How do you disguise your greasies on non-wash days?

[irishlady]

Hey all,

Sorry if this has been asked before, I'm sure it probably has, so mods please remove this if need be :)

Like many here, I am trying to stretch washes. I usually wash my hair every 3 days using a hybrid of S&C and CWC. It works fine except that the roots do look a bit oily on the 3rd day.

Now I'm trying to stretch to every 4 days, maybe even every 5. Part of the reason for this is because of my job, I need to wear my hair up even at it's current length. That's just me though, but with the nature of my job, ugh, I'm not wearing it loose.

With my dark chestnut hair though, I find it's difficult to disguise the greasiness at my roots, even when it's up. I have tried wearing some kind of headband fabric thing to hide it before but it doesn't suit my face. So I'm stuck with just clipping my hair up on greasy days. Hats are not allowed at work.

So...anyone else with this problem? Please share lol :p

[fiddlefananb]

I can't wait to see the responses to this as well. My hair is greasy the same night I wash it and impossible to hide. My hair is much lighter when clean but gets very dark when wet or oily. This is the case with my roots. Very dark at the roots when oily and light every where else so it is obvious it is not clean. Plus it sticks to my head. I have to wash my hair about every 2 days, sometimes stretch to 3 and just deal with the greasy look.

[gossamer]

Usually on the day before I wash I'll pull my hair into a tighter bun than usual. Then it just looks like I have my scalp hair slicked back into the bun, rather than that it's without body because it's greasy.

[lapushka]

Usually on the day before I wash I'll pull my hair into a tighter bun than usual. Then it just looks like I have my scalp hair slicked back into the bun, rather than that it's without body because it's greasy.

This. ^^

I just wear it tighter so it looks more intended, and (maybe) less greasy.

[teal]

Tight bun, definitely. Also, a BBB used before your hair gets to that stage will help distribute the oils down the hair shaft so it doesn't look so greasy.

[Savahead]

I wear a hat. If any of my friends see me wearing a ball cap they know that I have not washed my hair in a few days.

[Bedhead]

Braids look stunning with the extra sebum. ;)

[HairCareJunkie]

I wear my hair in a tight pony tail, sometimes I even use gel to create a 'wet look'.

[ladyshep]

What I do is I tie all of my hair back in a loose braid and hide it under my shirt. Then I wash my scalp with clarifying in the sink or tub without washing the rest of the locks.

It works great for me. I always wonder if others do the same as I.

[MegaMystery]

I don't have trouble hiding greasy hair, but you can try going over it with a BBB right after you put in a tight bun/updo. It'll smooth it out and make it seem like you used gel or some other product.

[eezepeeze]

A couple things work for me:
1. a high, tight sock bun
2. spritzing the roots and length with water, detangle, then braid tightly in a dutch braid. I smooth the sides with a fine tooth comb after braiding to get the "wet" look
3. it involves teasing, but a Snooki poof hides greasies well, too, because it gets the scalp hair up and volumized instead of flat against the head. I often do a poof (there are tools you can get to avoid teasing) and then fold my hair into a twist/log roll. or sometimes I just ponytail at the nape. There are lots of videos on YT on how to do the poof thing.

Some looks to avoid:
French braids...the strands separate and cause hair cleavage
stringy bangs...it's better to pin greasy bangs in a little poof at the front (does not require teasing)
low ponytails without some detail/braiding. This makes the greasiness stand out because you see the contrast between the flat scalp hair and the fluffy length hair.

HTH!

[Lici1209]

Dry shampoo OR cocoa powder :]

[eezepeeze]

Any of the apostolic/pentecostal looks can be modified to hide greasiness...some of the apostolc girls on youtube are geniuses when it comes to dealing with extra long hair that won't be washed daily. Some to check out are gossgirl and torib...their hairdos tend to involve lots of poofing and rolling and lots of detail that takes advantage of second (or third or fourth) day hair.

[HintOfMint]

I don't necessarily tie my buns or ponytails tighter, but I use a fine tooth comb or BBB to smooth my hair into the style so it just looks sleek and not dirty. Headbands are also ideal. I don't have the greatest face for them, but I can do a parting of sorts in front of the hair band so that it is more flattering. The greasy give away is in the top middle of my head, so that's where the headband would cover normally.

Oh and two french braids.

Funny story, my roommate complimented my hair the other day. It was in a ponytail and a headband, and she said, "Your hair looks awesome! Did you do anything to your hair or did you wake up with it all smooth and perfect?"
I reply, "Thanks, it's dirty as ****!"

[darklyndsea]

I find that hairstyles I don't have to change for a few days (such as amish braids) disguise the greasiness better. Maybe because I don't touch or handle it at all once it's up, so the sebum doesn't really have a chance to spread, and instead just sits there?

[Kirry-Folk]

I used finely milled silica powder applied to greasy areas with a kabuki type brush. Works like a charm with no lightening/discoloration of the roots.

[jacqueline101]

I do a bun and no ones the wisest.

[white.chocolate]

My hair starts showing its grease on the 3rd day after a wash. I often wash on the 4th day, sometimes 5th, depending on what I had done during the day. I disguise it by absolutely not combing from the roots (I fingercomb), and I wear a hairstyle that does not require a medium-high pony; I try to keep my updos as low as possible so as not to show the roots. Wearing my hair down would be ideal, but that's just not always an option for me nowadays. I also avoid French and Dutch braiding as they obviously require playing with hair from the roots.

[heidi w.]

The hair on the back of the head becomes "greasier" slower than top of scalp or forehead hairline related hair.

So, in the past, I've put my hair up in an updo and for the top of head hair I take my BBB, and tip it on the side, so the side of the brush is very lightly touching the top of scalp hair that has been drawn back, and gently glide the brush over this top of head hair. It removes the streakiness and kind of congeals all the grunge built up and the hair is super shiny as the built up oil/sebum reflects the ambient light. I can do that for a maximum of 2 days. ETA: The hair takes on a look of a kind of "Latino" look. The top head hair will lie flatter the more sebum that is built up, so don't expect a whole lot of puffiness. END ETA

Also I strongly advise becoming familiar with how to scalp wash. There are ways to amend a scalp wash so one is only getting the top of scalp skin hair, pretty much.

That can help you achieve a week without full hair washing which can translate to hours of air drying time. Top of head hair tends to dry really fast, within an hour in some cases.

I hope this helps,
heidi w.

[pixistixx]

dust a BBB with cocoa powder or cornstarch depending on how dark/ light your hair is . and brush through the greasies. just do a very fine even layer of each, adding a bit more to the brush if need be.

[einna]

What I do is I tie all of my hair back in a loose braid and hide it under my shirt. Then I wash my scalp with clarifying in the sink or tub without washing the rest of the locks.

It works great for me. I always wonder if others do the same as I.

I just started doing something like this. Only I use a semi high bun and wash in the shower. I just bend over and wet my canopy, then apply conditioner in bangs, crown and sides (probably works with shampoo to, but I like to CO because then it is not a problem if some of it dosent get rinsed), massage, leave for a bit and rinse. Only about half my scalp gets wet and my ends stay dry. Takes much faster to dry and saves the ends from a wash.
Also, the first time I did it, I got a compliment from DBF "What have you done with your hair, it looks so beautiful". I think it is because the sebum was left in my lenght, making my hair soft and shiny, washing is drying to my hair, even CO.

ETA: A high, wide bun also covers a lot of sins. ;)

[The-Young-Maid]

I just pull my "bangs" back. I'm usually fine until day 5-7, I can go longer but I'll get build-up on my scalp which is pretty uncomfortable. My length never looks greasy so I mostly leave it down, I do braid it occasionally.:)

[ravenreed]

I have never found a good solution to this other than to cover my hair or to use dry shampoos. Wearing my hair back makes my hair look worse, not better. It gets really stringy and obviously unwashed. Right now I am washing every other day because the other problem I am having is dry ends. That is solved by CO'ing- so as long as I am doing my ends, I might as well do my scalp too.

[kidari]

a slicked back updo that is very neat, dry shampoo, or a hat of some sort

[13bodies]

I spritz the roots with a mixture of aloe, water, and lavender eo (for the smell) the night before--it seems to help. Or I wear really shiny/glitzy/sparkly/colorful/loud hair sticks to draw attention away from my scalp.

[bumblebums]

OP, most of the bases have been covered, but I see your hair is currently chin length--that might not be a good time to start stretching washes. You might be able to get dry shampoo to work for you, but the updo and boar bristle brush advice won't be that useful. (For dry shampoo, try simple cornstarch dusted on the fingers and massaged into the roots of your hair, then brush it out thoroughly. Some use cocoa powder on dark hair; I have dark hair and have made do with cornstarch just the same.)

Anyway, much of the advice for long hair mentions the magical "below the ears": shampoo the scalp but put your conditioner below the ears; oil below the ears, etc. Until you have some serious length below the ears, stretching washes will be difficult, because sebum is pretty visible at that length. Longhairs get away with fewer washes precisely because there is more length for the sebum to cover.

[Kelikea]

If my hair really looks that greasy, I just wash it. I don't really see the point of stretching washes if the hair is greasy.

[spidermom]

French or dutch braid down the back, then bunned.

I don't try to go very long between washes, though; usually 3-4 days. I believe in washing hair when it needs to be washed.

[shirohane]

I sprinkle some baby powder before going to bed when it gets greasy. By the next morning, either it's out of my hair or just spread out enough to not show on my dark hair. :p

[annamoonfairy]

a little baby powder

[phabieau]

I wash my bangs everyday as I don't want to grow them out. On Day 3, I wash at night and normally put my hair up in a messy bun and tie a headscarf or headband around my roots for school.

[sycamoreboutiqu]

I can't wait to see the responses to this as well. My hair is greasy the same night I wash it and impossible to hide. My hair is much lighter when clean but gets very dark when wet or oily. This is the case with my roots. Very dark at the roots when oily and light every where else so it is obvious it is not clean. Plus it sticks to my head. I have to wash my hair about every 2 days, sometimes stretch to 3 and just deal with the greasy look.

Are you doing the traditional shampoo/condition ?
If so you might be pleasantly surprised to find that working your way out of that routine will actually reduce the oiliness. Extra oil is a reaction to strong cleansing - try just diluting your shampoo at first to reduce the effects of the SLS and detergents. If that works then try working into a CO wash routine.

I am amazed that I can now go 6-8 days between washes and my scalp doesn't get oily. The only issue is when my scalp flares up (eczema) then I need to wash (CO wash - no shampoo) more often - but even then it is still 5 days between washes.

[melusine963]

Tight bun, definitely. Also, a BBB used before your hair gets to that stage will help distribute the oils down the hair shaft so it doesn't look so greasy.

This is exactly what I do. I also make Sunday my wash day, so my hair is presentable for work all week. I don't mind it being a little greasy on the weekend.

[terylenerose]

I use my BBB and make sure not to leave any hair hanging loose.

[ladyshep]

Sycamore, how long did it take for the oiliness to leave? I tried that before and it just ended up being a big itchy mess, but I only could stand it for a week.

[lapushka]

OP, most of the bases have been covered, but I see your hair is currently chin length--that might not be a good time to start stretching washes. You might be able to get dry shampoo to work for you, but the updo and boar bristle brush advice won't be that useful. (For dry shampoo, try simple cornstarch dusted on the fingers and massaged into the roots of your hair, then brush it out thoroughly. Some use cocoa powder on dark hair; I have dark hair and have made do with cornstarch just the same.)

Anyway, much of the advice for long hair mentions the magical "below the ears": shampoo the scalp but put your conditioner below the ears; oil below the ears, etc. Until you have some serious length below the ears, stretching washes will be difficult, because sebum is pretty visible at that length. Longhairs get away with fewer washes precisely because there is more length for the sebum to cover.

This is a *very* good point!

[Ligeia_13]

This is exactly what I do. I also make Sunday my wash day, so my hair is presentable for work all week. I don't mind it being a little greasy on the weekend.

I also wash my hair on Sundays for the same reason. And when it gets to Friday and I can no longer wear it down, I put it in a bun. Or a crown braid if it will stay.

[Amber_Maiden]

I put my hair up in a bun.

[LittleOrca]

My hair does not usually show that it is unwashed until I don't wash it for over a week. Generally, since I put oil in it, my hair is always shiney and up. Only when my hair is freshly washed (or I am in a show-off mood and thus I don't care how oiled my hair is) will I wear it down.

[Johanna]

Swoosh it back and into a bun so it does oil up my forehead :)

[Tisiloves]

Pull it back and/or wear a headscarf/band.

[tiny_teesha]

i use rooibos tea on my scalp immediately post wash and it seems to disguise the greasies later on, so much that i can even last 4 days sometimes. So i think that helps, if i've forgotten to use it, then i tie it up (never loose and oily, yuck!) and i also tie it before bed and don't fix it (much in the morning. The tossing and turning on my pillow case absorbs some oil and give it a bit of fly away so that it doesn't look as greasy. It's a weird trick but it kind of works...

That's the only things i find that are quick and work. The treseme mousse waterless wash also works surprisngly well but takes almost as long as a real wash...so kinda pointless. The dry shampoos also can take a while to brush out and can fail miserably on dark hair.

[Mannaz]

I've started using dry shampoo recently, it really is a life saver, I love how it gives my hair some volume.