Go 7 days between oily hair washes: NEW products and methods to try NOW

When you have oily hair, washing it is such a drag. It can feel like all you ever do is wash your hair because it won’t go more than a day or two between washes before it looks like a wet weasel on top of your head again. Worse still is when you have oily roots and dry ends. It is so difficult to find shampoo and conditioner that will cleanse your scalp of excess sebum while at the time moisturising your ends enough to stop them frizzing and breaking. I have tried and tested so many different products now and I’m here to share the best of the best. Feel fresh for longer with my top tips on how to wash your oily hair less and go up to 7 DAYS between washes.

Why does oily hair get greasy so quickly?

Genetics and environment

Hair gets oily for a few reasons and most of them are unfortunately unavoidable. Firstly there’s simply genetics. Some of us are just more prone to oily hair as we are to oily skin and there’s really nothing can be done to change that. Below I will share the best products for managing this. Environment plays a large part too. Hot muggy weather, or spending hours on the tube each day, exercise and sweating…all of these will contribute to oiliness on your scalp and hair.

Sebum production

From all of the reading I have done, coupled with my own anecdotal evidence, the most common reason for excess oiliness is sebum overproduction. And although this will be in part due to your natural skin, as I mention above, you can also be accidentally encouraging your body to produce excess sebum without even realising it.

Excess sebum production on your scalp can be caused by:

Overwashing

Every time you wash your hair and cleanse your scalp your skin naturally responds by re-producing the nourishing elements it thinks you need. Therefore washing more regularly produces more sebum creating a vicious cycle effect. This cycle needs to be broken by washing less and training your skin to produce less sebum.

Incorrect product choices

Overuse of clarifying shampoos, using products containing unhelpful ingredients like sulfates, and skipping on things like conditioner, all combine to result in our skin producing sebum to counteract the drying effects of the products we are using. Again, creating a vicious wash cycle as overwashing does. It is important to note that shampoo containing sulfates is not in any way dangerous for your bad for your hair. Sulfates are simply extremely effective detergents that may be essentially over-cleaning your hair.

My Tips for washing oily hair less

1. Break the oily hair washing cycle

This is one of the hardest parts of what I have done to wash my oily hair as little as once a week. But now that I have broken the cycle it is so much easier to go longer between hair washes. Training my oily hair to be washed less frequently has proven to me the benefit of this method. I used to wash my hair using oily hair products every day or two, and now I go up to 7 days between washes which has saved me time, effort and money on product usage.

So, despite everything in you wanting to scrub those locks, try not to. Extend the time by one day, then another day. It took me about 3 months in total just gradually increasing the time bit by bit. It is so hard at first because your hair just feels so icky. But with the help of some of the following ideas and oily hair products it was manageable, and now it’s nowhere near as bad.

2. Dry Shampoo for oily hair

I know, I know, as far as oily hair products go dry shampoo is obviously a staple. I am sure you have already been using it. However, I’m pretty confident that most people will be using dry shampoo all wrong. Hands up how many people use their dry shampoo on day 2, 3 or beyond? Or, once your hair has started to feel a bit claggy? Change that up guys. There’s little point in trying to absorb oils that have already moved from your scalp onto your hair. At this point it has already started to weigh down and feel oily. Spritz your hair with its first blast of dry shampoo on wash day, straight after styling. This way it is already on the scalp and absorbs oils as they are produced and BEFORE they actually hit your hair.

Secondly, I cant recommend enough spritzing your hair with dry shampoo at night when going to bed. Firstly, this means that when your hair is being all squished up against your head all night that it is absorbing excess oils as you sleep. But also, if you spray it there is no need to worry about styling it or rubbing it in to rid any white powder that forms because nobody will see it. This reduces your contact with your hair gain reducing the opportunity for handling of you hair to contribute to oiliness. Just spritz and go (to sleep in this instance).

Recommended dry shampoo products for oily hair

My favourite dry shampoo products, tried and tested are:

• L’oreal Elvive Dream Lengths Dry Shampoo for long hair. This one is my favourite scent by a country mile. It is virtually invisible with almost zero white powder residue, so it is the oily hair product I use during the day and on wash day. Available via Look Fantastic or Boots and almost always on offer at either of these retailers. (Click the links or image below to shop).
• Batiste Original Dry Shampoo Clean and Classic. If it ain’t broke why fix it comes to mind with this classic product. Although Batiste is now the UK’s number 1 dry shampoo brand thanks to its range and diversity of products for all hair types, I personally find their original and classic the best. I pick this up in the supermarket or from Boots and use it before bed. The Brunette version I use when going out because I feel it offers me more hold and volume in the root but it doesn’t maintain fresh hair for as long as the original.
• Klorane Purifying Dry Shampoo with Nettle for Oily Hair. I first tried this on offer from Look Fantastic and REALLY liked it. I found it very effective, no residue, and will be a staple going forward. It is a little bit more spenny than the other two, but watch out for those Look Fantastic offers and pick it up when on discount. At the time of writing this, it was 25% off at £6.75 a bottle. Definitely one for daytime use.

3. Wave your hair

Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know why, but I am telling you that when I wave my hair it 100% stops it from getting oily as quickly. Not only that but it helps hide hair when it’s getting a bit claggy and pushes back wash day by at least 48 hours.

I created (a completely amateur, I’m no beauty blogger) IGTV video of how I wave my hair here on my Instagram feed @pagesofemma so click through to view that. You will also see just how AWFUL my hair looks in the beginning, matted oily roots and chaotic dry frizzy ends.

The tool I use for waving

The waving tool I have is an old model but I have linked the newer Toni and Guy version from Amazon here. There is also a snazzier version from Babyliss available at Amazon, Look Fantastic or Boots (click the link to your retailer of choice…maybe choose depending on if you are adding of the above Dry Shampoo products or other oily hair products below to basket too? The product retails for the same price as standard across all retailers unless there is a special promotion on.).

4. Use the right shampoo and conditioner products for oily hair

I say “the right” oily hair products because I do believe there are wrong ones. Or, at least, less suitable ones. I used to use shampoos and conditioners for oily hair but I believe that they were stripping my hair of too much oil resulting in excess sebum production to replace those oils. Furthermore, I have discovered that although sulfates, common in shampoo, are very effective detergents and lather beautifully, they are so cleansing that they were also stripping my hair of too much moisture resulting in, again, excess sebum production.

The other problem with oily hair shampoos was that they were doing nothing to help the lengths of my hair which were getting increasingly dry and frizzy (See that IGTV video of me waving my hair for a prime example of what this looked like). So I spent a long time trying out different product ranges for the best oily hair products that also protect hair lengths from dryness and breakage.

The products I recommend

• L’Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Clay Shampoo and Conditioner. The budget option. Promises to protect both oily roots and dry ends. I pick this set up in Boots (currently they have 3 for £10 on Elvive meaning you can purchase the set with the Dream Lengths Dry Shampoo and save 1/3rd on the total cost). The consistency of the shampoo is a little creamier and less lathery than some shampoos thanks to there being limited/less sulfates. It also contains ingredients like salicylic acid which I use on my oily skin.
• Beauty Kubes Plastic Free Solid Shampoo for Oily Hair. The clean option. After me saying I don’t use oily hair products anymore. But this is an exception. The cleanest clean I have felt. These little kubes don’t lather remotely as much as you will be used to but don’t let that put you off. The box is tiny too which feels insane! How can one of these little cubes help your oily hair, but they do! A little more faffy than liquid shampoo so maybe not ideal for quick Monday morning showers, but definitely worth trying when you have the time to use them.
• Philip Kingsley Moisture Balancing Shampoo and Conditioner. My preferred option. I buy this duo set from Look Fantastic because it’s great value for money, but still more spenny than you may be used to if you normally pick up your products with your groceries. However, you will be washing your hair less often and therefore the extra expense on products is quickly soaked up. A great solution if you are looking for oily hair products that also protect your dry lengths.
• (Just a note to say that I was going to include a fourth and favoured option from The Body Shop but I found out today the range has been discontinued. I will keep an eye on this and if a new range is released will try it out too.)

5. Don’t avoid conditioning

I do get it: it feels counter-intuitive to moisturise hair that always gets oily. But it’s back to that vicious cycle of sebum production to counteract the dryness created by not moisturising. Conditioning your hair through the lengths only during every wash will ensure that your hair is less fragile and prone to snapping and breaking. But, once every month or so I also give my whole head and scalp a conditioning treatment using a product by a gorgeous Scottish small business called Moo Hair.

The Moo Miracle Mask is made from natural ingredients such as Marula Oil and Icelandic Moss. I believe that a mask as natural as this one has helped my hair to lock in necessary moisture again resulting in less of that excess sebum.

6. Consider a hair and scalp cleanse

Not for using every wash because overusing clarifying shampoos and similar will contribute to your scalp producing excess sebum. But I use a new pre-wash treatment at about the same frequency as I use a deep conditioning treatment. I have actually only had the chance to try one such product which is the Philip Kingsley Vitamin C Cleansing Jelly I have used it a few times now and am very happy with it. After use, my hair feels rustly clean, like it has been stripped of all of the dry shampoo I spray into it every day.

7. Change your pillowcases more regularly

Remember I mentioned above that I spray dry shampoo in my roots before bed? This is because I used to find my hair always felt less fresh in the morning. So now I try to change my pillowcases more frequently than I do the rest of my bedsheets. I always use white pillowcases anyway so now I just have extra pillowcases and pillow protectors so that I’m laying my clean luscious locks down on a clean luscious surface for sleeping at night. Dunelm Mill do a fantastic range of pillowcases at various thread counts, colours and fabrics and starting from only £3 for a pack of 2. I use plain cotton most of the time and move to brushed cotton in winter.

8. Change your hairbrush

I have a special hairbrush by Wetbrush available to buy through Look Fantastic. It is designed to distribute hair oils evenly through the lengths of the hair helping to prevent oily root and dry ends. The product also claims to be excellent for use with dry shampoo due to the type of and configuration of the bristles. I started using this brush in January about the same time as the rest of the things I have described above. I am confident it has helped with oily hair management. It is excellent and gentle at detangling too. And, remember to wash your hairbrush regularly to cleanse it from all of the oils and dirt that collects in it either directly from your hair or from lying around your handbag.

9. Some other things to consider

• I’ve read a lot about silk pillowcases but haven’t tried them yet. Something to think about for the future and would make a lovely gift for someone who complains of oily hair.
• Generally consider avoiding styling products, especially anything that claims to add shine. If you are prone to flyaways and frizz, the only hair serum I have found that I can use in my hair is The Body Shop Grapeseed Glossing Serum.
• Try not to overhandle or overstyle your hair or oils and dirts from your hands will inevitably transfer.

If you found this helpful you may also enjoy my blog post talking about the benefits of Rose in skin care as it is a perfect ingredient for oily skin types. I also share some of my favourite Rose Skin Care products on this post if you want to try the ones I have used for balancing my skin out.