gREASY HAIR What to Do!!!

Try doing away with the conditioner, use a daily clarifying shampoo & for the tangles a few spritzes of kiz detangler, blow drying will help as well....good luck!!!A.

I would use baby powder :) My mom has been a beautician for over 40 years. It will help dry up the oils and make her hair smell good :) I have dry dry, I would love to have some oil to make my hair shiny LOL.

My daughter is 9 and has very oily hair. After many products I found out about T-Gel shampoo. It is used for really bad dandruff but it was a God send for her hair. She has long hair and we use conditioner as well but I pull the hair back like your going to put it in a ponytail and put the conditioner from there to the ends nowhere near the scalp. Hope this helps.

Hi K.,

My daughter has the same problem and we tried several shampoos but the one that works best is the Naturals Shampoo from Melaleuca. The melaleuca oil it contains is a non-caustic solvent that breaks down the oils but is very gentle to the scalp. (Oil is a misnomer because it is not oily) If you go to the health store to get tea tree (common name) oil shampoo there will probably not be enough oil in it to make a difference and most oils can be caustic and are not as pure but you can ask the clerks there. They may be able to help. If you'd like more info on Lydia's shampoo, let me know. Shes 14 now and is very much into her hair being perfect!

Regards,

M.

My brother and I have had this issue since we were very small. We are in our 30's now and I still have to wash my hair every day, as does my brother. And by the end of the day, it's dirty again. I did notice that when I was visiting Arizona, my hair was much less greasy so it may be the humidity here that causes it. Unfortunately I don't have any advice for you except to tell you that maybe you should google home remedies and see what might help. You aren't alone!!

I have this problem as an adult...started as a kid. I have baby fine hair and I have to wash my hair every day, some times 2 times because at the end of the day it gets really greasy. I had very blonde hair as a kiddo and around middle school it got considerably darker. I am dark now, but I notice that when I get my hair dyed or highlighted it really makes a difference w/ texture and dryness. I am not sure if you want to go that route but maybe a few highlights in the front especially where she touches it or pulls behind her ears? And as for the tangles I always get a bob style cut to my shoulders and round brush it w/ the dryer and it's not so bad. I don't like to wear my hair up at all,and believe it or not I just started using a flat iron (I have pin straight hair) and it really seals in the frizzy hairs I get from breakage b/c my hair is so fine, it looks very smooth. Hope this helps your daughter

She might have to shampoo every day. Have you tried cornstarch or baby powder sprinkled at the roots on non-wash days? I have really dry hair so I can't rec a specific product but I'd think there are oil-control products out there marketed to teens...and I would skip conditioner completely (if she uses O.)!

If she has really oily hair, I would tell her to use only a tiny bit of conditioner only on the ends of her hair and not on the roots at all. She can try shampooing twice, or mix a little baking soda with her shampoo in her hand, then rinse and use a tiny bit if conditioner. Baking soda strips everything out of your hair like oil and buildup and chlorine. It's not good to do often, but once in a while seems helpful. Also look for a shampoo that is labeled "clarifying." Good luck!

I had greasy hair too when I was younger. I wasn't able to use conditioner. I found that Pert Plus for oily hair worked best (it might say for thin hair now, but it's Pert Plus Light). I actually still use it today. Back when I was still in school, I did have to wash my hair everyday and by the end of the day, my hair was greasy looking again, but at least it looked ok during the day at school :) Good Luck!

My daughter has this very same issue & she is 18. A few years ago we heard about using baking soda in the shampoo. Wash the hair once a week with this mix & my daughter has no more problems.

Hi K.! Boy, I can remember this happening to me with puberty, lol! I switched and switched shampoos like there was no tomorrow and nothing worked. FINALLY, I decided to give my favorite face wash brand a try. They came out with this stuff called Neutrogina T-Gel Shampoo around the same time. It's like they heard my cry for help. I'm a die hard fan of Neutrogina face care products so why not? When I first started using it, I had to use it about every day to every other day. It began to regulate my oily mess and it came down to using it every Sunday. It reads on the box that it is for things like dandruff, which was not my problem at all, but also helped control oil. It's like it strips away build up from yourh air. Since it dries it out pretty well, I also recommend a very gentle conditioner to help ease the tangles. Don't use a spray in or leave in as it puts the oil right back in. Try Suave, it's very light and "thin." A good way to help with tangles is it actually comb the hair in shower with the conditioner is still in it, then make sure it is rinsed all the way out. Hope that helps.

Personally, I have the opposite problem - super dry hair. But, my sister grew up with hair exactly as you described your daughters'. Being 5 years older, I would often try to "fix" it for her over the years. First of all I can recommend a few cosmetic fixes. First, until she gets her hair sorted (which may take some time) she shouldn't just wear it down around her face. That will accentuate the stringiness and greasiness. For now at least, she should pull up the very front section. Not too much - just enough to create a little bump there and pin it with bobby-pins. This will disguise what is going on at the roots where the issue is probably the worst. Now other than that I REALLY recommend that you go to sephora.com and look at their dry shampoos. I believe your daughter doesn't need to replace shampooing with these products - she needs to add it into her routine. If she is already shampooing daily and she still gets greasy, then maybe midday she could use the dry shampoo. It is really easy to learn to use and will be especially valuable to her when she enters the cruel world of middle school. She can keep it in her backpack. Basically it is a powder that disappears into the hair (after it is worked into the scalp and hair) that absorbs the oil. No water needed, so no mess and it can be done quickly. Now, on to the other issue. I'm not knocking Head and Shoulders, but let's be honest - it's not exactly worthy of a doctors prescription is it? Especially for your daughter, because it is not working. So, I would suggest one of two things... First you can hit sephora.com again and read up on oily hair shampoo until you find one you want to try (read all the reviews!). Or, go to aveda.com to either find a local aveda concept salon to go in and get a recommendation for a shampoo for your daughter or you can just order right off the site. I won't lie, they can be pretty expensive, but they are all-natural and an excellent Earth friendly company who really has excellent products (it's what I use). Your daughter wouldn't need much product each use, especially if she were the only one using it, it would last a while. And, another plus to going into the salon is getting the professional advice. You don't have to have an appointment for that. Just ask whoever is free to help you find the appropriate product for your daughter.

After all those years of working with my sisters hair (I still fix it for special occasions!) I have more ideas, but I think I've given you plenty for now. :D Have fun and good luck.

I remember having trouble with my hair when I was probably about the same age. My mom had me wash my hair with Joy dish soap a few times, and I think it did the trick!

I have mildly greasy hair as well and can vouch for those who said their hair was better when out in Arizona. I had the best 3 hair days of my life when we had a long weekend in Vegas one year. LOL The lower humidity definitely helps.

Another thing that helps my hair is getting it colored. I know some people would not want to process hair on a tween, but it really balances my hair for me and removes the greasiness for at least a couple months after getting it colored. You could have her hair colored the same color as her natural color so that you aren't glamorizing her, just benefiting from the chemical processing.

Hello, I am hairstylist with 10 years experience! I would, definately wash her hair everyday with a tea tree shampoo such as Bumble and Bumble's Tonic shampoo. Also, if your daughter has light brown to blond hair baby pwder with cornstarch is great for soaking up oil. Just section her hair and lightly sprinkle in the baby powder, gently shake the powder in to her scalp with you finger tips, kinda like your fluffing her hair...Careful with how much you use make sure you sprinkle very lightly!! Hope this helps!

Dry shampoo for between washes, you can get it at Sally's.

I know this sounds counter to the problem, but she could be washing it too much. I knew someone in highschool with superfine, greasy hair. It started getting greasier with puberty, then she started washing it a lot to combat it. That made it worse. Your body reacts to over-washing by trying to re-moisturize itself. The more you wash, the more it will try to replenish what you are washing away. It may be irritating, but the best thing to do is wash hair only every other day. Eventually her body will readjust and start producing only the oil she needs. Also, stop the conditioner until it does get back to normal. Use just a bit mixed with water and spritz it on where the tangles are. Also, if she only brushes her hair when necessary that will help. Don't brush it more then just to style it. Brushing also causes the scalp to release oil.

I have not tried this personally, as I have not had this problem to the extent you describe. But I have read that OVER shampooing can cause the scalp to produce more oil. So in essence, the more you shampoo the oilier the hair will get, faster. That the "treatment" is to shampoo less often.. so the hair follicles will produce less oil.
It's just something I read that is different from your other responses... take it or leave it...

I'm a little late on this but my friend has very greasy hair and she swears Pert Plus. You would never know how greasy her hair is. She has to wash her hair every day whereas I can get away with every other day. That shampoo would dry my hair out but if your hair is greasy it would work. It's worth a shot. Stay away from "conditioning" and "moisturizing" shampoos. Hope it helps.