For some reason I whenever I wake up in the morning I have oily hair. I shower the night before, and always let my hair dry before I lay down and go to bed. My hair is nice, soft, clean, and smooth, yet no matter what type of shampoo have used when I wake up in the morning my hair looks like an oil pit! It is embarrassing when people see my hair and it is oily like that it makes me feel like I look like I don’t shower and I am not clean.
Does anyone have any tips on how to stop the oily hair or fix it?
Oily hair is a common problem that many people face, but it sounds like your case might be a little more frustrating than others. Don’t fear! There are ways to keep your hair soft and matte throughout the day with a bit o’ extra effort.
While not all these ideas may work perfectly for your particular hair, the best way to find out which ones help is by experimentation. If possible, obtain sample sizes or if a friend has a bottle of something listed, ask to borrow it in order to minimize your costs by making sure you don’t buy lots of products that might not be to your satisfaction.
1. Blotting Sheets
These are a simple, quick way to get rid of excess oil when you’re on-the-go. Just pop them in your purse and when you feel your hair greasifying itself, go into the bathroom and dab at your scalp. Plus, Sephora’s (above) are wonderful and apparently on sale for $3.
2. Rinse thoroughly
Shampooing is definitely important, but rinsing is even more important. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell when all the soap residue is gone from your scalp, especially if your hair feels squeaky clean, but make sure your 100% rinse your hair and scalp. Soap residue not only builds up and allows the hairline to build up oil more quickly, it also can clog the hair follicles which gets pretty itchy.
3. Baby Powder
I know this sounds really silly, but I always used it for clients who had oily hair so their hair wouldn’t get too shiny and oily underneath hot lights during filming. It’s cheap, effective and extremely easy to obtain, so give it a try. There are lots of more expensive ones with really nice scents and some great packaging (who knows, maybe they even work better), but I’ve found that baby powder is almost always the best powder option.
4. Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion
Personally, I’ve never tried this so I can’t attest to it, but I’ve heard this stuff is pretty fantastic. Apparently it mattifies hair to keep it from looking oily while adding volume, which can definitely disguise greasiness. My only stipulation is that it’s rather expensive at $18, so I would try this after other options first.
5. Dry Shampoo
If you are out during the day a lot but have a minute, try using a dry shampoo on your hair. Just massage a little bit in at your roots, take a towel or something similar and sort of dab your hair thoroughly to absorb the grease. Dry shampoo is, er, not my favorite thing in the world to use on a regular basis because I just never like the scent of them. But I have found that when I mix them with a little bit of scented conditioning lotion like Victoria Secret’s Very Sexy Hair Cream (which apparently is not in stock, but I know I’ve seen it in stores…), it smells better. Actually, come to think of it, you could try mixing it with a few drops of rose water or lavender to make it smell fantastic without adding any cream/serum product!
6. Neutrogena Anti-Residue Shampoo
It sounds like you’ve tried a lot of different shampoos, so you’ve probably crossed off this one already, but I figured I would list it anyway just in case. I love the simple Neutrogena bars for my face; most cleansers don’t make my skin feel great and tend to irritate it, but the cheap little translucent tan bars work wonders on me. Their hair products are often the same, so if you haven’t tried it, perhaps give it a go.
7. Biolage Scalptherapie Normalizing Shampoo
This shampoo has a particularly outstanding reputation because it calms down your scalp, letting it hopefully slow down oil production. Having a balanced scalp leads to healthier looking and feeling hair.
8. See a dermatologist or hair care specialist
When all else fails, see somebody who will be able to clearly identify your problem and help you using, if necessary, prescription products.
Hopefully some of these assist in your problem! Lovelies, can you think of any other remedies that might help this fellow Lovely out?
guest
vinegar.
my hair was super oily as a teen, and vinegar was the only thing that helped. just take some into the shower with you.put it on your hair, rinse, and shampoo as normal.
rose / 937 posts
Ime, cut back on shampooing and this should resolve the issue pretty mcuh entirely – everything else up there IMO is a bandaid solution only. and if cutting back doesn’t help enough then change your shampoo to something far more gentle, possibly for normal hair so that it’s not too stripping or too heavy. And a stiff boar bristle brush does wonders. I am water-only and brush usually daily. Even when I don’t my hair isn’t too oily.
orchid / 160 posts
wash your pillowcase
magnolia / 1054 posts
my hair used to be superrrrrr oily, I switched to head and shoulders and that seemed to work well for me
guest
you shouldn’t be washing your hair everyday. shampoo strips your hair of all it’s natural oils, and when you wash it too often, it over-produces because you’re stripping the oil away too much. i wash mine every other day or every third day and my hair rarely looks greasy now. i used to wash it every morning, and by the time i got home it was a grease pit again.
orchid / 191 posts
I have the neutrogena anti-residue shampoo in a huge bottle I got from costco. In the past when I used mousse, heat protectant products, loads of hairspray, etc…. when i used this (sometimes followed by my normal shampoo) and conditioner, I did find that my hair was lighter and much more voluminous. ALSO, those who say that if you wash your hair too often it gets oily faster IS RIGHT. From my experience, wash your hair once a day, and try super hard to not wash it on days you don’t have to. An oily face will also do this to your hair as well (still figuring that one out).
SO:
1. Wash your hair once a day (in the morning – night has never worked for me) and DO NOT wash it on days that you’re just staying at home doin whatever.
2. BABY POWDER.
3. Strip your hair once a month with neutrogena anti-residue shampoo if you use products.
4. NO TOUCHY this will contribute majorly.
5. Hairspray!!! This will keep your hair in place and not moving around, causing less oil, less likeliness it will get in your face and a less need for you to touch it. Hairspray is your best friend.
orchid / 191 posts
Also haha the costco pack came with 2 huge bottles of the neutrogena anti-residue shampoo so my parents took one. Next thing I knew, they were complaining about their hair being super brittle and dry. Turns out they had been using it daily. Moral is: use this product once a month at the very most. LOL
guest
Those are methods to “deal” but not “treat” as listed above.
You should go see a dematologist first. They can recommend what may be the culprit (hormones can cause changes in oil secretion, fungi,bacteria, or just clogged pores,etc).
Many times we put conditioner on our scalp, this is a common way that we build up oil.
If it is something external (fungi/dandruff/mild skin disorder) the doctor may recommend a medicated shampoo.
Many home remedies say to apply vinegar (apple cider works best allegedly), as it is pH balanced and strips excessive oils–this however is a temporary solution.
If you notice a sudden change in oil secretion, then drugs/hormones/fungi or bacterial infection/poor shampooing/heavy conditioning to scalp are the usual perpetrators.
sunflower / 300 posts
@animechrisy@xanga - As I said, I can only help people “deal.” I would never offer dermatological advice since I’m not a hair/skincare professional. I have tips on easy fixes because that was my job, not treating it long term.
But thanks for the tips for the original question asker, I think they’re helpful!
@emcg - The “no touching” rule! Ah! Thanks so much for posting this, I can’t believe I forgot that. I always warn people about touching their face but since I have absurdly dry hair (it’s my own fault) I don’t think about people touching theirs and making it oily. Muchas gracias for the tip!
guest
Baby powder is amazing. I actually have dry damaged hair so I avoid washing it for 2-3 days because that’s supposed to be good for it. My roots get pretty oily though so sprinkling some baby powder helps me get through that third day of not washing.
guest
Corn starch. Works like a charm.
guest
I try not to shower every day, but it’s pretty hard not to unless you’re going to be in your own home all day. Not many people want to walk out into the public with hair so greasy it looks wet; basically my point is, yes it may help over time to not shampoo, but if you have an active/busy life, not shampooing is pretty hard to do while still looking work appropriate.
Also, I know some of you may say “then use dry shampoo on those days,” however, when I do use dry shampoo, it makes my hair look even more oily. . . does
this make sense, or do I just have weird hair? hahaha