Do natural shampoos and no pooing work for oily hair?

[mamocak]

My hair is somewhat oily and also gets build up very easily. Whenever I use natural shampoos, my hair gets oily in 2 days and is very yucky. I just hate my hair when it looks and feels like that. Any suggestions?

[Talon's Mom]

I have hair that gets very oily between showers and I have to shampoo once a day or at the least every other. That being said, I have been un-pooing for 2 weeks now. I have had to do it every 24 hours to not have an oily look. However, I think yesterday I passed some sort of threshold because I didn't shampoo today yet and still looking good. (I haven't un-pooed since early yesterday morning). I even checked with a few friends and they say no greasies and hair looks soft and fluffy. So as I understand it there is a detox period and then you will be able to maintain hair for longer between showers. That is my goal to be able to go a few days between.

I have longish dark hair and my regimen so far is:

2 tsp bs and small squeeze of honey dissolved in 1 cup hot water
rinse with ACV mixed in a hot water in about a 1:8 ratio and 3 drops lavendar EO

I have been enjoying this and really liking how it makes my hair look/feel!

[Blu Razzberri]

I had really oily hair when I was younger; but I've learned a couple things over time..

1) the more you wash your hair, the more oils it produces. As the previous poster mentioned, it takes a little time to transition (meaning, you'll have to be a bit of a greaseball for a couple days over about a two week span) but your hair will adjust. Just start skipping a day; and then two (if you want) and obviously if you do something particularily dirty that day (food fight, for example); you'll have to wash it. You'll adjust.

2) your hairbrush can stimulate the oil glands. Since I switched from a "bristle" type brush (what I used to use) to the kind that are more comb-like (the kind I use now), I found that my hair is alot less oily. The switch took some getting used-to though.

3) it doesn't matter what you use to clean your hair...$1 shampoo and $50 shampoo are the same for clean. The differences lie in concentration and chemical addatives. (Conditioner is a different story)

I have alot of hair (see my signature and visit my myspace to see photos) and I use Naturals Melaleuca Oil Shampoo. It's cheap per use, and you don't have to use much because it's very concentrated. With my hair, I use two pumps (one for the top half and one for the underside ...*sigh* I need a haircut!) and it's enough. I can tell you more on where to get Naturals Shampoo if you PM me (I'm happy to share with anyone who messages me).

Hope I could help!

[Sharlla]

I would imagine so considering the concept of how now pooing works. Shampoo strips your scalp thus causing over production of oil. No pooing does not so your scalp doesn't produce as much.

When I started no pooing it took about a month for my scalp to adjust and I did have to wash it (with BS) everyday Now I can go every few days or longer really.

[EnviroBecca]

Natural shampoos did not work for me until after I started no-pooing. Now, if I use shampoo at all, even a very mild natural shampoo will turn my hair into a yucky frizzball for a couple of days!

I no-poo with apple cider vinegar only--no baking soda. I just soak my hair with very hot water, dilute ACV with very hot water, massage it into my scalp a little at a time, let stand for a few minutes while I wash other body parts, then rinse. It works best if I use a ventilated brush to work the liquids into my hair and distribute the oil (loosened by ACV) down the hair shaft. My hair feels oily when I'm done, but that goes away as it dries.

I transitioned into no-poo by doing it for every-other washing, using my regular shampoo in between. Over time I needed to wash less often. After a few months, my hair felt really bad after a shampoo washing, so I did ACV washings only and continued to increase the time between washings. Now I can wash every 5-10 days (more in summer, less in winter) instead of 2 out of 3 days!

[sphinxie]

I think the way to avoid greasiness is to use enough bs. However, if you use too much bs you can damage your hair by making it too dry. So it seems like aside from the early detox period, there's also a period where one gets the hang of what amount/proportion of bs works best for your hair. You'd probably need more than someone with dry hair, but that could change with time as your scalp adjusts and produces less oil.

[Blu Razzberri]

Ok. I'm all for alternatives and stuff; but I can't help but have questions about what you're doing 'EnviroBecca'.

Ok, I understand that the hair's oil glands won't produce as much oil if that oil isn't stripped away in the first place, so I can see how your hair won't look oily 5-10 days later because you slowly worked it to that point.

BUT...doesn't it smell bad? Doesn't your hair smell like sweat/scalp/etc after that much time has passed? Does your scalp itch? If I go three days without washing my hair; I feel disgusting, weighed down and dirty all over despite having washed my body during that time. Also, doesn't the smell of the apple cider vinegar knock you over? And doesn't it smell bad afterwards?

I'm not judging or anything, I just don't quite get it!

[SharonAnne]

Re: the acv smell. It goes away when your hair is dry.

I found that when I first started no pooing, yes, my scalp would get itchy like the day after I did it. That was while my scalp was still producing copious amounts of oil though.

As my no pooing regime went on, I could go longer between no pooing, not just because my hair looked fine, but also because my scalp felt fine. I'm down to nping twice a week right now. When my scalp gets itchy, it's time for a np session

As far as the smell of my scalp...I've never noticed an odor. If I did though, I'd probably shoot myself with a spritz of lavendar eo and water if I wasn't ready for a np yet.

[Sharlla]

Originally Posted by Blu Razzberri

BUT...doesn't it smell bad? Doesn't your hair smell like sweat/scalp/etc after that much time has passed? Does your scalp itch? If I go three days without washing my hair; I feel disgusting, weighed down and dirty all over despite having washed my body during that time. Also, doesn't the smell of the apple cider vinegar knock you over? And doesn't it smell bad afterwards?
!

Not the one that you posted this to, but I do wash my hair with natural soap between BS washes just to get rid of product (hair spray, gel etc) the natural soapcleans the hair without stripping and also leaves it smelling nice. I use this on the kids as well.

PS the AC spell does go away, although I do add essential oils to it and that helps the smell as well

[EnviroBecca]

BUT...doesn't it smell bad? Doesn't your hair smell like sweat/scalp/etc after that much time has passed? Does your scalp itch? Also, doesn't the smell of the apple cider vinegar knock you over? And doesn't it smell bad afterwards?

No, my hair doesn't smell bad, because I have cleaned it. What really sold me on ACV was that after the second time I used it, I went to an event in a bar that was full of cigarette smoke, so I expected that I'd have to wash hair in the morning because it would reek of stale smoke...but I found that by morning it smelled fresh and clean again! Vinegar is really good at removing and repelling odors. Sometimes if I have to delay washing for a day or two after my hair starts to feel grungy, it will get a hair-oil smell. In that case, I put a drop of essential oil on my brush and brush thoroughly.

The only time my scalp itches is when my hair is getting dirty again; that and a sticky feeling are the signs that it's time to wash.

The smell of the ACV while I'm using it is pretty strong. A milder smell lingers until my hair is dry. Sometimes I can smell it again if I get my hair wet the next day. (I give it a thorough rinse w/plain water every couple days.) When it's dry, it only smells fresh and clean + like any essential oils I added to the ACV. I usually add a few drops of tea tree oil to prevent dandruff and orange oil just because I like the smell, but if I'm in a hurry I just use plain ACV.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by EnviroBecca

(I give it a thorough rinse w/plain water every couple days.)

Is this something you've been able to do after no-pooing for awhile? If I get my hair wet I have to shampoo or it feels really really icky.