I know the idea of applying oil to oily skin seems totally counterintuitive — especially if, your skin is capable of producing enough oil for yourself plus three others. But, using oil-based facial products can actually help prevent the skin from producing excessive oil. This is because oil is produced in an effort to regulate the skin when the oil-water content is out of balance. If you're trying to combat congested oily skin by using harsh, stripping products that remove your skin's natural oils, your body will actually overcompensate for the reduction of oils by producing even more oil!
Which further aggravates the sebaceous glands activity, clogging pores and causing breakouts. Which means, by applying oil to skin instead of trying to remove what's already there, sebaceous glands shouldn't feel the need to kick into overdrive, and skin will stay balanced.
OILY HAIR. There are so many and such varied factors that can cause oily hair that we will need to take this one by one. So, let’s get started!
WHAT CAUSES OILY HAIR. 1. Your natural hair type: Your natural hair type can determine how oily your hair will be. Confused? Let me break it down for you:
a. If you have fine hair, it means there is too much oil being secreted by your scalp and not enough hair to absorb it.
b. Straight hair tends to be oilier because the sebum travels evenly from the roots to tips without any curls or kinks to act as an obstruction.
c. Curly and coily hair tends to be very oily at the roots as the oil builds up there and does not have the chance to travel down the hair shaft.
2. Genetic factors: If either of your parents have oily hair, then there’s a high chance that they’ve passed on that particular gene to you.
3. Humidity: If you live in a place that has high humidity, you will invariably have not only hair but also oily skin.
4. Hormonal disturbance: Your hormonal levels may get disturbed due to certain medications (including birth control pills), pregnancy, puberty, menopause, and stress, which could lead to a spike in the production of sebum on your scalp.
5. Skin conditions: Skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis can cause not only an oily scalp but also dandruff.
PLAYING WITH YOUR HAIR. 6. Playing with your hair: Do you, consciously or unconsciously, run your hands through your hair too much? Then here’s a harsh truth – not only are you transferring the oil secreted by your hands to your hair but you are also distributing the oil from your scalp throughout the length of your hair, making it greasy. Who knew, huh?
7. Brushing your hair too much: This, again, follows the same logic as the previous point. When you brush your hair repeatedly, you keep re-distributing the oil from your scalp through the length of your hair. This gets even more aggravated when you already have naturally oily hair.
8. Using too much product: Using too much of any hair product – conditioner, serum, hair gel, hair wax, mousse, and the like – can cause it to build up on your scalp and wreak havoc on the functioning of the sebaceous glands. This can prove to be an even bigger problem if these products are alcohol-based. These products, mixed with sebum, can majorly weigh your hair down and make it look greasy.
SHAMPOOING YOUR HAIR TOO MUCH.
9. Shampooing your hair too much: While you may feel like shampooing your hair every day is the only way to reduce the oiliness on your hair, you could not be further from the truth. Washing your hair too often will only encourage your scalp to produce more sebum to compensate for the oils that have been stripped away by the shampoo. So you would be aggravating – not solving – your oily hair problem by shampooing your hair every day.
10. Using hot water to wash your hair: Hot water stimulates sebaceous glands and encourages them to produce more sebum.
11. Conditioning your hair too much: Applying too much conditioner to your hair and applying it right from the roots only weighs your hair down and makes it look greasy.
12. Using the wrong products: Using products that are meant to moisturize your hair – like moisturizing shampoos, deep fortifying shampoos, and deep conditioners – can make your already oily hair even oilier.
13. Tying your hair up too much: Keeping your hair tied up in a tight ponytail can cause oil and sebum to build up only on that one section of scalp and give you unevenly oily hair.
HEAT STYLING YOUR HAIR TOO MUCH.
14. Heat styling your hair too much: Applying too much heat to your hair through regular use of blow dryers, straightening irons, and curling wands dries it out. This encourages your sebaceous glands to work in overdrive and produce more and more sebum, thus making your hair oily.
15. Vitamin B deficiency: Vitamin B plays an active role in the production and regulation of sebum levels. Not having enough of this nutrient could lead to your sebum levels going haywire and making your hair too oily.
So now that you’ve managed to pinpoint exactly why your hair is oily and greasy, it’s time you took matters into your own hands and took some steps to subvert this problem. So, here’s what you need to do!
HOW TO PREVENT OILY HAIR Oily Hair - How To Prevent Oily Hair Don’t brush your hair more than 2-3 times a day and use a boar bristle brush while doing so. Rinse your hair for at least 30 seconds after shampooing and conditioning it to ensure you’ve removed all product. Rinse your hair with cold, acidic water as it closes your hair cuticles and prevents sebaceous glands from going into overdrive. Use a clear, sulfate-free shampoo and a lightweight conditioner to wash your hair.
EXTRA MOISTURIZATION Write this down and memorize it – don’t ever apply conditioner to your scalp. This will only cause it to build up on your scalp, act as an adhesive to dirt and grime, and block your pores. Instead, apply it from the mid-section to the ends of your hair that actually need the extra moisturization. Avoid using hair products that contain silicones as they coat your hair and attract oil and dirt to cling to it. Avoid using hair gels, mousses, and dry shampoos that only cause more buildup and make your hair look greasier. Opt for lightweight finishing mists and sprays to add shine to your hair. Every two weeks, add a bit of baking soda to your shampoo to remove all the oil and product buildup from your hair and scalp.
STIMULATING SEBACEOUS GLANDS If you must blow dry your hair, do so on the cool setting to avoid over-stimulating your sebaceous glands. And that’s that, ladies! That’s all you need to do to prevent your hair from becoming too oily and greasy! Pretty easy, huh? So comment below to let us know if you have any tips that help you manage your oily hair.