Dome, tone down the chrome
August 19, 2024 9:47 AM Subscribe
My baldness has reached a point where I need to be proactive about degreasing, but I don't know what to do about it. Internet searches tell me the solution is to use oil, which … too much oil is already the problem and I wonder if this advice is written by AI. Greasy head details below the cut.
50's male, slowly balding much of my life, but now have a pretty decent Captain Picard. In the last few years the impact of head grease has increased significantly. My pillowcase shows grease stains after two nights, my partner doesn't much like touching my head anymore.
Internet searches say things like bald guys should use coconut or avocado or tea tree oils, but oil is the problem. I'm having trouble finding anything that convincingly reduces scalp oil. Any advice or recommendations?
Showing twice a day isn't an option for other reasons. Solutions that are low odor are a big plus.
50's male, slowly balding much of my life, but now have a pretty decent Captain Picard. In the last few years the impact of head grease has increased significantly. My pillowcase shows grease stains after two nights, my partner doesn't much like touching my head anymore.
Internet searches say things like bald guys should use coconut or avocado or tea tree oils, but oil is the problem. I'm having trouble finding anything that convincingly reduces scalp oil. Any advice or recommendations?
Showing twice a day isn't an option for other reasons. Solutions that are low odor are a big plus.
An easy and cheap thing you can do is try swabbing your head with a vinegar solution, in case the root cause is fungus. Another one you can try is using an anti bacterial soap, shampoo or a mild antibacterial detergent. Dandruff shampoo might also help. There is a good chance that some friendly member of your natural skin biome is working a little bit too hard, and their efforts have made your oil producing follicles start doing their job a bit too efficiently. Since you don't know which member of the biome is being so enthusiastic, experimenting for a week each with some of the inexpensive products you already have at home could help you figure out which one will reduce the oil production enthusiasm.
And finally try weather. If you have no hair to protect it from the sun, having a greasy scalp helps protect you from sunburn. But daily exposure to a little sunlight can change the biome up there and reduce the grease to more manageable levels. Too much oil could be a by product of your scalp sweating, and the sweat drying too fast, or conversely, inducing a little bit of sweat could be enough to turn off the overproduction of the oil glands.
People who are prone to horrible greasy faces that break out all the time have significant protection against cold and wet weather. My sister was one of those luckless people who had steady chronic greasy acne break outs during adolescence But whenever her military unit went and did winter exercises, she came home with her complexion cleared up looking lovely and smooth... and every one else in the unit came home with badly chapped lips, and red and raw windburned faces. You probably can't figure out a way to make use of this fact, but I include it because it might help you understand possible reasons you have this issue and think of products you could use or things you could try.
Have you actually tried the oil? If not, I would try it. Sometimes your skin can be suffering so badly from dryness and your efforts to remove the oil that counterintuitively using a moisturizer can relief the pressure on the oil glands so they produce less. I theorize that animal based oils will be more effective than vegetable based oils, and if I were you I would try something from the family of lanolin, lard, tallow or butter.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:07 AM on August 19 [4 favorites]
And finally try weather. If you have no hair to protect it from the sun, having a greasy scalp helps protect you from sunburn. But daily exposure to a little sunlight can change the biome up there and reduce the grease to more manageable levels. Too much oil could be a by product of your scalp sweating, and the sweat drying too fast, or conversely, inducing a little bit of sweat could be enough to turn off the overproduction of the oil glands.
People who are prone to horrible greasy faces that break out all the time have significant protection against cold and wet weather. My sister was one of those luckless people who had steady chronic greasy acne break outs during adolescence But whenever her military unit went and did winter exercises, she came home with her complexion cleared up looking lovely and smooth... and every one else in the unit came home with badly chapped lips, and red and raw windburned faces. You probably can't figure out a way to make use of this fact, but I include it because it might help you understand possible reasons you have this issue and think of products you could use or things you could try.
Have you actually tried the oil? If not, I would try it. Sometimes your skin can be suffering so badly from dryness and your efforts to remove the oil that counterintuitively using a moisturizer can relief the pressure on the oil glands so they produce less. I theorize that animal based oils will be more effective than vegetable based oils, and if I were you I would try something from the family of lanolin, lard, tallow or butter.
posted by Jane the Brown at 10:07 AM on August 19 [4 favorites]
Sometimes your skin produces more oil because it thinks there's not enough oil. But also oil builds up and you need to remove the oil gently and add more oil.
You might just invest in a stack of washcloths so you can have a freshen-up aside from your shower once or twice a day - just use warm water at the sink, or you can use warm water on the washcloth and then try micellar water on a reusable makeup pad.
Try that for a couple weeks and see if the greasiness changes. After that, try bio oil (or their new gel) as your entry-level oil - it's got very little scent and it soaks in. (It's also excellent if you have dry cuticles/hangnails.)
If you're not an absolutely devoted hat-wearer you should be using sunscreen as well, which you'll want to remove with the washcloth/micellar combo when the sun goes down.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:08 AM on August 19 [1 favorite]
You might just invest in a stack of washcloths so you can have a freshen-up aside from your shower once or twice a day - just use warm water at the sink, or you can use warm water on the washcloth and then try micellar water on a reusable makeup pad.
Try that for a couple weeks and see if the greasiness changes. After that, try bio oil (or their new gel) as your entry-level oil - it's got very little scent and it soaks in. (It's also excellent if you have dry cuticles/hangnails.)
If you're not an absolutely devoted hat-wearer you should be using sunscreen as well, which you'll want to remove with the washcloth/micellar combo when the sun goes down.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:08 AM on August 19 [1 favorite]
i think the point behind the advice to use oil is that body oil is a mix of saturated and unsaturated fats and saturated fats eventually go rancid, so if you keep the skin oiled with something entirely unsaturated, it will produce less of the saturated and so not get stinky. not entirely sure i'm remembering right, though.
posted by Clowder of bats at 10:12 AM on August 19 [1 favorite]
posted by Clowder of bats at 10:12 AM on August 19 [1 favorite]
Washcloth for my scalp in the shower (no soap; I don't want my scalp totally stripped of oil and desperate to make more) and an extra wipe over as required, with the washcloth warm and damp not wet, works for me.
I gave up on trying to keep pillows nice and now use a couple of towels loosely rolled up together instead. I've always preferred a thin and floppy pillow that needs ramming into shape under my head when I shift, so this was an easy adaptation for me.
Not only can the towels absorb much more scalp grease and general drool and snot than a normal pillowcase before becoming visibly gross or smelling weird, they're way easier to wash and dry as well, and because I'm effectively washing the whole pillow every time instead of just the pillowcase, I don't believe they host anything like the customary population of dust mites either.
posted by flabdablet at 10:20 AM on August 19
I gave up on trying to keep pillows nice and now use a couple of towels loosely rolled up together instead. I've always preferred a thin and floppy pillow that needs ramming into shape under my head when I shift, so this was an easy adaptation for me.
Not only can the towels absorb much more scalp grease and general drool and snot than a normal pillowcase before becoming visibly gross or smelling weird, they're way easier to wash and dry as well, and because I'm effectively washing the whole pillow every time instead of just the pillowcase, I don't believe they host anything like the customary population of dust mites either.
posted by flabdablet at 10:20 AM on August 19
A gentle true soap with a surplus of oil ("super-fatted") in it will be the best thing for your head / face / other greasy areas. You want something that will strip off excess sludge but leave a light coating of oil in place so your skin doesn't freak out. (I make my own soft bar soap with lye and kitchen oils. It's not difficult, and much cheaper than specialty soaps.)
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:23 AM on August 19 [2 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:23 AM on August 19 [2 favorites]
I‘d start by using whatever you use to wash your face. Make sure you wash your face and head twice a day. Washcloths are great. Some dry much faster than others. You want ones that dry and are non bulky because you want to change them daily. They go into the laundry basket once dry.
You may also want to just change your pillow case a lot.
Basically, skincare recs for very oily and blemish prone skin. Try a low% salicylic acid facewash like neutrogena. That stuff cuts through grease very well. I have an oily face and scalp and the only thing that works for me is to embrace that. That includes ignoring anyone who insists that my skin will self regulate to anything else if I just persist with not using products - it’s oily, has been since beginning of puberty and does just fine with acids and alcohol and various other ingredients that make folks with dry skin miserable.
If you wear hats consider not doing that. You can’t remove oil buildup in a hat. I agree that biomes on skin are real. If you have anything a bit out of wack there whatever treatment you try will be counteracted by putting the same hat on again that is saturated with the bacteria or fungus contributing to the problem.
posted by koahiatamadl at 10:34 AM on August 19
You may also want to just change your pillow case a lot.
Basically, skincare recs for very oily and blemish prone skin. Try a low% salicylic acid facewash like neutrogena. That stuff cuts through grease very well. I have an oily face and scalp and the only thing that works for me is to embrace that. That includes ignoring anyone who insists that my skin will self regulate to anything else if I just persist with not using products - it’s oily, has been since beginning of puberty and does just fine with acids and alcohol and various other ingredients that make folks with dry skin miserable.
If you wear hats consider not doing that. You can’t remove oil buildup in a hat. I agree that biomes on skin are real. If you have anything a bit out of wack there whatever treatment you try will be counteracted by putting the same hat on again that is saturated with the bacteria or fungus contributing to the problem.
posted by koahiatamadl at 10:34 AM on August 19
You might consider using skincare products intended for oily faces. Note that sometimes the skin overproduces oil when it is dry -- so some light moisturizing would probably do you good. Drying toners (like witch hazel) and fragrances (to which many people have sensitivities) may make the problem worse. Here's a possible routine:
- 1-2 times per day: a gentle cleanser. CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser is great, cheap, widely available, fragrance-free and recommended by many. Use it in the shower instead of soap on your face & scalp; in the evening before bed, squirt a bit of it on a washcloth or cotton pad and run it over your scalp again, then run a damp washcloth or cotton pad over to rinse.
- Once per day, after shower: a dab of light moisturizer. Consider CeraVe Oil Control Moisturizing Gel-Cream or one of their moisturizers with sunscreen if you need it -- it'll work for both face & scalp.
- Once per week, before bed: a gentle exfoliant. Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant is the very best -- and a travel size will last you a while. You just squirt a little bit on a cotton pad, run it over your skin, and leave it alone.
The cleanser will clean off the oil without stripping your skin (and prompting it to produce additional oil), the moisturizer will protect your skin and keep it from getting dried out (and prompting it to produce additional oil), and an occasional gentle exfoliant will bust up stubborn gunk, clean out pores, and prevent breakouts.
posted by ourobouros at 11:21 AM on August 19 [1 favorite]
- 1-2 times per day: a gentle cleanser. CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser is great, cheap, widely available, fragrance-free and recommended by many. Use it in the shower instead of soap on your face & scalp; in the evening before bed, squirt a bit of it on a washcloth or cotton pad and run it over your scalp again, then run a damp washcloth or cotton pad over to rinse.
- Once per day, after shower: a dab of light moisturizer. Consider CeraVe Oil Control Moisturizing Gel-Cream or one of their moisturizers with sunscreen if you need it -- it'll work for both face & scalp.
- Once per week, before bed: a gentle exfoliant. Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant is the very best -- and a travel size will last you a while. You just squirt a little bit on a cotton pad, run it over your skin, and leave it alone.
The cleanser will clean off the oil without stripping your skin (and prompting it to produce additional oil), the moisturizer will protect your skin and keep it from getting dried out (and prompting it to produce additional oil), and an occasional gentle exfoliant will bust up stubborn gunk, clean out pores, and prevent breakouts.
posted by ourobouros at 11:21 AM on August 19 [1 favorite]
Carry a handkerchief or tissues, wipe your head whenever you have a chance.
Aggressive cleaning may promote oil production, so wash your dome as you wash your face. I have oily skin, extra shower time helps some.
Maybe get a cotton beanie to wear to bed? and change the pillow case daily.
posted by theora55 at 12:40 PM on August 19
Aggressive cleaning may promote oil production, so wash your dome as you wash your face. I have oily skin, extra shower time helps some.
Maybe get a cotton beanie to wear to bed? and change the pillow case daily.
posted by theora55 at 12:40 PM on August 19
You could try an antiperspirant for your head: Scalp Serum
You're also not alone in this. There are entire skincare systems designed for bald heads that describe the problem you're having.
In addition to asking here, you might look at reddit.
posted by purple_bird at 1:25 PM on August 19
You're also not alone in this. There are entire skincare systems designed for bald heads that describe the problem you're having.
In addition to asking here, you might look at reddit.
posted by purple_bird at 1:25 PM on August 19
Have you tried baby powder? Is that a thing? Husband uses Monkey Butt, but I don't see why it couldn't be used elsewhere.
posted by Enid Lareg at 2:52 PM on August 19
posted by Enid Lareg at 2:52 PM on August 19
Response by poster: I'm not sure if this adds much, but it only occurred to me after Jane the Brown suggested the weather. The change happened around the time I moved from a desert to a rather humid climate. Should have been obvious, but there was a lot of changes. Would it be safe-ish to assume that since it was better behaved in the desert that it wants to be drier?
Some other followups:
- I don't wear a hat unless I'm going to be in the sun all day.
- I do wear sunscreen unless I'm not in the sun at all that day, in that case a little of the moisturizer I use on my face, which is not particularly greasy.
posted by Ookseer at 4:05 PM on August 19
Some other followups:
- I don't wear a hat unless I'm going to be in the sun all day.
- I do wear sunscreen unless I'm not in the sun at all that day, in that case a little of the moisturizer I use on my face, which is not particularly greasy.
posted by Ookseer at 4:05 PM on August 19
The idea behind "solve excess oil with more oil" is that your head needs the oil it is producing, but your natural oil is unpleasant, and maybe if you remove it via washing and replace it with a sufficient amount of supplemental oil it will reduce the unpleasant nature of your natural oil on the scalp.
The assumption above is that your body is working correctly and you merely want to supplement and not counteract the process. Alternatively you could assume your body is doing something "wrong" and attempt to counteract what is happening to you, but this is a much harder path to walk. Essentially it's the difference between treating symptoms and treating causes. Treating a cause is always more noble, but often more difficult or even impossible, and many times not even necessary.
posted by grog at 10:57 AM on August 20
The assumption above is that your body is working correctly and you merely want to supplement and not counteract the process. Alternatively you could assume your body is doing something "wrong" and attempt to counteract what is happening to you, but this is a much harder path to walk. Essentially it's the difference between treating symptoms and treating causes. Treating a cause is always more noble, but often more difficult or even impossible, and many times not even necessary.
posted by grog at 10:57 AM on August 20
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posted by Ardnamurchan at 10:02 AM on August 19