiling before shampooing next time and see if that works, almond or coconut usually work for me. Good luck!

[Anlbe]

I used to have the same problem too. In my case it turned out I didn't have greasy hair at all, I have very dry hair and my scalp was desperately trying to compensate for the overly harsh shampoos I was using. Once I started using shampoos, conditioners and oils designed for very dry hair my scalp calmed down, my ends stopped frizzing like crazy and without really trying I slowly went from washing my hair three times a week to once a week.

For the dry ends putting olive oil or coconut oil on before washing makes a big difference, when I remember I put it on for 20mins, maybe worth a try if you've got some in the kitchen cupboard?

[Ashenputtel]

I would also recommend gentle shampoos. You don't need to over wash your scalp. Treat your scalp like you would treat your face.

[Georgies]

I did not pay much attention to silicone thing until reading this forum, but then I looked at all various products in my bathroom and they were all loaded with cones. I had no idea how much I was piling on my head. After clarifying and toning down the cones my hair is somehow both moister and less greasy. my husband even noticed the difference the other day (w/o my asking, most surprising).

if your conditioner has cones I think it will build up very, very fast.

[Madora]

You might try diluting both your shampoo and conditioner..and limit your washing to once a week. Washing hair every day strips it of its natural oil and over time your hair dries out.

[Lianna]

I used to have "dry" hair from overconditioning too (CO everyday). Turns out it was build-up, not only silicones build-up (I was cone free). I solved by washing it with shampoo more, and oiling the length from the, as some would call, "excessive" shampooing. This was my solution because I can't afford to stretch washes.

[Anje]

I tended to get dry length and an oily scalp. For me, the solution to both problems was to switch to a more gentle, moisturizing washing method (conditioner only). My scalp reacts to the drying qualities of shampoo by overproducing sebum, so when I stopped cleansing it so much, I ended up less greasy. Less drying of the hair's length with shampoo and more conditioning obviously eventually resulted in not-dryed-out length.

You may or may not be similar.

In any case, start with one hefty clarifying root-to-tip shampooing to make sure you don't have buildup on your ends. Buildup is another known culprit for dry lengths, is easily fixed, and is something you do need to be aware of if you try gentler wash methods like non-sulfate shampoos, CWC washing, and CO washing.

[GALISH]

Try CWC each 2 days or day and half using cold water. Airdry until it's still a little damp and wear a loose ponytail with a couple of bands through the length. When it's totally dry take the bands out and it should be beautifully soft -it works for me- and you won't even have to comb.

[beez1717]

I also have an oily scalp and dry ends. Once I started brushing way more often, my hair started to look better. I have found that by brushing, it spreads the oil all over my hair. The only issue is, then my hair looks like a grease ball. LOL That's where dry shampoo comes in for me. I use it to make sure that my oils stay in check and aren't making it look like I dipped my head in the French Fry Oil!