hair emergency!

June 30, 2006 12:10 PM

Why is my hair suddenly greasy all the time, and what can I do about it?

I have medium-length wavy/straight hair that's usually relatively nice and shiny, but recently it's started to become limp, greasy and coarse-textured within a couple hours of washing it, and often frizzy at the same time. I haven't changed shampoo (I use a clarifying shampoo usually) or how often I wash it (every 1-2 days), and I still have dry skin, so I don't know what's going on. Any ideas?

posted by transona5 to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (12 answers total)

Try changing your shampoo. I find my hair seems to get "immune" to a shampoo if I use it for a long time.
posted by chiababe at 12:13 PM on June 30, 2006

Response by poster: I did try switching to a different kind I had lying around a few times, but it didn't seem to make a difference.
posted by transona5 at 12:14 PM on June 30, 2006

Is it super humid where you are? I noticed the other day with high humidity that my hair seemed weirdly greasy yet frizzy at the same time, as well.
posted by jdl at 12:22 PM on June 30, 2006

Response by poster: Yeah, kind of. I'm in Michigan, and we've had a lot of rain lately.
posted by transona5 at 12:24 PM on June 30, 2006

It can be related to diet and stress levels. If none of these factors have changed, I would suggest applying a detangler post-shower, and drying it with a cool/warm air ionizer. Detanglers tend to give the hair a little body and much needed nutrients. Some brands I've used in the past and currently include Bumble and Bumble and ABBA.

On preview, or it could be as simply as what jdl suggests.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 12:24 PM on June 30, 2006

If it is caused by build-up, use baking soda. If it is just oily, use white vinegar. Works wonders.
posted by necessitas at 12:33 PM on June 30, 2006

This stuff is a little pricey but it is unusually strong. Obviously something has changed and it probably isn't the weather, I'd take a look at your diet.
posted by 517 at 2:15 PM on June 30, 2006

Try washing less often. When you wash your hair, your scalp responds by producing more oil to replace the oil you just stripped off with the soap; sometimes it'll get out of balance and overproduce.
posted by beerbajay at 2:40 PM on June 30, 2006

When my hair gets like that, I just wash the roots every day and then wash it all with a good conditioner twice a week. It helps the length not get frizzy while getting rid of the oil by the scalp. Its a humidity thing for me.
posted by stormygrey at 7:34 PM on June 30, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions, all. I'm not going to mark a best answer because I'm not sure which one will work best for me, and that one might not work for someone else, but I'll definitely try some of these.
posted by transona5 at 8:01 AM on July 1, 2006

also maybe try a gentler shampoo than clarifying. It strips your hair of oils, like beerbajay said, even more than regular shampoo. thus your scalp tries to balance it out with even more oil.
posted by chelseagirl at 9:38 AM on July 1, 2006

Response by poster: If anyone's still reading this, the Neutrogena residue-removing shampoo did wonders, and leave-in conditioner helped too.
posted by transona5 at 3:27 PM on July 17, 2006