It has only been one day since you last shampooed and restyled your hair from start to finish and your style is already falling flat due to the oil that has suddenly appeared over one night's sleep. You try everything from ACV DIY’s to clarifying shampoo’s, you may have even found yourself falling for an infinite scroll to find another solution to a very real problem.
What is hair oil?
Oily hair is characterized as a high sebum (oil) production that secretes from each hair follicle in excess and rests along the scalp affecting the hair closest to the scalp. This results in hair taking on more weight and therefore flattens the appearance of your hair style. Oily hair may also be linked to acne and may contribute to unhealthy scalp conditions that would lead to dandruff or other scalp irregularities like hair growth cycle.
What causes oily hair?
Overactive sebum production can be caused by a few factors which include hormones, diet, lifestyle, products and habits like over cleansing – using a clarifying shampoo or physical exfoliant too frequently. While hormones, diet and lifestyle become a personal exploration between you and your dermatologist and or physician it is important to consider when all else has failed.
How to manage oily hair?
A good way to manage oily hair while you are working to rebalance your sebum production would be to cycle your shampoo and conditioner. Ensure that you add a scalp balancing clarifying shampoo like Goldie Locks® Clarifying Shampoo that will not over dry your hair but provide a deeper cleanse and scalp reset at least twice a month.
Another way to manage oily hair is to brush your hair daily. Allow your natural nutrient rich oil to meet the ends of your hair. Those with longer hair know how long it's been since they received a dose of their natural oil. Brushing this from the scalp through ends will be a strand delight.
The importance of scalp and hair oil
While excessive production of oil is a nuisance and can create scalp and hair growth related disruptions, it is a very important role of the scalp. When your oil production is balanced it ensures that your new hair growth is lubricated with hair health essential lipids that directly affect your hair’s overall health and vitality. In addition to that, it feeds your scalp microbiome the necessary nutrients from your body to keep the microbes working properly to maintain a healthy and thriving scalp environment.
Another importance of your scalp oil is the protective benefits it brings from ensuring your scalp stays hydrated and maintains a UV protecting barrier.
How to prevent oily hair
Preventing oily hair can be controlled if the cause is not an underlying condition, simply by adjusting your shower routine, frequency and the types of shampoo you use. Ensure that the products you are using for your hair don’t end up on your scalp if they weren’t intended for it and don’t skip on the cleanliness. Other ways to prevent oil hair are
Don’t over cleanse
Ensure that you are not shampooing too frequently. Your body has a cadence in how much and how frequently it needs to create this scalp protecting oil. Each time you shampoo it away it starts over. If you wash every day your body thinks it needs to produce more oil, more frequently to make up for the loss.
Apply products correctly
Scalp and hair products are formulated to be generally interchangeable so there are not significant consequences of overlapping a topical product from hair to skin of the scalp but there are those that are prone to be sensitive. In this case, hair products may cause some oil producing reactions to protect your scalp from an unfriendly ingredient or formulation.
Don’t avoid shampoo
Another misleading concept would be that skipping your shampoo a few times over would train your oil production to produce less. This is false, your oil will continue to produce, while at a different rate because that is the interconnectedness of our hair follicles. You may negatively affect your hair growth cycle and scalp microbiome in the process.
Do not overuse dry shampoo
We live in a dry shampoo world and in our world these products are delivering their promise to extend the life of our hair styles by absorbing oils however, we need to be mindful of the ingredients having direct contact with our scalp. If we are constantly absorbing oil needed to keep our hair and scalp in harmony, we might as well be shampooing everyday because we are seeing a similar end result of an overactive sebum production. Be mindful that dry shampoo should be used to extend the life of a style by a day or two but not a week or two.
Benefits to managing oily hair
There are many benefits that come from resetting your scalp oil production, which is that you are not prone to developing the type of dandruff caused by an unbalanced microbiome. When you have plenty of oil filled food along your scalp, microorganisms eat, when things eat, they pass. Some dandruff is a visual of what microorganisms are leaving behind.
In addition to scalp irritation and an unpleasant odor that may develop caused by oily hair, excessive oil with presence of DHT may inhibit hair follicles from regenerating and growing properly which could lead to premature hair loss.
Product recommendations
Clarifying Shampoo
