What Causes Oily Scalp?
Many women suffer from an oily scalp and I know, it is so frustrating. Especially after you just had your hair wash day and boom the next day it is already oily! I mean what a drag.
Oily hair is caused by the overproduction of sebum. Sebum is the oily substance produced in the sebaceous glands mixed with fat molecules, called lipids, to form a protective coating on the skin’s surface. Sebum is important because it protects your scalp! In other words, the skin of your scalp is either overproducing because your scalp is dehydrated and it feels like it needs to catch up or there is build up on your scalp from not washing it enough.
Here are the top 6 reasons why oily scalp happens:
Over washing/ Under washing
If you wash your hair everyday you are stripping all the natural oils your hair produces on it’s own. What happens then is your hair thinks it needs to produce more oil because it is always being stripped from the natural oils. Now if you wait too many days to wash your hair, for instance more than 4 days what ends up happening is your scalp will continue to produce oils everyday and your hair follicles will then begin to plug and build up will begin. It is your job to find the happy medium of your hair- for instance for me I wash my hair every 2 days and sometimes every 3 days! But I don’t go more than 3 days because that is what works for me!
Products
You may be using harsh products that have sulfate or parabens and dehydrate your scalp. You should try to use clean and clarifying products that help balance your pH and provide moisture to your scalp.
Unhealthy Diet
Whatever you consume always affects your skin. Your scalp is skin and if your diet consists of processed food, sugars and not enough veggies your skin will begin to show those affects. Try to focus on whole/unprocessed foods, start with a protein rich meal and cut down on added sugar intake! You can read more about this on my other blog post Solutions to a Health Scalp.
Limit your use of dry shampoo
What ends up happening when you use dry shampoo is it prevents nutrients from being able to reach the hair follicle. If nutrients don’t reach the hair follicle that can result in inflammation of the scalp and blocks your hair follicles. Over time your hair follicles weaken and causes your hair to begin to fall out. NEVER use dry shampoo to replace washing your hair!
Using Hot Water
Hot water dries out your scalp which then results to overproduction of oils. Hot water also makes your roots weak and can lead to frizzy hair!
Dirty Hair Brush
You guessed it! A dirty hair brush can lead to oily scalp. You can see my Instagram Post on the affects of a dirty brush. But overall you want to remove any hair off your hairbrush after every use and deep clean your brush once a month. Because if you don’t then all the oils that are on your hairbrush will go directly back to you scalp which will then cause an oily scalp.
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Love ~ your scalp + head spa expert