What should I do for my greasy hair?

[Desiree]

Hey,

My hair gets greasy/oily every day. I have tried many kinds of shampoos, but they did not work. Some people say, shampoos makes it even worse, some say use this one, that one...What's wrong with my scalp/hair that produces this much grease? What's the remedy? Thanks.

I am male by the way.

 

[Evo]

The more often you shampoo the more oil your scalp will produce. Try slowly cutting back on how often you wash it until you're at maybe twice a week and the oil production should decrease after awhile. It may not ever get completely rid of the oily problem, but it might help.

 

[turbo]

Dilute liquid shampoo heavily. I use Scent-Away liquid soap and it is most effective when diluted. You don't need heavy thick soaps to shampoo - thinned, diluted soaps will do a really good job, rinse out more easily, leave less residue, and help reduce oil-production.

 

[pantaz]

Go to a dermatologist.

 

[turbo]

Go to a dermatologist.

Sometimes, practical solutions can ease long-term problems and reduce the reliance on health-care experts and the resulting expenses. Just a thought.

 

[Monique]

The above suggestions are good, don't use too much shampoo and lather it up before putting it on your hair (don't put it straight on your scalp). Try to reduce using shampoo to every other day, see how it works if you just wash it with water in between. You could try talc powder to absorb some of the grease in between washes, just be careful that you don't use too much of it

It will take a while before your scalp will respond and reduce oil production, so just stick with it for a while.

 

[lisab]

If nothing else works, you can always cut your hair very short.

 

[Moonbear]

Along with all the other suggestions above (including if nothing works, seeing a dermatologist if it's really bad), you might want to try a medicated shampoo. While people usually think of dandruff as a dry scalp condition so might not consider a dandruff shampoo, they can help, especially if the oil production is in response to an irritated scalp.

Another thing to consider are your age. If you're a young male (teens or early 20s), you might just have to wait to outgrow it, especially if your skin is oily too (blame the testosterone).

You also might want to try a hair conditioner in addition to shampoo, so if you're shampoo is drying your scalp/hair too much and the excess oil production is combatting it, the conditioner can help replace some of the moisture without having to skip washing your hair.

Going the other direction, you could try a baby shampoo, which would let you wash your hair, but is gentler than regular shampoo.

I'm afraid a lot of it is trial and error. If it is really bad and you find you have to wash your hair more than once a day, or the oils are causing acne on your face/neck, then certainly consider a dermatologist.

 

[RonL]

If you have not tried it, "Head & Shoulders Shampoo for Oily Scalps Formula" worked for me, I have used it for many years and am well satisfied.

Ron

 

[Desiree]

Wow! thanks for all this wholesome advice. I'll definitely going to have to cut back on shampoos and at the same time consider other suggested options as well. I don't think my hair/scalp is that bad to go see a dermatologist again at this stage as I've had this problem for more than 10 years now. I saw several doctors in the past but the prescriptions worked as long as I used them. They didn't actually cure it...

My forehead hair has become a thin due to this greasiness I think, and someone on the subway was once explaining to me that excess grease blocks the pores from which hair grows, so it's very important to keep it oil-free...

Also, many barbers told me from their experience with their customers that hair loss is "genetic", I was amazed to hear this term from them, as they are not geneticists or doctors, but surely they talk to many customers every day and this "genetic" conclusion must have been drawn from their customer's stories I suppose.

I'll try these temporary remedies to see if they'll work. Thanks for your advice though.