Beauty

[FLsunlover]

I've tried washing my hair less to normalize my oily scalp but it didn't work for me. I tried using dry shampoos, but they just irritated my scalp.

[KJPA]

Have you tried oil treatments? Many swear by them. Oil cleansing for the face, conditioner cleansing for hair, etc. have all become popular and claim to reduce your body's need to produce more oil. You have to give them some time to be effective though.

I use Wen cleansing conditioners and oils and think they are great but I don't have an oily scalp problem so I can't say from personal experience if they will help you. But others in the Wen forum say they have helped their oily scalps.

And you can try using Argon Oil, coconut oil, olive oil, etc. if you don't want to try the Wen oils first. I'm sure some others can give more advice on those since I haven't tried them. I think the premise is that since they soothe your skin/scalp your body doesn't feel the need to produce more oil and eventually that all calms down.

Of course I would recommend you read the Wen forum and try Wen

[KJPA]

Forgot to add that Wen supposedly doesn't strip color from your hair. That's a big selling point.

[sun8shine]

This is going to sound silly but have you tried brushing your hair? This distributes the oil from the scalp down the hair shaft.

Paul Frieda and Pantene both have shampoos with a trace color - you can try to use them for Brunettes. Or try just take a shower and rinse your hair but don't wash. It is summer - you are probably sweaty and feeling more oily.

[myshell624]

I wash every other day but I do condition with a light conditioner on my off days.

[Nightowlz]

No. I started washing my hair every other day unless I'm going some place. I won't leave the house unless my hair is washed. I just did not see any reason to wash every day anymore since I have not worked for years. I wash my hair & the next day it's fine but by the next day later in the day my scalp is oily again & can't wait to wash it. My hair is dry but my scalp is oily.

[aprilskies]

On 7/16/2014 Harpa said:

It is hard to convert from daily washing to every other day, as I made that transition some time ago, primarily because I wanted to prevent dry hair. It may seem like it extends color, but I don't use anything that really strips it, and of course, there is always the new growth.

Aloe vera gel will freshen things up on the day you don't wash. And my new love is horsetail extract. I'll gently massage that in, even throw in a drop of oil, sometimes hitting it w/ the blow dryer, and then I steam set w/ Caruso (if I want more oomph).

Something about the horsetail that really makes hair feel great...substantial (though I don't have thinning hair), but still prevents breakage.

Horsetail extract - what is that? Is it really from real horse tail?

Unfortunately, I have to wash everyday. I can't leave the house without washing. Some of my friends though just use some powder to rub in and it seems to work for them.

[AspenGrove]

You might want to ask an MD about that, instead of just believing a hair stylist. My own dermatologist told me a funny story once about when she was having her hair cut at a local salon. She listened as a stylist was telling her client a whole bunch of ridiculous myths about hair care -- one of them being what yours told you. My derm said she stayed silent for awhile, but finally felt she had to correct the stylist. So, she pulled her aside privately and told her that everything she had told her client was not true and explained why. The stylist was stunned, because she had been taught the myths in her own training, but was really appreciative to finally know the truth.

According to physicians, by the way, including mine, this is the truth -- (copied from an Oprah magazine article reprinted on CNN about the biggest hair myths:

If you shampoo less often, your scalp will gradually produce less oil.

No matter how frequently you shampoo, your scalp produces the same amount of oil, says Jeffrey Benabio, MD, a dermatologist at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego. Cutting back on shampooing will have no effect on your sebaceous glands; genetics and hormones determine the amount of oil they produce. But it will cause dirt and oil to accumulate on your scalp and hair follicles, and could cause inflammation and irritation that might stunt hair growth.

All experts agree: How often you wash your hair is a personal decision. Use your judgment. Wash your hair with a moisturizing shampoo when you feel you need it, whether that's daily or weekly.

[Nightowlz]

On 7/16/2014 kcladyz said:

how about washing daily but every other day use a cowash or cleansing conditioner?

I saw some CoWash's at Sally Beauty last time I was there. I almost bought one but passed it up. Are you supposed to use those in place of shampooing or before or after??? I was going to ask when I was there but they were super busy. I was looking at the Eden Coconut Shea CoWash. I liked the ingredient list which is Water, Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera), Butryospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil.

[dionline]

I used to have to wash my hair on an every-other-day basis but once I started coloring my hair, I didn't want my red to go down the drain. I gradually stretched out the washes to twice a week now. I have no problem going from Sunday night to Wednesday night (when I do wash my hair) but going from Wednesday night to Sunday night has that extra day when my hair feels dirty. DH assures me it doesn't look dirty at all but luckily we don't do a whole lot on Sundays so I'm just around the house anyway.

Now I just need to touch up my roots most often without having to spread the color down the hair shaft which is better for my hair.

Great question OP!