Struggling with oily hair? Have you noticed your scalp gets greasy after just one day and your hair looks unkempt? Say no more, you're definitely not the only one who deals with oily hair quickly. Luckily, you can prevent it by experimenting a little with different tips. Discover them below!
How does oily hair happen?
To understand how you can prevent oily hair, it's important to first understand how and why you deal with it so often. The main cause of oily hair is usually an oily scalp.
Our scalp naturally produces an oil called sebum to protect and hydrate the hair. Thank you mother nature! Sebum plays an essential role in keeping hair and scalp healthy.
You can probably guess: sometimes our scalp produces too much sebum. That results in an oily scalp and, eventually, oily hair a few days after washing.
Why does my scalp get oily so quickly?
You wash your hair too often
An oily scalp is the result of several things. One of the main causes is washing your hair too often. By washing your hair too often, you not only remove dirt and excess sebum, you also stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce more sebum to make up for the shortfall. This leads to a vicious circle in which your hair gets oily faster and faster.
Preventing oily hair therefore starts with washing your hair less often. Need inspiration for when you want to wait one more day before washing your oily hair? 👇🏽
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You use a shampoo with SLS
That effect is amplified even more if you use shampoos that contain harsh cleansers, such as SLS. SLS is a powerful cleanser that is often used in shampoos to make them foam.
However, this cleanser removes all the natural oils from the scalp, causing the sebaceous glands to overproduce sebum in response to that drying sensation. That results in an oily scalp and faster oily hair.
Want to know more about SLS and other sulphates? Read our blog here.
Other reasons for oily hair
In addition, genetic predisposition, hormonal changes, stress and an unhealthy diet can also contribute to how oily your hair gets. It's important to remember that everyone is different: what works for one person may not work for you. You can experiment a little to find the right solution for your hair with the tips below.
Preventing oily hair: 5 handy tips
Enough theory, time to experiment! With these 5 tips you'll “train” your hair to get oily less quickly and make your scalp healthier.
1. Wash your hair less often
As tempting as it is: try not to wash your hair every day! Wash it at least every other day or every two days. That way you give the sebaceous glands time to restore and regulate the natural oils. After a while you'll be able to leave slightly more days between washes.
2. Use a mild shampoo without SLS
Choose a mild shampoo specially developed for oily hair. These shampoos cleanse the hair thoroughly without stimulating the scalp too much to produce more sebum. Definitely avoid shampoos that contain harsh sulphates!
Preventing oily hair has never been so easy: our Ocean Breeze shampoo bar is specially developed to cleanse the scalp without drying out the hair. Try it out!
Prefer something liquid? Then try the You’re so Peachy shampoo from our WONDR Liquids range. Your hair will feel light, fresh and soft!
3. Wash your hair with lukewarm water
Do you also regularly enjoy a lovely hot shower? Your hair and scalp are less of a fan… Hot water can stimulate the sebaceous glands and increase sebum production. So wash your hair with lukewarm or cold water.
4. Exfoliate your scalp regularly
Exfoliating your scalp is an effective way to prevent oily hair. By regularly removing the dead skin cells and product residue from your scalp, the chance of an oily scalp is greatly reduced.
A handy tool for this is a scalp brush, also called a scalp massager. These silicone brushes, specially designed for the scalp, have soft, flexible bristles that you can gently massage over your scalp.
Want to know more? Read our blog about the scalp brush here!
The massage stimulates blood circulation, removes built-up sebum and promotes healthy sebum production! A scalp massager combined with a mild shampoo can therefore work wonders against oily hair.
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5. Touch your hair as little as possible
Touching your hair during the day can cause you to transfer the natural oils from your hands to your hair , making your hair oily faster. Try not to touch your hair too much and avoid brushing or combing your hair too often .
But combing your hair is good, right!? Indeed, but if you brush your hair too often and too intensively, you stimulate the sebaceous glands on your scalp so they produce more sebum. This results in an oilier scalp and eventually oily hair. So try to comb your hair a few times a day at most and use a brush with natural bristles that glide gently over the scalp.
Bye bye oily hair!
Oily hair can be an annoying problem , but with the right care and attention you can keep it under control. By washing your hair less often and using mild products , you can already get a long way.
Experiment with different tips and find out what works best for your hair type. With patience and consistency, you can enjoy healthier, shinier hair!