beauty

9 reasons why your hair is greasy after you just washed it, like, a minute ago.

You get out of the shower with your freshly washed hair and - OH COME ON! How does it already feel greasy and waxy? Like, HOW? 

While it's normal for your hair to get greasy after a couple of days, having oily hair straight after you jump out of the shower and dry your hair is a thing you shouldn't have to deal with. Because we all have better things to do than sass around washing our hair every two seconds, AM I RIGHT?

Watch: Here are five ways to lift your hair game. Post continues below.

But we'll let you in on a little secret, come in close. Closer. It might be... you. 

No, seriously! It might. Awkward, we know. So, stop piling the blame on your cute scalp!

There are a bunch of surprising little mistakes you could be making on the daily that could be behind why your hair is greasy straight after washing it.

Because we're all just out here just trying to snatch up a Good Hair Day, we've pulled together a little guide on what could be happening and how to avoid it.

Okay, let's go.

1. You're over-conditioning your hair.

You might be putting too much conditioner near your roots, boo. We know you were doing it with the very best intentions, but you actually don't need to slather your entire mop with conditioner - yep, even if your hair is feeling dry and brittle. Cause your ends need conditioner way more than your roots.

Slapping a heap of conditioner on your scalp means each and every cuticle will be heavily coated with conditioner, adding more than the required amount of moisture to your hair, trapping oil and leading to greasiness. Eek! Not what you want. At all. 

So, as a rule of thumb, only apply conditioner from the bottom of your ears downward in order to avoid making your scalp appear greasy. Kay?

2. You're not rinsing the products out of your hair properly.

W-wa-wait! Slow down, sport. Before you jump out of the shower, you'll want to make sure you've rinsed all of your shampoo and conditioner out of your hair, yeah? Like, *properly* rinsed it out.

We know you're running late for work, we all are - but, we promise: This simple step can make all the difference. 

Cause if you're not fully rinsing your conditioner out, the ingredients can get trapped on your scalp and additional oils will start developing, setting you up for that greasy Slick Rick look you’re trying to avoid. 

To make sure you rinse everything out properly, opt for warm water when you shower. Not only will this kinda temperature help open your cuticles so your products can actually get to work, but it'll also prevent product build-up.

3. The conditioner you're using is too heavy.

If you've already got number one and two down pat, it might just be that a specific product is too weighty for your hair. 

The reason for this heaviness often comes down to certain ingredients they put in hair products that are designed to do specific things like nourish dry and damaged strands, tame curls or get rid of frizziness. So, make sure you're choosing the right stuff for your hair, friend.

If you have fine or naturally oily hair, don't be fooled into thinking you need to use something as heavy as someone with thick hair, textured hair, damaged, or dry hair. Instead, switch to a lightweight conditioner or whatever your hair responds to. 

4. You have product build-up.

You might, you know. From dry shampoo to heat protectants and hair spray, keep in mind that the more stuff you use on your hair, the more build-up you will have - and the greasier your hair will probably look. 

As we mentioned before, leftover shampoo and conditioner can build-up on your scalp, making your hair feel gross and dirty. So, always make sure you thoroughly wash these products out. 

To help keep things clean, we recommend using a clarifying shampoo once a week (especially if you enjoy serums, sea salt sprays, dry shampoos, volume powders and such). As long as you're using something like this on the regular, you shouldn't have any problems with build-up and greasy roots.

5. You're rinsing your hair with super hot water.

Look, we love a scalding hot shower just as much as the next dame, but it might just be the thing behind your greasy hair.

Y'see, while we all tend to focus on our hair, sometimes we forget that our scalp is *actually* skin, so it's affected in the same way as the skin on your face and body. Meaning? You're dehydrating the f**k outta it when you rinse with super hot water. 

You MONSTER.

Wondering what this has got to do with greasy hair? Well, when your skin becomes dehydrated, oil production goes into overdrive to compensate, leading to that greasy feeling.

So, yeah. Opt for lukewarm or cool water instead, babes.

Listen: All your questions about hair, answered. Post continues below.

6. You're applying too many products after washing.

If you're anything like us, the first thing you do after washing your hair is apply a frizz serum or some heat protectant to keep things under control - which is totally fine. But! Try to make sure you're only applying a pea-sized amount. No, a PEA-sized amount, Jessica.

And don't fluff around with applying stuff at your roots. The only thing that really needs to go at your roots is, like, a volume powder or something. For everything else, keep it on the bottom half of your hair, okay? Cool.

7. You're washing your hair too often.

It could be time to try to stretch out the hair washing schedule, friend. While there's no real right or wrong answer when it comes to how often you should wash your hair, if you have an oily scalp pushing out your washing routine to every second day or every third day will help encourage your scalp’s natural oil production to normalise. 

Confused how often you should be washing your hair? We asked an expert for you, here.

8. Touching Hair Frequently

Our hands are often busier than we realise, and one unconscious habit many people have is touching their hair.

Our hands produce oils and can also accumulate dirt and grime throughout the day. Every time we touch our hair, some of this gets transferred to our locks.

Constantly running fingers through hair can spread the scalp's natural oils down the hair shaft more rapidly than if left alone. This can lead to hair appearing greasier, especially towards the roots.

9. Environmental Factors

The environment in which we live, work, and spend most of our time can significantly impact our hair's health and appearance. Two primary environmental culprits affecting greasiness are humidity and pollution:

High humidity levels mean there's a lot of moisture in the air. When the air is moist, our scalp tends to sweat more. This sweat, when mixed with the natural oils (sebum) our scalp produces, can create a greasy feeling and appearance.

Urban areas, in particular, have a high concentration of pollutants like dust, smoke, and various chemicals. These pollutants can cling to the hair and scalp, leading to a buildup that makes hair greasy.

Feature Image: Getty

Are you guilty of any of the above? SAME. Share with us in the comment section below. 

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Top Comments

willo 4 years ago
My hair always does this. It’s also super thick... when I think it has dried (because it feels absolutely dry) i look in the mirror and it still looks wet. It’s so frustrating because I shower to feel CLEAN but after I feel gross.

ladyk 4 years ago
 I have very oily skin which means I have an oily scalp. I wash my hair every day with mild shampoos and conditioners. You don't want to over do the clarifying or the conditioner. I have tried to push it out to every second day and it's not pretty and resulted in worse problems so every day it is.