How Do You Stop Your Hair From Getting Greasy?

We'll do anything short of sticking our head in the washing machine to make sure our hair is looking clean.

But we all know that washing your hair too often only wreaks havoc on our locks, it's just too darn difficult to wean ourself off, if only there was an easy way we could. . .

Luckily we have the answer to finally let you say farewell to greasy hair days. Permanently. 

"I've spend years washing and drying my hair every morning, so this is a total hair and life game-changer!" - Alannah, SILKE Convert.

What causes greasy hair in the first place? 

It all stems from the ‘sebum’, which is a term used for the natural oils produced by your scalp. These oils are generally produced to promote healthy hair by nourishing your hair from the outside. However amazing our sebum production is in its natural healthy hair eco system, if the oil isn’t distributed along the hair shaft from root to tip, then it can build up at the root creating less than lovely greasy roots. 

Whilst every scalp produces sebum, there are some factors such as physical activity, environmental stressors, and hormones that can exacerbate your scalp’s oil production leaving those greasy roots hard to manage. 

Learning a little more about these elements can help you manage an overly greasy scalp. 

Physical activity such as going to the gym, or any activity that raises your heart rate and makes you hot and sweaty can make your hair look overly greasy, quickly. This is down to the sweat produced at your scalp mixing in with your scalp's natural oils. Wearing head gear whilst you workout can also exacerbate the situation as you're trapping the sebum at your scalp, adding heat into the mix, and pushing the hair down towards the scalp. The more hair that comes into contact with the sebum the more it spreads, increasing the appearance of greasy hair. Especially if you then have flat ‘hat hair’, this can make a greasy root appear more obvious and extreme.

Touch and rubbing your scalp can also encourage increased sebum production. Similar to the hat wearing encouraging more sebum to spread across your hair, touching and playing with your hair will do the same. Similarly to our hands and fingers, using dirty styling tools can have a similar effect. Dragging a brush through greasy hair will encourage the spread of sebum and will also stick around on the styling tool. The next time you come to use it you’ll be spreading grease through your hair, you obviously want to avoid that especially if you’re brushing freshly washed hair! 

Hormones can significantly affect just about everything about us from our skin, to our bodies, to our hair - and grease production is no different. Particularly women, who naturally experience many hormonal changes throughout their lives, will notice significant changes in sebum production that align with different life milestones such as pregnancy, puberty and menopause. There’s not much you can do to prevent this, so learning how to work with your sebum production is crucial.

Environmental changes will also have a significant impact on the greasiness of your scalp. When your body experiences sudden changes in temperature, or complete shifts in climate, if you move abroad, go on holiday or we’re experiencing a heatwave, your scalp will react by producing more or less sebum. This overcompensation is intended to help protect your hair through these changes, however it may not be the overall look you want! In our modern society this is also affected throughout the Winter as we’re moving between colder temperatures outside and artificially heated houses constantly - this certainly isn’t just a Summer time issue. 

Aside from these factors, it can also be down to the products you’re selecting for your hair care routine. If you’re choosing a product with a high content of oil and you notice an accelerated greasy scalp maybe only apply that product to the mids and ends of your hair. Similarly if you pick the wrong type of shampoo and conditioner for your hair, introducing a detox, or clarifying shampoo into the mix once a week can help to stabilise your hair and cleanse your scalp of oil build up. Speaking of hair washes, hot water will also stimulate your scalp sebum production, so if you’re struggling with a greasy scalp, the first thing you can do is turn the water temperature down! 

SILKE London’s co-founder, Maria Sotiriou, who has over 37 years of experience as a hairstylist, explains her theory on why the majority of people are suffering from an overly greasy scalp that isn’t because of unavoidable hormonal imbalances or medical issues. She says: 

“In my experience after being a hairstylist for 37 years, almost all cases of very greasy hair is because people just don’t know how to wash their hair properly. This then becomes the reason why people think they need to wash their hair every day when they don’t! 

It is possible to wash your hair every day but never actually clean your scalp and hair enough to make it clean. I would send clients back to the shampoo basin throughout my career because they would come to their appointment with hair that has never been washed properly. The average person isn’t double shampooing, and that’s not their fault, it’s because there isn’t widespread information on it. It is impossible to eliminate the build up of dirt, sweat, oil (sebum) and skin with one shampoo session. Much like cleansing your skin, you need to do a ‘double cleanse’ for your scalp and hair to properly clean it with each hair wash. Putting the effort in and doing a double shampoo will really help with grease build up, and will assist you in going without those daily washes that are in fact stripping your scalp and hair of useful hydrating moisture.  

If your hair and scalp is washed properly and is clean and healthy, our body's natural sebum (oil) is a wonderful ingredient. The important thing here is to find a way to distribute it down and along the hair shaft. This will not make hair greasy as it’s being utilised throughout the lengths, not being hoarded at the scalp. This is why we created the SILKE London Hair Wrap, to do just that. Cocooning your hair in Hair Wrap nightly will harvest the goodness from your scalp's natural oils back into the hair to hydrate it and keep it strong and supple. There is no reason for build up to happen on the roots especially after one day of washing if you’re putting extra effort into your hair wash and wearing your Hair Wrap overnight!” 

"my blow-dry stayed perfectly intact for FOUR DAYS straight. FOUR DAYS people!" - Monica Welburn, Beauty & Lifestyle blogger.

 The SILKE Hair Wrap also allows you to maintain your hairstyle for longer, which means no last-minute shampoo to restyle your hair before a big night out. You can start shunning your arsenal of styling products too, which only perpetuate the over-washing cycle to put an end to your greasy days. 

What about the myth that allowing your hair to get greasy is good for your scalp? Maria says: 

“Greasy hair is never good. In most cases it is avoidable and will encourage a build up of dirt. I advocate “sebum distribution” not greasy hair and a dirty scalp!” 

How about other methods to extend the time between washes such as dry shampoo? Maria explains: 

“When there is a build up of grease on the roots and scalp the next product people reach for is dry shampoo. I feel it is ok to use it very sparingly and on rare occasions, but not often where you can help it. The people I see using it consistently are the ones who do not cleanse their hair and scalp properly to begin with. This is an issue because if you’re utilising dry shampoo to extend your blow-dry and eliminate grease, that dry shampoo is going to stick around on your scalp when you’re not committing to double shampooing when you come to wash your hair. Dry shampoo, much like other products, will stick around on your scalp after just one shampoo. This can lead to all sorts of more extreme issues aside from a dirty greasy scalp similar to if you never washed your face properly!” 

Let’s round this up - for a happy, healthy scalp and therefore strong healthy, shiny hair commiting to a double shampoo method each and every hair wash is a must! Prolonging the time between washes is easier than ever thanks to the SILKE Hair Wrap, this puts an end to unnecessary daily washing. Cocooning your hair nightly helps to utilise the sebum produced at your scalp so your lengths can enjoy the hydrating and nourishing benefits as opposed to fighting against that grease build up. 

Happy hair all round! Love, SILKE xo