To think that "training" really greasy hair just isn't possible for some people?

[TheJuryIsOut]

I've had greasy hair from being a teenager. I went from washing my hair once a week as a 10 year old to washing it every day as a 14 year old. I only started washing it more frequently because it became so unbelievably greasy I couldn't have gone out/gone to school like that.

I have tried to wash it less often several times over the years, the longest time I could manage was in COVID but I still didn't get it looking any better really. I'd even be happy if I could just wash it every other day but by about hour 30 it looks like I've just got a handful of oil and smeared it all over my head.

I've seen/heard lots of people say that if you just train it for a few months it'll sort itself out but aibu to think this just isn't true for some people?

It didn’t work for me.

I’ve never managed it, it’s never settled and I just accept washing it daily now

People who don’t wash their hair every day - you can smell it ! Maybe you don’t realise but your dirty hair smells !
It’s so unhygienic .

So everyone with Afro hair smells then you’re saying?
my hair doesn’t smell after 1 day or 2 days of not washing. I protect it when I cook and at night. It doesn’t get greasy

I was once housebound for nearly two years due to illness. My hair was washed for me once and occasionally (joyfully!) twice a week. It was never trained. Still a greasy mop by the end of day two. So I totally agree with you - it definitely depends on the hair.

Some people have greasy hair....just like some people have acne. I'm one of those people.

The longer I leave it, the greasier it gets and the itchier it becomes.

I can go 2 days. On the second day I use dry shampoo 😫

YANBU. It entirely depends on hair and skin type. I have greasy/combination skin and fine, straight hair. No amount of training is going to stop it looking awful on day two. I don't see any need to train hair like mine though. It's quick and easy to wash and dry so I'm happy to just do it daily.

I also have really oily scalp. I rebalance it every month or so by putting t gel shampoo for dandruff/ flaky scalp and leaving it for about 10 minutes. It seems to work for my oily scalp as well as just being for dandruff

I don't think this would ever work for me, either! I have lots of very fine hair and the most I can sort of get away with is maybe 2-3 days max without being washed such as if I'm not feeling well due to illness/injury or the like, but after a day of not washing it quickly starts to look very greasy/limp/difficult to do anything with and my scalp gets really itchy too...as long as I wash it every day, that doesn't seems to happen.

Also suffer from hay fever and work in a job where I'm regularly exposed to bodily fluids and the like....who wants to go to bed with unwashed hair after being around that all day!?

My life got so much happier and easier when I just accepted I have very greasy hair and committed to washing it every day (if I’m going anywhere or seeing anyone). I much prefer the feeling of a full shower with a hair wash anyway.

On WFH days or lazy weekends I skip the wash, tie it up and let it do its greasy thing, but after decades of suffering through greasy hair every other day because ‘it’ll get greasy if you wash it too often’ I wondered who I am actually following these rules for and decided I’d wash my hair whenever I damn well felt like it.

Could you maybe go and see a tricologist, someone who specialises in hair health.

I went to a talk given by a tricologist and someone in the audience asked if you can train your hair by not washing but she said this was not true and you will be making it worse by blocking the folicals with oils from what I remember.

They suggested I get micro needling for thinning hair on top so I'm sure they can help with greasy hair as well.

100% agree, never been able to “train” my hair. I think some people do suffer with oil production as a result of too much washing = trainable. Some people like me just have greasy heads = not trainable.

I’ve always had fine, grease prone hair. The max I can let it go is 2 days. I was on roaccutane in my early 30s, an acne treatment basically stops your body producing moisture lol (not quite but sort of!) and I couldn’t get over my hair, I could literally wash it once a week and it looked freshly washed every day.

It very quickly reverted back to its usual self when I stopped medication (despite acne staying at bay) so yeah I agree, not sure it can be ‘trained’, I’m sure it would have lasted a while longer if that was the case.

I have fine hair. I can now go 7 days which is mad. I used to need every other day. The trick is firstly using a very clarifying shampoo (like head and shoulders) then have conditioner mid to lengths only. Secondly the living proof dry shampoo truly does clean your hair it’s mad. Doesn’t leave horrible residue or weigh it down. By day 6 I need to wear my hair up but worth it

Dry shampoo helps me in a pinch but leaves my head feeling itchy and makes my dark, shiny hair look a a bit dull. 7 days of greasy hair and dry shampoo would leave me feeling utterly hideous but I have a friend who’s the same as you and I’m a little jealous, as her hair colour lasts for yonks!

@MyPinkOtter honestly try the living proof dry shampoo! I can’t stand Batista like you say ok in an emergency but then I hate touching my hair after and it needs washing (and it’s a pain washing it out). But the living proof one makes it feel softer and smooth

I was just about to type that I had 36 hour hair until I hit menopause. I'm the other side of the menopause and I now have... 48 hour hair 🎉
I've tried training my fine straight hair and all that happened was I got greasy and smelly hair with many knots.

I actually haven't tried that specific dry shampoo so it may be worth a look. I definitely won't be able to go a week whatever I do but it might perhaps get me an extra day if I can stand the feel of it

"Worth it" in what sense? Is washing your hair quite difficult for you? I wouldn't like this because I like the feel of a clean scalp and hair, plus hair washing and drying my hair isn't a problem for me.

Gosh washing my hair is a nightmare. Firstly it’s long. Secondly with the water where we are / since I moved in with my DH I find it really hard to fully rinse shampoo out of my hair even with a water filter. So it takes me 20 mins to reliably just wash it. And thirdly the nail in the coffin, our neighbour complained about the noise of our shower pump so the water pressure is lower now 😢

I just think if you are having to use dry shampoo and tie it by end of week why not just wash it.
If it’s such a faff to wash then go for a short style.
I can definitely smell my young adult DD’s sometimes after a week. She’s gone down a sm rabbit hole of weekly hair wash night. She uses that expensive living proof dry shampoo. I know it used to be this way where women would have shampoo and set weekly like my grandma did but personally not for me.
If it feels like it needs a wash I wash it and air dry. It’s nice to feel clean.
I had surgery once and couldn’t wash it for 18 days and it was just horrible despite dry shampoo. It made me feel worse.

Peri menopause worked for me and dried my scalp out. Now my fine hair is just "quite" oily instead of "very oily".

One thing though - are you using oily hair shampoo? Because I found this was drying my scalp and hair and so making it produce more oil to compensate. Once I started using hydrating shampoo consistently oil production seems to have dropped off.

Noted! I’ll have to give that one a try!

I agree, I’ve never quite understood why we ‘need’ to train our hair to be washed less. I get that for some people washing and their hair is a proper ordeal (like if it’s very long or thick) or there are other reasons to minimise washing (like a sensitive scalp) but I don’t have those concerns so I genuinely don’t see what the problem is with a daily wash.

Plus do any of my fellow greaseballs get that sore hair feeling if they leave it more than a day or two?!

Living proof uses rice starch, IF you suffer from sensitive/flaky scalp it will make it worse. Microbes and fungi will love the food source in starch combined with sebum from your scalp. That's what i've found anyway. If you do try it i'd advise using a medicated shampoo that includes ketoconazole (like nizoral) to prevent it.