Oily hair? What to do?

During certain periods of life, people suffer from having "greasy" hair, or hair that "gets greasy quickly". How can we understand this phenomenon, how can we remedy it?

Why do we have greasy hair?

Before trying to change something, it is important to understand the origin of this imbalance. It is therefore essential to convince yourself of one thing: greasy hair is healthy hair, which gets greasy to restore balance. Greasy hair is not a disease! Simply, the scalp responds normally to a given situation.

For example, many teenagers have greasy hair. This is a temporary phenomenon linked to the hormonal upheaval of this age, which can set in if we respond poorly to it.

The scalp, like the skin, secretes a fatty substance called sebum, whose role is to preserve the skin's hydration and maintain a balance favorable to the microbiota present, whose role is to protect us from external aggressions.

Recently, I underwent a minor but necessary surgical procedure. Beforehand, I was asked to take a full shower and shampoo with a pharmaceutical cleansing and disinfectant product. The purpose of this product, as written in the instructions given, is to reduce the microbiota present in order to limit the possible introduction of pathogenic germs into the hospital. This shampoo completely disrupted the balance of the scalp and my hair began to become greasy. The microbiota was disrupted and the skin reacted accordingly by secreting sebum, to preserve the remaining beneficial germs and encourage their reestablishment.

It is obvious that the hospital's reasons for requesting this treatment are entirely justified, and that it is important to apply it with good grace. Simply, to keep beautiful hair, it is then necessary not to panic and to follow a procedure so that this imbalance does not set in.

To recap:

• oily hair is not a disease
• it is common during hormonal upheavals
• it can indicate a normal reaction of the scalp to an external aggression

How to remedy it?

First, do not panic, do not act in a hurry without thinking. And very important: do not buy a special shampoo for oily hair!

Indeed, the shampoo for oily hair acts as a detergent, to dissolve the fat. This attacks the hair which reacts by greasing. So the product called special oily hair maintains the phenomenon and the imbalance. In addition, it produces dependence, the more we use it, the more we need to use it, which encourages us to consume it in large quantities. This is good neither for the wallet nor for the planet!

The first thing to do is therefore to buy a shampoo for babies or for dry and brittle hair, that is to say very gentle. Or to replace the shampoo with a beaten egg.

It is then advisable to try to space out shampoos. To do this, act gradually. Take advantage of the weekend for example to not shampoo one day. Then try to shampoo only every two days. Two shampoos per week are more than enough, if possible space them out to once a week, which is more than enough. It is important to understand that scalp hygiene involves respecting its microbiota, which is better able to protect it than all the products in the cosmetic world!

The idea being not to attack the scalp and hair, it is also good to use a horn comb, very soft and non-aggressive. By regularly using a horn comb and doing gentle shampoos once a week, you will find perfectly healthy hair!

Note: horn is the same material as hair. The cow that produces it also secretes sebum. Your comb needs sebum to keep its strength. It will therefore naturally absorb sebum and establish a balance with your hair! Hence the adage "the comb takes care of the hair and the hair takes care of the comb".

To recap:

• use only a very mild shampoo (baby shampoo, shampoo for dry or fragile hair, solid shampoo)
• space out shampoos gradually
• use a horn comb ;-)