Greasy/Oily Hair
We all have a little oil and grease in our hair. In fact it’s normal. However an excess can make hair look limp and lifeless.
What Causes This ?
Hair gets greasy when overactive sebaceous glands secrete sebum, an oily substance and this coats the shaft. Dead skin cells and airborne dirt stick to the sebum, making the hair look lank.
So What Can I Do ?
Try not to wash hair every day. Washing frequently may encourage even more sebum production. As the oil thats already on the hair shaft keeps getting stripped away, the glands in the hair follicle may go into overdrive producing more.
Use a shampoo and conditioner formulated specifically for greasy/oily hair. These products are specially made to get rid of excess grease, yet be gentle enough not to stimulate the oil producing glands in the hair. Conditioners are also very ‘light-weight’ so as not to overload the hair shaft. While washing be very gentle when lathering in, harsh scrubbing will encourage sebum production.
When using conditioner, use on the ends first working your way up. It may be preferable not to use any at all near the roots of you hair, or at best a vey quick, minimal coating.
Keep away from combined shampoos and conditioners, hot-oil treatments and frizz serums.
When styling and afterwards avoid touching, brushing and playing with your hair too much. This again stimulates oil production and spreads it through your hair.
Any Recommendations for Me ?
Here’s a few brief product reviews for Greasy/Oily Hair :
Batiste Dry Shampoo:
“My hair generally tends to get dirty and greasy very quickly. Things were getting desperate (having to cope with very greasy hair and an itch that drove me nuts) till my hairdresser came with the solution, a dry shampoo. The only problem was that I had to look for it at the chemist’s (as you can’t find it in the supermarkets or Boots or Superdrug). But she reassured me that it would definitely work and it would keep me sane for the whole week or more.
The one I’ve managed to get my hands on and I’m very pleased about it’s called Schwarzkopf Batiste Dry Shampoo and it really works. It ‘s a spay and you’ll find it next to the shampoos (it’s a green can and looks like a hairspray). It only costs £1.99 and it lasts for a while.
The idea is to use it before you hair gets too greasy…You spray all over and particularly in the roots where it’s usually more greasy. You have to make sure you shake the can well each time before you actually spray your hair. Then you leave it for a few minutes (don’t worry if you look like you’ve aged all of the sudden and you’ve got gray hair, it’s the spray settling as a powder on the hair) or you can massage it into your scalp (it feels good if you’ve got an itchy scalp like I do – that’s the bit I really enjoy!) and finally you brush it off. You have to make sure that you actually brush it of properly otherwise you mind find that you have the powder left on you scalp and it kinda feels like dust.
The hair looks clean and it stops the itch.. Of course you don’t get the same clean feeling as when you wash your hair properly with shampoo and water but it does work and your hair stays clean for at least another three to four full days. I definitely recommend it.”
Aveda : Hair Detoxifier
“Take hair detoxifier, for instance. My hair gets greasy quickly, and I sometimes had to wash it every other day, which I found really boring…I tried various other shampoos, and they all kept leaving the same greasy film behind them.
I bought Hair Detoxifier in House of Fraser, for £8.50, an impulse buy. The packaging is just great; sienna coloured, a kind of thick plastic, ecological and healthy-looking.
The shampoo is a beautiful transparent golden colour, and quite liquid. I massage once onto wet hair; when I rinse it, it has become squeaky clean and shiny. I follow whith an Aveda conditioner, then their volumising tonic or Pure Fume shine spray. Believe me, my hair looks really great now. It is shiny and soft, doesn’t feel loaded with heavy products, and can last three full days without needing a wash.
I find most Aveda products work really well, and do as they promise”
