So if I’m going out Saturday night, I’ll wash Thursday night so it settles on Friday and perfect for Saturday.
Oh but I have gym Friday morning and I’ll be sweaty af so I’ll need to wash before work but I don't have time in the mornings.......
Story sound familiar? The age old oily hair dilemma.
I’m a shower before bed kinda gal and so often I can go to bed with fresh looking hair and wake up looking like I slept in a greasy frying pan. Gross.
So,
What is oily hair?
Where does the oil come from?
How can I stop it?
Let’s find out.
WHAT IS OILY HAIR?
The oil on your scalp is called sebum.
Sebum comes from our sebaceous glands and it’s actually created to help protect our skin and hair.
Overall oiliness isn’t a concern but there are some conditions that do cause an oil overload.
There are also different types of oiliness.
Type 1: OILY
The general oil slick look. You feel like no matter what you do you still feel like your hair needs a wash!
Causes;
Not giving your hair a good wash, I’ll explain more later
Skin conditions
Genetics
Product build up
Type 2: OILY ROOTS, DRY ENDS
Most common and our personal fave combo *eye roll* What a cruel world?!
The top of your head is a grease trap and your ends look like hay!
Causes;
Over washing, I’ll explain more later
The wrong products in general
Genetics
Type 3: OILY AND ITCHY SCALP
Who doesn’t love a bit of dandruff, NOT!
It always seems to happen when we’re wearing a crisp black blazer and then bam, it’s snowing flaky skin on your shoulders.
Causes;
Skin flare ups
Seasonal
Stress
Allergies
WHERE DOES THE OIL COME FROM?
So we've spoken about the types of oily hair and causes, let's get sciency about where they come from.
SEBORRHEIC DERMATITIS
Seborrheic dermatitis is a condition that irritates and inflames your skin. Pink, scaly areas of skin develop in areas with a lot of oil glands, including the scalp. It’s also known as dandruff.
It can result from an allergic reaction or be a symptom of an autoimmune condition.
SKIN CONDITIONS
Skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis can cause red, scaly patches to appear on your scalp.
Both of these conditions are disorders related to immune dysfunction.
FOREHEAD ACNE
Forehead acne develops when oil and skin cell substances get trapped inside the pores. It can also lead to specific acne bacteria to build up and cause acne bumps.
Excessive oil production is often the cause of acne.
GENETICS
Your genes may contribute to how much oil your glands produce and how thick your hair is. (thanks mum!)
DIET
Just like with our skin, we are what we eat.
HOW CAN I STOP IT?
After all this I have some great news. Most of the time a little tweak to your hair routine will have the oiliness managed in no time.
Wash, Rinse, Repeat
There's a fine line between clean over washed and under washed hair.
As a standard I recommend a minimum of 2 washes. So that's shampoo, rinse and repeat. We base this on people who wash their hair every second day. For hair older than 2 days you need to add a couple of extra washes to make sure you're getting that even cleanse across your scalp and hair.
OVER-WASHING
Our oil production is like our metabolism. As we spoke about earlier this oil is produced to protect our hair and skin. If we are washing our hair too often we actually produce more oil to protect the scalp before the oils are stripped away. If you're scrubbing the life outta your hair on the daily you best believe that oil is coming back with a vengeance.
Breaking the over-washing cycle is a marathon. It takes a few bad hair days and lots of internal dialogue about your personal hygiene choice but nothing a big scrunchie and some dry shampoo can’t temporarily fix. The best part is over-washing can be cured and how great would it be to not have a wash and blow dry on your daily to do!
UNDER-WASHING
Most of the time you've got those thick luscious locks that everyone wants because they have no idea how much work they take!
It's very common that with this hair type you just never feel like you can get it clean. No stress, you're not alone. My biggest tip to you is to change up the spot you start your wash in.
For example, you squeeze your shampoo out into your hands and start right on your front hairline, scrub away, rinse. With the next shampoo, flip your hair over and start the scrub from underneath. That way the bulk of the product is in a different spot. Rinse and go again. This time I would split my hands to the hair above my ears and scrub from there first. Last but not least I would apply straight to the crown. This way you've covered your whole head and gotten into all those hidey spots.
I can read your mind….. 5 SHAMPOOS LADY ARE YOU EFFN CRAZY!!
It sounds like a lot, however if you nail your shampoo right, you will be able to wash less, your style will last longer and your hair will feel a million times better!
I'll let you in on another secret. You know how we tell you to use a twenty-cent piece size and you've been squeezing out a hockey puck worth? 95% of that is going down the drain. By strategically shampooing this way you will use less product and waste none!
My best pal when it comes to a deep cleanse is NAK Hair- Ultimate Cleanse.
I am about to get to my 7 Tips. But just before I do.
Please read our Terms & Conditioners
All rise, repeat after me,
YOUR
ROOTS
DO
NOT
NEED
CONDITIONER!
Mate, I get it. I'm an absolute tart for some soft smooth hair but this is boycotting the life of your fresh hair. Our hair strands have cuticles like fish scales. Over time due to the environment, styling, colouring etc these scales become more and more open. This is why we use things like Structure Complex to repair them. They also become open when we shampoo. This is why we condition, so we can smooth them back down. This is also why we recommend a leave-in conditioner to add another layer of protection on the cuticle!
Our roots are our new, healthy hair that are being protected by the oil we produce so adding conditioner as well is an OVERLOAD.
HOW TO CONDITION
The middle of your hair to the ends is the perfect spot for your conditioner. Find that imaginary ponytail and use that as a guide. Work from your ends up and resist that urge to run into your roots.
For our shorter haired friends, keep it off that first inch of your roots.
Last but not least you need to rinse rinse rinse. Your hair should feel sealed, not slimy.
OK you made it!
HERE ARE MY 7 TIPS FOR OILY HAIR
YOU ARE WHAT YOU APPLY
Be really selective on what styling products you use on your hair. You want to make sure they're right for your hair and not filled with lots of chemicals and cheap silicons. Most of the time if it makes your hair feel too good, it’s left behind a residue that's going to create a build up.
If you're not sure what to use, we have set up a product consultation form that you can fill out and we'll send you back your personalised recommendations. You can find out Product Recommendation Jotform here
QUICK CLEAN
Dry Shampoo. Literal BFF. use it to prevent or conceal any sneaky oil. Also doubles as a great texture spray when your hair feels flat. You can shop NAK Hair Dry Shampoo here
TIDY YOUR TOOLBOX
I'm talking clips, scrunchies, brushes, irons, the works. Don’t use dirty tools on your clean hair.
DRY YOUR HAIR SO MOISTURE DOESN'T ADD TO THE OIL
Believe it or not, leaving your hair wet for too long can contribute to extra oily hair. If our hair is still wet when we start to produce oil it almost makes a bit of a sticky clumpy mess.
A quick blast of the roots with a hairdryer is an easy fix.
KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF
This is probably the hardest one, your hair is clean, full of body and lush, you just want to run your hands through it but you gotta resist temptation! The oil and dirt from our hands is one of the quickest ways to flatten and grease up our fresh hair.
THE BRUSHING BUNCH
Marsha Brady was all over this. Brushing is key. Not only to keep them knots at bay but to evenly distribute that oil through our strands instead of building up on the roots.
TIME TO CHANGE THE SHEETS?
No judgement fam. Life gets busy but any oil or dirt on that pillowcase will definitely make its way to your hair and your skin!
Still not feeling like it’s making a difference, definitely go and see a doctor. They can usually prescribe something to help you even further.
As always, hit me up if you have any more questions. I love talking hair with you all!
Happy washing :)
Loz xx
Information Sources
https://www.healthline.com/health/oily-scalp#causes
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