Which shampoo is good for greasy hair?
If your hair is prone to becoming greasy quickly, choosing your shampoo carefully can keep oil at bay and help your hair look and feel fresh for longer.
Healthy hair has a good balance of natural oil, enough to keep it shiny and moisturised, without weighing it down or making it greasy.
Finding the right shampoo for your hair type can sometimes help to rebalance oil production and stop hair from looking greasy.
In this article, we will find out a bit more about what causes greasy hair and the best products for combating it.
Hair can appear greasy when the body produces too much natural oil, called sebum.
Sebum is natural, normal, and very important for keeping your hair and scalp healthy. The oily substance is produced by the body’s sebaceous glands and provides moisture and protection to your scalp and hair. Without enough sebum, hair becomes dry and dull, as well as making scalps dry, itchy, and flaky.
Whilst it is normal for some people’s bodies to produce more sebum than others, if your hair gets very greasy very quickly, then it could be caused by overactive sebaceous glands.
Some common causes of overactive sebaceous glands include:
- Changing hormone levels
- Certain medications
- An unhealthy diet
- Weather changes
- Using the wrong hair care products for your hair type
- Using hair care products that contain harsh chemicals
- Ageing
Sebaceous glands are found all over the body, with the highest concentration found on the scalp and face, so if you have greasy hair caused by overactive sebaceous glands, you may also have greasy skin on your face.
Which shampoos are best for greasy hair?
Choosing the right type of hair products, particularly the right shampoo, can help to control greasy hair and improve its appearance.
Selecting the right shampoo is very important in the battle against greasy hair, as a good one will remove excess (not all) oil from your hair to freshen up its appearance.
The best types of shampoo for greasy hair are clarifying shampoos and ones that are made from natural ingredients.
Clarifying shampoos are shampoos that deeply cleanse your hair. If you are prone to greasy hair then you will find that it attracts dirt too, and a clarifying shampoo is good for cutting through and removing this build-up of grease and grime.
Switching from a normal shampoo to a clarifying shampoo will mean that every time you wash your hair you start with a completely clean slate. It may allow you to reduce the frequency with which you wash your hair.
Whilst you want a shampoo that can cut through grease and thoroughly cleanse your hair, you want it to do so gently without drying out or damaging your hair or the skin on your scalp. When choosing a shampoo for greasy hair it is best to opt for those containing gentle, nourishing, and natural ingredients.
Our natural detoxing shampoo is a good example of this, as it’s free from silicones, parabens, sulfates, and other harsh chemicals. Instead, we use natural active ingredients and organic essential oils to detox your hair and promote healthy hair growth.
How to shampoo to get the best results
As well as selecting the right shampoo for your hair type, it’s important to experiment with how you wash your hair to help achieve the best results.
Experiment with how frequently you wash your hair
How frequently you need to wash greasy hair depends on how severe the problem is and your hair type. Whilst it’s important to remove grease and not let it build up, over-washing can also exacerbate the problem. Once you’ve found a suitable shampoo for your hair type, try experimenting with how frequently you wash your hair, the longer you can leave it between washes without your hair getting too greasy the better.
Be sure to thoroughly rinse your hair of shampoo, and conditioner if you’re using it. Excess oil weighs hair down and makes it appear flat and lank, as a build-up of hair products only worsens the problem.
Certain hair care products and ingredients can worsen the appearance of greasy hair or even cause hair to become greasier. Two types of hair products to steer clear of are:
Products containing chemical ingredients, particularly silicones and sulfates.
Silicones are a synthetic ingredient sometimes added to shampoos and conditioners to coat the hair and make it appear smoother and glossier. If you have greasy hair, silicones can build up on the hair, making it appear greasier and weighing it down even more.
Sulfates are detergents that are great for stripping dirt and oil out of hair but can be too harsh, causing the hair and scalp to become dry. This can sometimes cause the scalp to start overproducing sebum to make up for the dryness.
‘Moisturising’ products containing thick or greasy oils
If you can go without using a conditioner, then this can help to keep greasy hair looking fresher for longer. However, if the ends of your hair are dry and you feel it needs conditioning, use a light conditioner rather than an intensive one, and take care to only apply to the very ends of the hair and never to the roots.
Tips to keep your hair grease-free between washes
These four simple hair care tips can help your hair stay grease-free for longer.
Go natural – Let hair dry naturally and avoid straightening it as this can cause the scalp to produce more oil and make the hair appear greasier.
Limit touching your hair – Stimulating your scalp by messing with your hair can cause it to produce more oil, you may also transfer grease from your hands to your hair.
Use an apple cider vinegar rinse – Once you’ve washed your hair, pour a small amount of diluted apple cider vinegar through it, and let it sit for a couple of minutes before rinsing. This gentle and natural treatment can help to get rid of any residual build-up and restore your hair and scalp’s PH balance.
Use natural hair care products and use them sparingly – Choosing natural haircare products containing gentle ingredients can help to keep grease at bay as well as improving the overall condition of your hair.