Sticky / Oily / Greasy scalp?!?

[JerseyGirlNB]

I have an weird sticky substance in my hair that NOTHING will get rid of and it's extremely frustrating.  About a month ago i noticed after i got out of the shower and blow dried my hair that the hair at the crown of my head was very oily and sticky (but ONLY at the crown of my head). At first i thought i forgot to wash the conditioner out so the next night I scrubbed thoroughly, but once again the stickiness was still there.  Then i bought a few different brands of clarifying shampoo (thinking it was build-up) and still the same thing.  The oil is def coming from my scalp because at the same time that this happened I started breaking out with acne really bad.  I'm 27 years old and have not broken out this bad since puberty.  Very strange.  So i went to the extremes of trying baking soda, lemon juice, listerine, medicated shampoos, even dawn (for it's grease cutting abilities) and NOTHING gets this substance out of my hair.  It's driving me crazy to the point that i asked my dermatologist to put me on accutane to stop oil secretions.  Has anyone experienced this problem before, and if so, do you know of anything that will get my scalp back to normal.  PS - it has nothing to do with my diet, because i eat extremely healthy and always have.

[stickyhair2]

I’ve figured it out!! I know the pain you are going through... I cried when this happened to me and everyone thought I was crazy, or kept telling me my hair was just oily...

It started happening to me approximately 3 years ago…I would shower and as my hair dried I noticed a sticky / waxy feeling to part of my hair (in my case just the top) which was not at all the same thing as oily hair. I initially thought the plastic from my brush had melted while drying my hair, or I had improperly rinsed, or some weird product had been spilled in my hair somehow…

This would happen on and off, sometimes lasting only a few days, other times for weeks. I would try endless things to fix it: change shampoos, shower twice a day, not wash my hair for 3 days, airdry, blowdry, stop conditioner, try dish liquid (dawn or fairy) and it would eventually go away without me truly understanding the cause of it, or which part of what I had done solved it…

My most recent episode was quite persistent (>2 weeks) and none of my “old” tricks were working…  So I started researching and analysing my situation more closely and finally figured out the root cause!! I realized this only happens to me when I am in areas that have hard water. Minerals/ions which are found in hard water can interact somehow with your hair and/or shampoo to create this sticky substance. It usually appears suddenly, I suppose because a threshold “reaction point” is reached

The key to getting rid of this is using a chelating agent. Chelating agents improve rinseability by binding with metals and minerals and removing them from the hair.  The most common chelating agent used in hair products is EDTA. Shampoos which I have found that are high in EDTA content are:

- Johnson’s tip to toe wash (works better than johnson’s baby shampoo for me)
- John Frieda Brilliant Brunette
- Kerastase Divalent
- I am sure there are others, but these are the ones that were available in my area…

Another potential solution is to wash / rinse your hair with distilled water.

I just used the Johnson’s tip to toe, washed my hair 3 times, rinsed with bottled water, and it was back to normal! I now use only EDTA containing shampoos and the problem has not recurred!!

Hope this information helps!

[Badger20]

I just found this...hope it'll help.  These are actually affordable too!

http://blackgirllonghair.com/2014/05/7-drugstore-silicone-and-sulfate-free-hair-conditioners-and-shampoos/

[Badger20]

While there may be several causes, I've discovered that for me, the problem can be traced to dimethicone.  I've used some of the treatments listed here with varying success, but dimethicone-free shampoo is the only prevention I've found.  
See links for more info:
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-dimethicone.htm

http://www.annmariegianni.com/ingredient-watch-list-dimethicone-the-smoothing-silicone-that-exacerbates-acne/

The second one is obviously trying to sell their brand of skin-care, but they do have a good list of other names for dimethicone, and some interesting comments as well.

[Coo700]

Ladies, you are not crazy! My first "sludge attack" happened last May, I was 49. It's interesting we are all different ages because I'm guessing this is hormones. Or stress. I've had this happen 4 times since, and there seems to be no specific reason. It's not the shampoo or conditioner I'm using, my hair color, the water, how well I wash my hair...

I never had oily hair like this in my life. I wash almost everyday, and even if I'm sick and don't wash for a couple days I've never seem anything like this. All the oil is at the crown of the head and sometimes from there to the back hairline. It's a thicker oil than I've ever seen on my hair.

What I have noticed is that about a week before I find my hair is unmanageable. The ends are super dry, and I it doesn't style as well as normal. It just seems blah. I'm guessing because the oils are distributing well for a few days. Then bam! I wash my hair and dry it and notice a big oily patch at the top of my head that won't wash out. Uck!

So I dab tea tree oil on it, don't know if it helps but it's feels good because the scalp gets kind of itchy. I wash with a baking soda or vinegar rinse and it gets back to normal in a couple days. Mostly, I tell myself to relax and not freak out. It will go away.

[kms5]

Why not Pantene?  Does it exacerbate the problem somehow?

[justV]

I've had this exact problem since 2012. I tried everything. Never having this problem in my life, I, too, figured it was hormones. Then started researching and found this could very well be a symptom of heavy metal accumulation in the body. Getting hair and / or blood tested for heavy metals, would at least give answers because people from all over are getting this problem, and the common denominator is extremely high levels of heavy metals in the body. And oddly, all within the same time frame. Coincidence? I don't believe in those anymore.