What are the main causes for oily hair? Why do some people deal with this problem – while others don’t?
To be honest – greasiness is probably the #1 problem when it comes to hair.
So – is there any cure for oily hair? Or you will just have to fight with it for the rest of your life? Let’s take a close look at all the facts about greasy hair.
What Oily Hair Means
The thing is – not everyone with thin locks has greasy hair. Just like not everyone with curls has dry hair.
So here’s when you can call your hair “really greasy”:
- your roots are full of oil next day after you washed it
- you usually wash your hair everyday (out of necessity)
- the hair has very little volume at the roots
- it also looks constantly dirty and messy
Now – you might recognize yourself in one or several of these points. But it could be because of a new shampoo, a hormonal problem or simply stress.
So if your hair is getting oily for a recent period – it’s probably going to go away on its own. Just like it started, actually.
But if you’ve had these problems for as long as you remember – then your hair is probably oily for real.
So let’s take a look at the main causes.
#1. The Genetic Cause
Though it sounds hard to believe, genetics play a big role even into your hair texture.
So here’s what I want you to do:
- Analyze your close relatives: parents, grandparents, even aunts/uncles.
- Does any of the have similar hair to yours (straight, curly, etc.)?
- If yes, is it also oily – just like yours?
- Also, do your siblings have the same problem?
If you have at least 1 person in your family dealing with the same problem – the cause behind your oily hair might be closer than you think.
And unfortunately, in this case there isn’t much you can do.
Certain products can help – but the texture of your hair isn’t going to change.
So hopefully, genetics isn’t the cause behind your greasy hair – because if it is, there isn’t much I can do to help you.
#2. The Medical Cause
Your hair might have always been greasy for a reason – you could have a minor health problem that no one noticed.
Or it could be because of a treatment you’re following. Here’s what I mean:
- hormonal imbalances
- seborrheic dermatitis
- taking birth control pills
- vitamin B deficiency
- you’ve being over stressed
Now – I’m not going to take each of these problems/treatments separately.
But there’s one thing to keep in mind – all of them can produce extra sebum. It’s just that not to everyone.
So in case you think it’s one of them causing your oily hair – you should investigate further on.
The Solutions You Have
Now – I don’t plan to cover the remedies for oily hair in this article. So I will only mention them briefly, without getting into any details.
Basically, here’s what you can do:
- Treat the medical problem behind
- Stop the treatment – if this is causing the greasiness
- Try a special mask for oily hair
- Use baby powder to absorb the extra oil
- Use special products for very greasy hair
As I said – I focus on the remedies in another article. This one was mostly for the causes, so I won’t insist on the possible treatments.
Now I would like to hear from you:
- Do you have anyone with greasy hair in your family?
- How fast does your hair get oily?
- Have you found the right product or treatment?
I’m waiting for your answers and suggestions in the comment section from below.
I used to have this problem when I was younger and as you say the natural reaction is to wash your hair more often – although this actually makes it worse as it activates the oil in your scalp causing it to produce more. So, I was advised to only wash my hair once a week. At first this was of course disgusting as my hair was so greasy, however I kept with it and my hair became less and less greasy as time went by. Now I can get away with washing my hair once a week and my hair will not be greasy until maybe the fifth day (and then I just use Baptiste which is brilliant dry shampoo to freshen it up). Problem solved 🙂
Hi Holly, this is great news! So this thing with washing your hair more rarely works actually. I’ve never experienced it, since my hair doesn’t get too greasy. But it makes sense.
Thanks for letting me know your experience, I will surely be recommending your strategy to people from now on. Washing your hair more rarely can help reduce the oiliness.
I think the best solution is not to wash it often and let the balance restore. The oil will correct itself in time if you let nature takes its course.
However, that’s not easy to do when you have to go to work with greasy hair all week haha.
I still wash mine every other day.
Hi Amanda. On paper, your solution seems great – but it’s pretty hard to apply it. As you said, you would have to stay a pretty long while with greasy hair, which many people don’t want to. Plus, it also depends what’s causing your oily hair.
If it’s always been oily, I doubt it would help too much. But if your hair became oily due to over washing – I do agree that it’s the best solution on the long term.
Hi, do you think it’s good to wash your oily hair pretty often or not? Because there are different theories.
Hi Johnson, I think it depends a lot. There are many people who recommend washing your hair more rarely in this case – I also received some comments who said this.
Now – I do agree with this strategy in some cases. If your hair used to be normal and recently it got greasier – then washing it more rarely should help. But only after a couple of weeks of changing your washing routine – so it’s not that simple.
On the other hand – if you hair has always been oily or if you have any medical problem that is making it greasy, then I doubt washing has a lot to do with it. So in this case, I suggest washing it as often as you want – it’s still not going to change much.
Also, if you have normal hair (it gets greasy after 2-3 days) – I recommend washing 2 times per week. That’s the best choice overall, that’s what I think.
Hope it helps.