Everybody knows what oily scalp is, right? It's a scalp that produces lots of oil. Hair that gets greasy quickly. This short series will cover what oily scalp is, why it happens, and how to manage it. Stick around for parts 2 and 3, there will be some familiar ideas and some unconventional ones.
There are a few things that contribute to the perception of an oily scalp and oily hair.
Let's cover what "oily" means, when it can be a cosmetic or a skin-health problem, and some ways to manage cosmetically and for skin-health. This not-so-hair-focused part is going to explain a lot about the cosmetic and health aspects of this issue.
Part 1
"Oily" is actually a chemical analysis you do with your eyes and hands. If you look at your nose and it's shiny - that's actually a chemical assessment!
Oily skin feels slick-greasy, it looks shiny. On your scalp, your hair gets that greasy-wet-clingy look and sticks together at the roots. But did you know that happens because there are enough liquid-at-skin-temperature oils in the mix so you feel the slickness? The more fluid (and slippery) an oil is, the more greasy it seems in hair and skin.
Sebum (skin oil) - the extremely variable "recipe." Our sebum is made of many different components. Some are liquid at room temperature or skin-temperature. Some are solid at those temperatures. And for different people, people of different ages, under different weather conditions or climates, depending on your genetics and skin condition, the proportions of those components can change.
This little pie chart shows a "typical" breakdown of the components of sebum.
What I really want you to notice is that there is a lot of some components, and just a little of others. Most of the lipid (oil-components) shown are liquid/fluid on your skin.
But the ceramides and cholesterol and some of the wax esters are not. (The gray and the reds).
The concept of whether something is fluid or solid at room temperature or skin temperature is all about its melting point.
For a visual aid, let's make an oil blend in the kitchen!
I made something similar in this blog post. We have the solid and liquid oils in the top image. The solid-at-room-temperature oils look white and chunky.
The melted-and-cooled oil blend is on the bottom-right, having become a soft or semisolid once all is mixed. This will "melt" on the skin, despite containing oils that have different melting points.
Let's say your scalp and hair are always oily or greasy a day or two after washing. If that's not genetics or age-related, it may be related to your environment, or your skin condition.
And it may have to do with the current recipe of sebum on your scalp.
Am I making this more confusing than necessary?
To me, this explains a lot of what happens in reality. Oily scalps are not the same every single day. Some of us have very different levels of oiliness in different seasons (allergy season, dry season, humid season). That happens for a reason.
Some of us have "oilier" scalps at age 20 than we will at age 35, even if our actual oil production doesn't change much by volume. What's up with that?
This - this is what's up with that. Sebum "recipes" change a lot.
If you irritate your scalp and it becomes oily or dry or flaky when it's usually not - surprise! Your sebum recipe was changed by the inflammation.
In Part 2, we'll look at age, gender/hormones, climate and weather and how that influences how oily your scalp is.
Absolutely fascinating information. What about people who lots of solids, like the wax esters and not much liquid? I always seem to have waxy sebum right on my scalp but never do I sense my hair being “oily”. Wish I did.
ReplyDeleteHi again I’m so sorry I have one more question about the synthetic sebum I am trying to formulate. I’m having trouble finding the Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride to purchase however I keep finding results for MCT oil and Coconut oil. Is MCT oil the same as the Triglycerides? Could I use a product containing the triglycerides instead (eg. coconut oil)? Would love to hear your suggestions.
ReplyDeleteCheck with a cosmetics supply company for home crafters or soap-making. They will usually carry that ingredient.
ReplyDeleteHi WS, I have an oily scalp and I need to wash it every single day. The problem is that I feel my hair drier if I do that. When I let it to get oily, which happens with just one day skipping shampoo, it gets soft after washing. Can I get that result by putting oil on my hair before washing it every day?
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda, you might also try (before washing your hair), massaging your dry scalp all over, then smoothing your fingers over your hair, "pinching" your fingers together close to the ends. That would distribute the oils over your hair and that actually might make a big difference without adding anything at all!
DeleteAn oil pre-wash treatment is also a great idea. You might not need it every day. It depends upon how you're doing the treatment. If you're leaving it on for 10-15 minutes, maybe that's an every wash day kind of thing. If you can leave it on for a several hours - it might be once every 1-2 weeks.
Conditioners with moisturizing ingredients like Aloe, amino acids, or some of the bond-repair products can also help keep your hair feeling soft through hydration. I have a list here. (copy & paste) https://science-yhairblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/hair-bonding-product-list-and-more.html
Hi WS, I don't remember which post it was, but I once told you that I have a short, curly pixie haircut and that I style it with salt spray and a holding spray. I've noticed that if I don't use a clarifying shampoo, the next time I try to style it, it just doesn't work properly. You mentioned that this might be because my short hair isn't as damaged as longer hair and that it could also be low porosity.
DeleteI was skeptical because I use the Kinky-Curly Come Clean shampoo, and my hairstylist told me it was a shampoo for curly hair that hydrates my curls. But you mentioned in a post that it's actually a clarifying shampoo, so I decided to experiment and tried a different clarifying shampoo, and it worked too.
I have an oily scalp, so I don't mind shampooing every day, but I've noticed that my hair is starting to feel dry. I skipped styling and washing for a few days, and when I finally shampooed my greasy hair, it felt great. That's why I'm interested in knowing whether using oil before washing would help prevent my hair from feeling too dry.
By the way, I can't really use conditioners. Like I said, I've noticed that conditioners weigh my hair down and make it harder to style. I've read that this can happen with low porosity hair, so I think you might be right. So now I'm wondering whether I should try to find a conditioner that doesn't weigh my hair down or experiment with pre-shampoo oiling instead. What do you think?
Hi Amanda, I think oil pre-wash treatments are good for short hair. When I wore my hair pixie-short, I rarely used conditioner. But first you might try massaging your (dry) scalp right before washing, then finger-combing and smoothing your fingers over your hair thoroughly to spread the oils from your scalp. That alone might help a lot. If it's not enough - then a light oil pre-wash treatment should help. Try to match how your hair looked and felt when you skipped washing for a few days. Avocado oil is a good one to start with.
DeleteThe Ordinary's conditioner is pretty lightweight and no-frills. You can add water to it in your hands.
Alternatively - when your hair feels dry when it's dry - you can take a tiny, tiny dab of conditioner and rub it between your palms and fingers until it's dry-ish, then smooth that over your dry hair. That puts some flexibility in and reduces frizz, but the effect is quite different than using conditioner as a rinse-out product.
Hi WS, I’m curious why avocado oil? What’s the difference between using coconut oil, mineral oil, and avocado oil for this purpose?
DeleteAvocado oil is pretty well-tolerated as a pre-wash treatment. It has some softening (hair-penetrating) effects and also adds some smoothness and detangling. And protects hair from the dehydrating effects of shampoo. Coconut oil is very hair-penetrating. For some people it's perfect, for others it can make hair a little stiff with repeated use. Some people's hair can be selective about which oils it gets along with!
DeleteMineral oil is not hair-penetrating at all. It's amazing for tangles.