Effective Treatment For Oily Scalp, Causes & Best Products

Our biggest beauty beef? Greasy hair and an oily scalp. And it doesn’t get any easier with the heat waves in summer. If you’re waking up to greasy strands and an oily scalp every morning, it can be frustrating. Hate having to wash your hair every morning before work, or have to douse it in dry shampoo every time you work out? While having hair that is prone to getting oily is related to genetics, lifestyle, hormonal imbalances, and what you consume, your haircare routine and techniques can help considerably to keep an oily scalp and greasy hair under control.

Look before you leap, while an oily scalp can be temporarily concealed with slick-back hairstyles, it’s not an everyday look. Although there are plenty of causes for an oily scalp, one of the major contributors in the summers is certainly sweat. What’s more, sun accessories, such as sun hats, caps, bandanas etc may add to the burden that is an oily scalp in the summer. Meanwhile, the sebum production that occurs in the hair follicles is controlled by the body’s sebaceous glands. These glands can become overactive in warmer climates and produce more sebum. And so, it’s important that we provide extra care to those locks during the summers.

For some, a cure for oily scalp seems next to impossible, but in reality, it isn’t. A scalp treatment for oily and greasy scalp is easy and doable. You first need to first truly understand the nature of your scalp and the causes before treating it. Once you get to the root of it (pun intended), there’s no way you can’t treat it. But, before that, let’s see what qualifies as an oily scalp.

What Is An Oily Scalp

An oily scalp occurs when the oil and sebaceous glands produce excess amounts of, well, oil and sebum. Although these two are essential to keep the scalp and hair follicles moisturised, an excessive amount can lead to greasiness and itchiness. Prolonged oiliness or greasiness can cause dirt, dust, and other impurities to settle on the scalp and cause discomfort and even hair loss. It is ideal to understand the causes of an oily scalp to tackle the situation before it gets worse.

Why Does The Scalp Get Oily?

There are several reasons why the scalp can get oily, these reasons range from natural reasons such as hormones, genetics, environmental stressors, and stress to man-made reasons such as overwashing, wrong hair care products, and diet. Your oily hair may be caused due to one of these reasons or all of these reasons, so let’s take a look at these factors in detail to prevent oily hair in the future.

Causes Of Oily Scalp

Before we get into the treatment for an oily scalp, let’s look at the causes in detail.

1. Genetics:Some people are born with a scalp that produces a lot of excess sebum causing them to constantly have oily and greasy skin and scalp. There is rarely ever a solution to the genetic makeup of a person and regularly washing it with the right products is how you can keep the oiliness under control.

2. Hormonal Changes:With age, especially women, go through several stages of hormonal changes, from menstruation to menopause, their physical chemistry undergoes a lot of change, and one of them is an oily scalp. With supplements, the right diet, exercise, and potent ingredients can help you curb this issue.

3. Overwashing:If you wash your hair every day to avoid an oily scalp, you are doing a disservice to your hair and scalp. Overwashing can strip your hair of its natural oil and moisture causing the sebaceous glands to produce more in order to supplement the loss. This causes your scalp to constantly produce oil weakening the hair follicles and barrier.

4. Hair Care Products: When you use products that are oil-based or simply unsuitable for your scalp, you can experience problems you may not have had before. Especially when you apply products meant for your hair shaft on your scalp, like conditioners and smoothening serums that are heavy on emollients.

5. Diet: Heavily fried, sugary, and carbonated drinks are not only bad for your gut health but also your hair. They can trigger excessive oil production on your skin and scalp.

6. Stress: Elevated stress and tension can lead to hormonal imbalance which in turn can lead to hair loss and an oily scalp.

Signs That You Have An Oily Scalp

Before you look for a treatment for a greasy scalp, you need to also look for the signs. Sometimes our scalps may appear oily, but it may not be an indication of an oily scalp.

1. Greasy Appearance:

   If your hair starts appearing greasy the day after you wash it, the hair strands start limping, and weighing down, and the scalp feels heavy, then you may have an oily scalp. The oily scalp also lacks volume and bounce since the hair is always worn down with oil.

2. Persistent Need To Wash Hair:

   With excess sebum and oil on the scalp, we tend to attract dirt, dust, and dead skin cells, which makes us want to wash our hair every other day. This is a sign of an oily scalp.

3. Constant Itchiness:

   Since an oily scalp attracts dirt, dust, and other impurities, it makes your hair and scalp feel uncomfortable and itchy. If you constantly have the urge to scratch your head then there are chances you have an oily scalp.

4. Unpleasant Odour:

   An oily scalp attracts dirt and sweat, we know that, but this also means bacteria and unclean particles infesting that leads to an unpleasant odour from your scalp.

5. No Volume:

   Oily hair weighs the hair down causing it to lie flat with no movement, volume, or bounce to it.

6. Dandruff:

   Even though dandruff is mostly a dry scalp problem, an oily scalp can also cause dandruff and a yellow flaky scalp.

Ways To Get Rid Of Oily Scalp

Alright then, now that we know the causes, let’s move on to the quick fixes.

Here are a few ways you can keep the grease at bay this summer

Use the right shampoo and conditioner

The lather you work up with your shampoo or any other soapy product is all thanks to sulphates. Overshampoo your hair, and you’ll wash off all the necessary sebum. This prompts your scalp to produce excess sebum to make up for what’s lost, in turn making your scalp and hair greasy. Sulphate-free shampoos work well to gently cleanse your scalp of the excess grease, leaving behind essential oils necessary to maintain the strength of your hair. Although, in hotter, humid climates, hair tends to get more greasy. This means you might need to alternate between a moisturising shampoo and a clarifying shampoo to remove excessive build-up. While opting for the right shampoo is a key step to treating an oily scalp during the summer; choosing a lightweight conditioner is equally important to prevent your hair from weighing down.

Don’t stick to the same hairstyle

Just like you can try alternating between shampoos and conditioners for different hair days, styling your hair in different ways can also help prolong your next hair wash. Touching your hair too often when it’s open, tends to create friction and cause grease. Switch to braids, updos and ponytails on days leading up to your hair wash. This is also a great hack to hide the grease. This way you are working with the grease, which makes it easier to hold updos, making for a great sleek bun.

Dry Shampoo to the rescue

You had a fabulous blowout yesterday and you’d love to extend it another day? Enter, dry shampoos. It’s an in-between fix for oily scalp, designed to soak up excess oil and sweat on the scalp. Dry shampoos help freshen up and add volume on days you just cannot go through the hassle of a hair wash. But (the big but), it shouldn’t be an alternative for shampoos because if used too much it can cause build-up.

Check your vitamin levels

Studies show that those with Vitamin B2 and B6 deficiencies have greasier scalps and oilier skin. Furthermore, zinc limits DHT production, which slows down the oil production in the sebaceous glands to inhibit excessively oily scalps. So, if your scalp has been greasier than usual, chances are that your vitamin levels are out of balance.

Parting Thoughts

Treating your oily hair is not a mammoth task if you put in the right amount of care and the ideal products. Understand your scalp type and the causes before you start any treatment for oily scalp. Most of the time, it’s the simplest of the reasons such as the wrong product or even your diet. A cure for your oily scalp awaits you.

FAQs

1. What are the causes of an oily scalp?

   Overwashing, diet, hormones, lifestyle, genetics, wrong products, and environmental stressors are all causes of an oily scalp.

2. What are the signs of an oily scalp?

   If your hair weighs down all the time, your hair and scalp look shiny, your hair has an unpleasant odour, and you constantly have the urge to wash your hair are all signs of an oily scalp.

3. What are some oily scalp remedies?

   Treatment for oily scalp includes improving your diet, avoiding overwashing your hair, using dry shampoo when greasiness increases, and using an oil control shampoo.

4. What are some shampoos for an oily scalp?

   Here are some shampoos that are a treatment for greasy scalp

   • Bare Anatomy Anti Dandruff Shampoo Salicylic Acid Shampoo
   • L’Oréal Professionnel Scalp Advanced Anti-Oiliness Dermo-Purifier Shampoo
   • Sebamed Anti-Dandruff Shampoo, PH 5.5. Oily Hair & Dandruff Prone Scalp
   • Kerastase Specifique Divalent Balancing Shampoo For Oily Scalp & Dry Ends
   • Naturali Dandruff Defence Shampoo

5. What are some serums for an oily scalp?

   Here are serums to cure your oily scalp

   • ALFAPARF MILANO Scalp Relief Calming Tonic Serum
   • Indulgeo Essentials Scalp Serum For Hair Growth
   • d'you Hustle Multi Active Serum