What causes greasy hair?
Greasy hair is often caused by a combination of factors that vary from person to person. So it’s hard to say what is the cause of your greasy hair. Here are a couple of the most common reasons why your hair is getting greasy:
1. You’re shampooing wrong
Do you wash your hair every day? Do you use a lot of shampoos to make sure to get rid of all the grease? If so, your shampooing habits may actually be causing your greasy hair! Hair gets greasy when your scalp is dehydrated, causing it to compensate by producing a lot of sebum. Sebum is the oil that gives your hair that distinctive, greasy feeling. So the first thing that you need to check when determining the cause of your greasy hair is how you are treating your scalp. If you never give it a rest and shampoo it every day, it may become dry and irritated, And that’s one of the most common reasons why people get greasy hair.
2. You’re experiencing too much stress
Have you ever noticed how much your mental health impacts your physical appearance? Being stressed at work, at school or in your daily life can not only give you pimples, but also greasy hair. When you are stressed, your cortisol levels rise up. Cortisol, the so-called “stress hormone” can, unfortunately, deregulate other aspects of your health when it is present in your body in large amounts. It can even wreak havoc on your sebum production, which is why you may end up with greasy skin and hair.
3. Your hair needs a break from all the chemicals
Using harsh chemicals on your hair can strip your scalp of its natural moisture. For example, using shampoos that contain sulfates, or using soap on your scalp can be too aggressive, drawing all the moisture out of your hair. As a result, the scalp overcompensates by producing too much oil, which is why your hair gets greasy. Want beautiful, healthy hair? You’re going to have to learn to be gentle with it, using as many natural products as possible and avoiding using too many chemicals.
4. You should eat and live more healthy
Everything that you put in your body has an impact on your health and on your beauty. So eating a diet that is too rich, too full of fat and not diverse enough could actually be the cause of your greasy hair. Your body needs the right nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to be able to have a healthy and balanced sebum production. So watch your diet carefully: it could well be the cause of your greasy hair.
5. External factors
Your scalp also reacts to external factors like the weather, wind and moisture conditions. In the winter months, cold wind can be especially drying. With the cold and the wind, your scalp feels under attack. It reacts by producing excess sebum to protect itself, which eventually causes your hair to get greasy very fast. Has the weather around you been changing? If so, it may be the reason behind your greasy hair.
6. Medical reasons
Hair oil levels are in large part determined by your hormones. As you’ll remember, this is why having more stress hormones in your body can cause your hair to get greasy. Well, any hormonal imbalance can actually cause greasy hair. So if you suspect that your hormones may be out of sync, greasy hair could simply be a symptom of that.
How to solve greasy hair?
Yes, we know, there are a ton of reasons why your hair might get greasy. Fortunately, you don’t have to understand the exact reason behind your greasy hair to be able to solve your problem. Here are just a couple of the most popular and effective solutions against that common issue:
1. Choose a shampoo with salicylic acid and wash your hair with warm water
The first step to treating your greasy hair is making sure that you are shampooing properly. While your shampoo should be gentle, it should also be powerful enough to remove all the grease from your hair. Think about it: if you never fully wash the grease out, it will just keep on piling up, making your hair greasier and greasier. This is why we recommend using a shampoo that contains salicylic acid. Salicylic acid is a product that is commonly used for acne-prone skin because of its ability to instantly wash the grease away. Using warm water on your hair will also help. Warmth helps to dissolve oil particles, making them easier to wash off. So think about your current hair routine: could it be improved by using salicylic acid and warm water?
2. Control washing frequency
Washing your hair too often is one of the main reasons behind greasy hair. In order to be gentle on your hair, make sure to wash it no more often than every other day. This will leave your scalp time to rest and breathe. In the beginning, your hair might become very greasy when trying to space up shampooing sessions. But after just a few weeks, your scalp should adapt and you’ll be able to go even longer without your hair becoming greasy.
3. Massage your scalp
Massaging your scalp can promote hair circulation, which in turn can help to decrease your scalp’s sensitivity and regulate oil production. Using a brush with massage tips or simply your fingers, try to give your scalp a little massage every day. And remember: a happy scalp means no greasy hair!
4. Eat a lighter diet
One of the most effective steps you can take when trying to reduce your greasy hair is simply to eat healthier. Try to cut out meat from your diet, as well as animal sources of fat like cheese or eggs. Focus on eating more vegetables, more greens and more legumes like lentils or beans. These will give you all the nutrition you need to keep your hormones happy and regulate your scalp’s oil production. And the result? No more greasy hair!
5. Keep your hair away from the kitchen lampblack
Once you’ve put all of the above solutions in place in order to reduce your greasy hair naturally, you also need to make sure that external factors don’t make your hair more greasy. As much as possible, try to keep your head away from the kitchen lampblack, as it could provide additional stress to your scalp.
6. Soak your feet in warm water
Soaking your feet in warm water is not only extremely enjoyable but it can also avoid your hair getting greasy! Here’s why: by relaxing your feet, you are also relaxing your whole body. Feet are where you keep the most tension, so giving your feet a nice, warm bath is one of the easiest ways that you can reduce tension in the body, making you more relaxed. And as we’ve learned earlier, being stressed is one of the main reasons why people frequently get greasy hair. So if you can take 5 minutes in your day to practice some self-care by soaking your feet in warm water, you will also be keeping your stress hormones in check, and eventually keeping your hair from becoming greasy too fast.
7. Go to bed before 11 pm
To get rid of greasy hair, you need to adopt a holistic attitude toward your health habits. It’s not enough to eat well, exercise and relax enough, you must be getting enough sleep. Research shows that the hours of sleep that you get before midnight are the most restoring for your body. Studies also show that those who go to bed early experience lower levels of stress. So, in order to keep your hormones happy and your oil regulation working normally, be sure to go to be early, as it will make you a generally much healthier person!
You may think that greasy hair is just a normal part of life. But it is actually a common problem that you can solve easily once you understand its causes. We hope that this article has helped you to understand why your hair gets greasy, and what you can do about it. Remember: be gentle, be as healthy as you can and try to keep your scalp happy. By following these simple principles, you will be able to get rid of your greasy hair in no time!
