long time no-pooer and suddenly oily hair

[shanniesue2]

YIKES! I haven't used shampoo on my hair for almost 2 years (so this isn't a transitional thing). I have done a variety of no-poo techniques, but the one I've been sticking with lately is a CO wash about every 3-4 days and WO washes in between. I have been using head and shoulders conditioner for that CO wash because with anything else, I get realy bad flakes. I will do H&S on my scalp, rinse it out and then Kiss My face Whenever conditioner on just my hair (b/c the H&S tends to leave my hair feeling kind of dry and frizzy). I have been doing this for almost 6 months... so it's not like the oiliness is caused by an all of a sudden change in routine.

Well anyway, the last few days, I've had to wash every day and by the evening the my hair is oily enough that when I run my hands through it, it sort of stays put. And my fingers come out feeling greasy. EEK! I have NEVER had issues with oil like I'm having now-- even my no-poo transition period wasn't this bad.

Yesterday, I did a BC wash with ACV rinse. I'm gonna do another one today (I have a funeral to go to and can't go looking like an oil slick). I thought about trying the borax suggestion that I read on another thread... I'm wondering if the ladies who tried borax might be willing to post an update. And if anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them! I might even decide to get a shampoo bar. I don't know, but I have to find something to fix this oil issue.

[amber913]

Could it be hormonal? It looks like you've really analyzed the situation, much like would have, so that's the only suggestion i have. What to do about it....hmmm....

My acne, which was pretty much dormant for several years, has suddenly reared it's ugly head. I've made cleansing changes, diet changes, and while it's improved slightly, it's not what it was a year ago, so i can only conclude that it's related to hormones. Though, once again, what to do about it...??

I've heard borax is great, but i like bs. I've been no-pooing since June, and i still have to do it twice a week. Hmmm...wish i could be of some help, but i'm at a loss, just like you.

[shanniesue2]

I guess it could be hormonal... because I haven't had any major dietary changes or anything...

It's kind of hard to tell about the hormonal thing b/c I have a Mirena and I only get periods every few months or so... so it's kind of impossible to keep track of my cycle (and I'm so not a charter, so it doesn't really bother me too much).

I ordered a couple of sample bars from Chagrin Valley to see how I do with those. And in the mean time, I'm going to try really hard not to wash too often so that I don't start the cycle of stripping-leads-to-oil-overproduction. But I'm so frustrated. Yesterday, my hair felt oily before it was even dry. I did a WO wash this morning, and once it was dry, I was trying to style it, but it was all limp and stringy b/c it was so oily. So I decided to pull it back into a pony tail, and brushing it back just made it look like my hair was plastered to my head. And a comb just made it into sections from between the teeth. I think I might start wearing a scarf until I can get this worked out. Bleh!

P.S. I thought about washing with my Dr. Bronner's bar just to see if that would help... but I'm so afraid of drying it out too much and causing my scalp to produce even more oil!

I have NEVER EVER EVER had oil problems. My skin is normally dry and very thirsty. And my scalp is normally dry with some flakes (thus the head & shoulders). So I don't know WTH is going on. And it's not like any other part of me is having this problem. I'm not breaking out or having oily spots on my face or anything.

[amber913]

Just occurred to me--could it be you ran out of softener salts (provided you have a water softener, of course)? That's when i know we need more--my hair gets GROSS.

[shanniesue2]

nope... no water softener here...

although tonight, my hair is a little better. I went Sunday and monday with WO washes and then used BS (with some lavendar and rose EOs) this morning. I was going to do an ACV rinse, but when I got to that point in my shower, my hair was feeling weird... thicker than normal, a little oily, and not at all tangled (which is very unusual for my hair)... so I skipped the ACV rinse... and just pulled my hair back today. It was still kind of plastering itself to my head....

but now, at the end of the day, it feels more normal... so IDK. We'll see how it does in the morning. I didn't blow it dry this morning (which I've been doing for a few months b/c I got a cut that doesn't work very well with my curls... so I've been straightening it) and I wonder if not using the blow dryer on it helped.... although, I've used the blow dryer plenty in my life without this problem....

DH just made a bunch of lemon juice cubes... maybe I'll try one of those next time I wash?