Every beauty enthusiast worth their retinol knows this: Washing your hair too often because it is greasy can be counterproductive. Why? Because the removal of natural sebum from the scalp can leave it dry, throwing the sebaceous glands in a frenzy. When that happens, they overcompensate by producing more oil, ultimately leaving your hair and roots greasier than ever. To prevent that from happening, we’ve got five tips that will help extend your wash days.
Skip hot water when you shower
Overexposure to hot water not only dries out your skin but also your hair. Granted, it does remove dirt and grime more quickly, but the downside is that it also dries out your hair and makes it dull-looking. To prevent this from happening, use lukewarm water when you wash your mane.
Use sulfate-free shampoos
Sulfates are the chemicals in shampoos that make them lather up and sudsy. These are also what leaves your scalp feeling squeaky clean after wash day. So, while that may seem like a good idea initially, expect greasiness to catch on soon. Instead, opt for gentle sulfate-free formulas. These may initially feel like they’re not cleansing your scalp well, but over time you will see less oil production.
Try scalp scrubs
Exfoliating your scalp is as important as sloughing off the dead skin cells off your face. These help to get rid of product build-up, and give your hair follicles a clean and healthy environment to grow in.
Avoid touching your hair
Constantly touching your hair causes you to transfer the oils from your fingertips to your scalp, making it greasier. For best results, wear your hair up so you avoid touching it as much as possible.
Give an ACV rinse a go
Mix five parts of apple cider vinegar with one part water in a spray bottle. After shampooing your hair, spritz this mixture on your scalp. Massage it in for a minute or two, and rinse with cold water. ACV is acidic in nature and will dissolve the dirt from your scalp without stripping it of its natural oils.