Suddenly greasy hair

[jamo40]

I have seen so many responses to this same problem, surely someone would have a solution already.
1 week ago I washed my hair to find it still greasy on the top, never happened before.
My hair dresser also suggested checking hormone levels, which Ihave done and they have come back as normal
Please let me know if anyone has found a solution.


This discussion is related to suddenly oily hair that won't correct.

[AsianHair85]

Thank goodness for this forum!

I have been dealing the exact issue (i.e., extremely greasy crown following shower) for the past three weeks. Like many, I tried shampooing my hair twice and rinsing vigorously after conditioning but it only seemed to make it worse. I washed my comb, stopped using conditioning, etc. However, it got to the point where my crown was so stiff/waxy that it looked wet from all the grease! So disgusting and embarrassing!

I am a 28 years old Asian American from Chinese heritage. I have thick, straight, and never dyed hair. I rarely put any products on my hair and mostly air dry it. Although my hair tends to get greasy if I don't shower after a day, I have never had greasy hair on the day of showing nor have I ever experienced this issue before. So, it was very frustrating to come out of the shower with an incredibly greasy crown!!

Long story short, this miracle combination works! While it is clear that it has worked on other women with the same issue, I wanted to let my fellow ASIAN AMERICANS know that this method works on our hair, too!  

After reading this forum, I purchased a bottle of Listerine and Suave Daily Clarifying shampoo.Below are the steps I took:
a) Set water to a warm/ comfortable temperature (but not hot)
b) Washed and rinsed hair with shampoo
c) Poured 3-4 caps full of Listerine on crown/ affected area  
* Tilted head back and closed eyes so Listerine did not get into my eyes
* Scalp felt minty and tingly
d) Left Listerine on hair for approximately 4 mins
* I did this while soaping
e) Rinsed Listerine out
f) Washed and rinsed hair with shampoo again.
* I did not use conditioner.
g) Patted hair dry with towel.
* I did not dry hair as vigorously as I typically do.

While I was very hesitant that this would work, my hair has returned to 90% normal after completing the treatment. I will try this again tomorrow with the hope that my hair will return to normal. I am so relieved!

Could anyone can shed some light as to HOW/WHY this method works? What is the "science" behind it? I would really appreciate it!

[greasyhairoutofnowhere]

Hi I know you posted this in 2014, but I am now having this issue and am of Korean descent. I’m half Korean and Half Caucasian so my hair is not the typical thick strands but I was wondering if my ethnicity had something to do with this. Did it ever reoccur for you?

[Cdollar86]

I have been experiencing this same problem for a few weeks now. The problem started with a small oily/waxy patch at the top of my crown, and began to spread almost on a daily basis until the entire crown of my head was oily/waxy even immediately after washing. I usually wash my hair every other day, so at first I tried washing my hair daily, and this only seemed to make it worse. I even tried switching shampoos, using a 'clarifying' shampoo, and lathering twice with extra vigor. I rarely use conditioner, and I never use hair products, so these items did not factor into possible problems.

I have very long hair, so I thought maybe the length was starting to weigh down the hair at my scalp and create the problem, but this seemed unlikely because I have had very long hair with not much change in length for a number of years, and the growing oily/waxy patch was a new problem.

I read through a number of forums, medical websites, and informal remedies for oily hair and skin which address this problem. Notwithstanding the possibility of a chronic medical condition, there are a wide variety of ideas for treating oily hair; lemon juice, baking soda paste, Palmolive dish soap, eggs, apple cider vinegar, and others,  I decided to try a treatment which combined the application of (unflavored) listerine on the scalp followed by washing with an herbal tea tree oil shampoo. First, I wet my hair, and applied about 4-5 measured listerine caps to my scalp and massaged carefully for 1-2 minutes. I left the listerine in my hair for about 10 minutes, followed by a thorough wash with the tea tree oil shampoo (only one lather).

The problem appears to be almost entirely cleared up; after blow-drying the waxy/oily patch was at least 90% better-- not entirely cleared up, but MUCH better. I plan on repeating the treatment in two days if it comes back, and once a week or so if the problem continues.

Since a lot of the information available regarding this condition points to what could be mild seborrhoeic dermatitis, listerine seems like a relatively inexpensive remedy since it is anti-bacterial AND a natural oil deterrent because of the alcohol. Tea tree oil is also a traditionally 'homeopathic' anti-fungal and antiseptic treatment, so I thought it would be a good idea to use shampoo with this ingredient as an added measure. I don't plan on using the tea tree oil shampoo regularly, unless the problem becomes chronic.

[stickyhead2013]

One day I let my hair down in the morning, and the crown of my head was flat from so much grease.... SO NOT NORMAL... because my hair is long and curly and very frizzy before i style it. I do not want to wait and see if remedies will help. I do believe it is something like some sort of fungus. Should the same oral medication for toe nail fungus help my scalp in case it is fungus? I could benefit from it anyway, since I have a light yellow color in my toe nails.

[Itsjustmeagain47]

i have had the same problem! one day i washed my hair as usual to find that when it had dried, the hair on the top of my head was still greasy, so greasy that when i brushed it, it felt and looked like i had waxed my hair to my head, the ends of my hair however were as normal, so i rewashed and rewashed it and nothing worked, after about a week of this i  googled the problem and found a home remedy solution that really worked for me! i dnt usually try home remedies but i was desperate and im so glad i did cause after one go of this remedy my hair was back to normal!! so here is what i did:

i mixed Palmolive dishawashing liquid (the original green one) with apple cider vinegar and lemon juice together in a bowl (i made just enough to cover the top of my head) and then i massaged/combed the liquid into the top greasy parts of my hair and left it for about 10 minutes, then i rinsed it out with water. AND IT WORKED!

i have no idea how it worked or what caused this disaster to happen to my hair in the first place but i would recommend trying this out if you're having the same problem :)

[phillygirl78]

Ok so...the Listerine treatment was short lived....very short lived.  I smelled like Listerine for a week and only did 2 treatments.  My hair still went back to oily after day 2.  Still not sure how to solve this issue.  I have used apple cider vingar before and it also didn't work.  I talked to my OB/GYN about this the other day to see if he thought it was hormonal and he said it's possible it's a thyroid issue as oily hair is a symptom, however I would be having weight issues as well and I'm actually underweight if anything.  So I'm going to have the lab work done, but I'm doubtful that's the issue.  I am going to try what another poster said in the beginning about loading a ton of conditioner on.  It does sound counter-productive, but I've never really put conditioner on the top of my head so I'm wondering if my scalp is reacting to being to dry and overproducing oil.  I will try this weekend and then report back.

[greasyhairoutofnowhere]

What was your result and have you resolved it? I’m dealing with this now.

[NMc12]

So thankful I found this forum! I can recall a time I used baking soda to remove product build-up back in my high school days once or twice, however this last month I experienced residue and oiliness like never before. I have only used sulfate-free salon products since I learned about Pantene and other harsh drugstore products in college. They are known to strip hair and leave buildup. I was puzzled when my Pureology sulfate-free shampoo stopped working last month.

Like most of you, I, noticed unusual oily spots close to the scalp, which seemed to spread and get worse over the weeks. Mine started on the back of my head, then a spot to the right of my part, and finally along my hairline in front. My instinct was to cut back on conditioner, switch to clarifying shampoo, etc. I don't wear all the hair styling products or blow dry frequently like I used to years ago, so I can only attribute my problem to stress, taking an antibiotic recently, and being on decongestant a lot to fight an allergy cold. It sounds like drying out the body can trigger this response by the body to create more oil.

I mentioned this problem to my hairdresser and she had no idea what to do. I can totally relate to the frustration and embarrassment. I was scrubbing my hair with clarifying shampoo repeatedly, letting it air dry overnight, and dreaded seeing the same oiliness when I got ready in the mornings. I also thought it was weird that I could hardly get my hair wet in the shower to shampoo it. Now I understand it was due to all this oil.

One other thing I want to note for moms with babies is that when my son was a baby and had bad cradle cap I ended up reading about Listerine plus baby oil to treat it. None of the marketed cradle cap products worked for him, but the Listerine & Burt's Bees apricot oil treatment worked like a charm! I used his little rubber gum stimulating toothbrush to work it into his scalp during a couple baths and it completely resolved the cradle cap.

Thanks for reminding me about Listerine! This has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders to finally find a solution and look forward to seeing my healthy hair again.