You wash your hair every day and use dry shampoo between washes, yet your hair still looks like you sleep on a bed of fries. What gives?
Never fear; we promise you’re not doomed to look as though your favorite conditioner is called Dull and Deep Fried. Here are five tips to care for oily hair.
Wash Less Often
You’re probably thinking, “What? Wash less often? Have you seen my hair?!” We get it. You’re dealing with a ton of oil, and you just want to wash it out. It’s the only thing that seems to help.
The problem is when you wash too often, particularly with harsh shampoos, your scalp is stripped of its natural oils. So then, what does it do? Produces even more oil to try to rehydrate your skin. It’s a vicious circle.
Instead, try going a couple of days between washes. You’ll give your scalp time to adjust and stop overproducing oil.
Skip Harsh Ingredients
We know it can be tempting to pick up those clarifying shampoos that claim to fix your oily hair problems. But if they contain harsh ingredients like sulfates, which are used to produce more lather, they can actually irritate your skin and stimulate more oil production.
Instead, look for ingredients like aloe to help clean your hair and soothe your scalp. Citrus essential oils can also do wonders for oily hair. They’ll help cut the excess sebum from your hair without stripping it.
Avoid Silicone
So many of the products that are supposed to help our hair look shiny and healthy contain silicone. The problem is silicone builds up on your hair over time, weighing it down and causing it to dull. Combine that with excess sebum production, and you end up with limp, greasy hair instead of the gloss you were going for.
Rice bran oil, hydrolyzed rice protein, aloe vera, and bamboo are better choices to increase shine without weighing down your hair.
Wash Your Brush
Your brush might not be the first thing you think of when you’re trying to get to the root of your oil problem, but it could definitely be contributing to it. All the styling products, sebum, and environmental grime that builds up on our hair is transferred to our brushes.
Remember to wash your brush frequently to remove anything that has built up on it. Otherwise, you’ll just put all that oil and dirt right back in your hair.
Mix Up Your Style
We’re all about feeling confident with your hair, and that includes your personal style. But mixing it up now and then may help. Pulling your hair up often spreads sebum throughout your hair, and accidentally scraping your scalp may stimulate more oil production.
Try wearing your hair loose and skipping heat tools now and then. And on your really oily days, why not go for a slicked-back style that will look sleek instead of greasy?
Remember, even if you have oily hair, sebum is not your enemy. It’s necessary, natural, and everyone produces it. Try the tips above to get your scalp into better balance. And let us know how they work for you!