How to Prevent Oily Hair
You wash and style your hair every morning but within a few short hours, it looks stringy and dirty. You, like millions of other, have oily hair.
A certain amount of oil secretion from oil glands on the scalp is healthy and necessary. Sebum, the natural oil produced by the oil glands, is secreted to protect your hair shafts from breaking. Oil also gives your hair,you’ve got too much of a good thing.
Oily hair is a second cousin to oily skin, according to Nelson Lee Novick, M.D.,associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. “The oil is just coming up on a different part of the skin,” he says. “Its usually a genetic problem. But at certain times, most people have oilier hair due to fluctuation in hormones.”
Women often complain of oilier hair at the beginning and end of the menstrual cycle. Paul Contorer, M.D.,chief of dermatology of Kaiser Permanente and clinical professor of dermatology at Oregon health Sciences University in Portland, says that for many people, oily hair begins at puberty.”We often see teenagers with oily hair because the androgen hormones stimulate the sebaceous glands to produce more oil,’ he explains.
While you can’t change your family background or your hormones, there is plenty you can do to get your oily locks under control.
Shampoo often.
“People with oily hair can shampoo every day,” say Contorer. “keep in mind that hair is just dead protein. Washing often won’t hurt it.”
Use a “no-nonsense” Shampoo.
Often, shampoos have all kind of additives and conditioner in them. People with oily hair need a good solvent-type shampoo, one that will cut the grease says Contorer.”I tell my patients to add a couple of drops of Ivory liquid to their shampoo,” he says. If you don’t like the idea of putting dishwashing liquid on your head, there are plenty of commercial shampoos that will cut through the excess oil, says Rose Dygart, owner of Le Rose Salon of Beauty in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and a Cosmetologist and barber who has been teaching and practicing hair care for 35 years. “Look for a castile-type soap without conditioning addivitives,” she advises.”Commercial products like Prell and normal hair needs a shampoo with a pH Between 4.5 and 6.7 but oily hair requires a more alkaline product. Look for shampoos with a pH higher than 6.7,she says.
Rinse thoroughly.
Whatever shampoo you use, be sure you rinse thoroughly. Soap residue will only collect dirt and oil more quickly, says Novick.
Forget conditioner.
Conditioners coat the heir, something oily hair doesn’t need, says Dygart Apply a small amount of conditioner only to the ends if they’ve become dried out.
Try an acidic rinse.
One way to decrease the oil is to rinse with diluted vinegar or lemon juice after shampooing. Dygart says to use two tablespoons of while vinegar to one cup of water or use the juice of one lemon(strained) to one cup of water Rinse the ,mixture through your hair, then rinse your hair with warm water.
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