Although I’ve answered similar questions like the one below, I continue to receive a fair amount of emails from readers frustrated with how oily there hair is. Here’s a refresher and a few additional tips that I came up with to help you out. For more answers to your common hair questions, click here!
My hair is very oily. I wash my hair twice a day with Head and Shoulders and it still looks like a grease mop in the morning. What should I do? —Ronny
I can understand your frustration. Let me explain what more than likely is the problem: The oil found in your hair is called sebum, and it is produced by the sebaceous glands in your scalp for the sole purpose of moisturizing your scalp. Hair that becomes too oily is the result of the overactivity of the sebaceous glands, which can be caused by stress, a hormonal change (common in teenagers), and a diet that consists of oily foods. Here are a few things you can try to help reduce the production of sebum within more normal levels:
1. Wash your hair less: Shampoos are designed to strip the oils from your hair and scalp. Shampooing too often makes your scalp dry, forcing your scalp to work overtime to replace the oils lost.
2. Be gentle: Vigorous brushing and scrubbing while shampooing also stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce more oils.
3. Switch shampoos: There is nothing wrong with Head and Shoulders, but in your case, you suffer from oily hair, not dandruff. Use a clarifying shampoo that has a mild pH instead.
4. Find a balance: It is recommended to shampoo two to three times a week. Start by shampooing your hair once a day, and adjust from there.
* Be sure to condition your hair once a week, and if you are blow-drying your hair, limit the length of time the heat is on your scalp. Long exposure to heat on the scalp also stimulates the sebaceous glands to produce oil.
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