Greasy hair

**omgkfclolz** · October 26th, 2009, 10:29 AM

Does greasy hair come more from running your hands through your hair or the oil that forms on your face and touches your hair? is there any shampoo that can at least get rid of, or significantly minimize the amount of oils/grease produced by your hair for at least 12/24 hours? If so, what kind of shampoo/conditioner can I use?

**Leena7** · October 26th, 2009, 10:35 AM

Well, I think that it is better for your hair in general to try to keeps hands off of it for the most part. You could always try washing the roots with shampoo and going easier on the length. You could then condition the length and keep it away from the roots. Or you could wear your hair up, that seems to help the greasiness, or it at very least hides the greasiness a bit. I know friends with light hair who sometimes put baby powder in their roots to "absorb" the grease, but idk.

**Peter** · October 26th, 2009, 10:38 AM

Your scalp produces sebum too. If your roots get greasy quickly, it could either be from a very active scalp or touching it too much. Pretty much any shampoo will get rid of the oils, but as far as I know, nothing can stop your skin from producing more (and that's a good thing, in a way).

I'm not sure about others here but my hair takes longer to get greasy now that I don't wash it as much.

**amoulixes** · October 26th, 2009, 10:41 AM

It can definitely come from touching your hair frequently, touching your face then your hair, but it also comes from your scalp. I am particularly oily, and I try to use tea tree shampoos. They cut down on the "greasiness" but can also be drying to the scalp. For this reason, I try to wash every other day to give my skin a break

Also, keeping your hair out of your face so you're not tempted to touch it will help, and avoid putting conditioner on your scalp; this will only make it worse, just condition the ends (maybe say, below the ears).

I also use rosewater on my face to cut down the oil there. I actually had a post recently about oily scalp/skin, and was told that I might be making it worse by using these drying products (which is the cause for moderation).

**Tresses** · October 26th, 2009, 11:03 AM

Use a gentle shampoo, and as counter-intuitive as this sounds, avoid shampoos for oily hair. Over washing your scalp will cause it to "rebound" and produce more oil. (Your face will do the same.) I avoid shampoos with ammonium lauryl/laureth sulfates and sodium lauryl sulfate for this reason. (Sodium laureth sulfate doesn't give me this problem.)

**nature-head** · October 26th, 2009, 11:09 AM

I agree with OP. Most people's scalp is too greasy from overwashing or washing with too harsh of shampoos. Cut down and your hair will recover. There is a period where it will be bad, but in a few weeks it will get used to being washed less. I currently wash with a non SLS shampoo about ever 4 days, but I'm trying to stretch it out even farther to 5 or 6 days. It has made a huge difference with the greasy scalp and also my horribly dry ends.

**omgkfclolz** · October 26th, 2009, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by amoulixes

It can definitely come from touching your hair frequently, touching your face then your hair, but it also comes from your scalp. I am particularly oily, and I try to use tea tree shampoos. They cut down on the "greasiness" but can also be drying to the scalp. For this reason, I try to wash every other day to give my skin a break

Also, keeping your hair out of your face so you're not tempted to touch it will help, and avoid putting conditioner on your scalp; this will only make it worse, just condition the ends (maybe say, below the ears).

I also use rosewater on my face to cut down the oil there. I actually had a post recently about oily scalp/skin, and was told that I might be making it worse by using these drying products (which is the cause for moderation).

i am starting to use conditioner now, i guess that's why it's more greasy. ? and for the poster that said for me to NOT wash my hair, so your suggesting i go to work with greasy hair? haha. I've heard that if you don't wash your hair for days it'll eventually stop producing grease, but wouldn't the cycle start over again once i hop in the shower and wash my hair even with a time period of me not washing my hair.

**Curlsgirl** · October 26th, 2009, 11:46 AM

Originally Posted by omgkfclolz

i am starting to use conditioner now, i guess that's why it's more greasy. ? and for the poster that said for me to NOT wash my hair, so your suggesting i go to work with greasy hair? haha. I've heard that if you don't wash your hair for days it'll eventually stop producing grease, but wouldn't the cycle start over again once i hop in the shower and wash my hair even with a time period of me not washing my hair.

There will be a "transition" period that varies from person to person while your scalp is adjusting to not getting washed as often. Some people tough it out by wearing caps, scarfs or something like that to disguise the greasy scalp during that time. For example if you wash every day right now you might try going to every other day at first then every 2 days after a couple of weeks or so. Of you could just be one of those people who need to wash more often. If that is the case, it won't really hurt but you might like others have said just want to do a scalp wash and just shampoo the length every other time, with conditioner only or with diluted or sulfate free shampoo.

**Anje** · October 26th, 2009, 11:52 AM

Conditioner generally doesn't cause greasy hair -- most conditioners aren't oil-laden enough for that. Lots of us actually wash with only conditioner because it dissolves and removes the oils.

As others have said, your scalp naturally produces a considerable amount of sebum (grease), though it'll show up more on your hair if you touch your hair and move it off the scalp and into the hair. If you have greasy hands for any reason, naturally that'll transfer to the hair too.

If your hair is really unpresentable within 24 hours, then yes, you might be producing extra oil in reaction to over-washing your scalp. If you don't want to just bite the bullet and stretch your washes by just skipping a day or alternating days and nights (about 36 hours between washes that way), why not switch to a less stripping wash method to start? Dilute your shampoo in a squirt bottle with water and shake it up, then squirt it on your hair. Try CO washing. Something like that.

And hahaha, yes, lots of us go to work with less than fresh hair a few times to get to the point where we won't have greasy hair by afternoon.

**teela1978** · October 26th, 2009, 12:00 PM

Trying to extend washes and use gentler shampoos never worked for me. A lot of this sort of thing really depends on your particular head of hair. For me, using gentler shampoos made me get oilier faster, and because of the excess oil I'd end up getting little scalp pimples/sores.

On my scalp I generally use ALS or SLS shampoos, and only condition from the ears down. Conditioner won't make your hair greasy exactly... but it will help to seal the cuticle... I have this theory that when you seal down that cuticle and have an oil producing scalp, that any oil your scalp is making will sit on top of the hairs instead of soaking into the hair... making it look oily faster.

Also, hands off. The more you pull your hands through your hair, the more you spread oil from your skin/scalp through your hair. Again, making it look greasy.

Some people do have sensitivities to strong shampoos, and see a decrease in oil production after switching to a gentler cleanser. But not everyone. If you try it and it doesn't work, realize that its not going to work for everyone.