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?

Until I was about 16, I generally only showered once a week (weird parents). My hair was once so "wet" from grease that a friend thought I'd been caught in the rain.

If going through that hasn't trained my hair, I don't think anything will. I also have no wish to voluntarily re-live that experience, even if it could allow me to style my hair more easily.

What a pain. Can you get the shower pump fixed? I am lucky to live in a very soft water area, hard water must be difficult.

I grew up with parents that only bathed once a week, as was their upbringing.. BUT they did wash every day - as in face, underarms, hands & feet and 'undercarriage', and me and my teenaged bros & sisters washed our greasy hair in the hand basin or kitchen sink.

Did your parents not even allow you to wash at the sink?

I just want the best of both worlds, I love my long hair and I'd hate to have it short, but I also want to be able to get up and not have to instantly wash my hair 😭

I've just looked up that Living Proof dry shampoo. I don't know if I can justify that price 😳

I have very fine greasy hair. Type 1a.

Much like yourself, I've always needed to wash daily.

Someone on here once recommended thr aveeno clarifying apple cider vinegar shampoo and I can honestly say, it's completely changed my life.

I've gone from having greasy hair by the end of the day to only washing every 2-3 days.

Fair enough the 3rd day is definitely a slick back pony tail but day 1 AND day 2, I'm able to wear my hair down and it looks clean.

Apologies if you have already tried this but I can't praise this shampoo enough. I don't use the conditioner only the shampoo as it's not needed.

And if you're reading this, thank you to the real life angel that recommended the Aveeno clarifying shampoo on here. I say this as someone who has also tried everything and every product to 'train' my hair.

I used to wash mine every day, now I do it every other day. I tend to use dry shampoo just on my hair line and water to scrunch on my non wash days. I have very wavy hair so washing every day really wasn't doing it any favours. But I can't go 3 days as it just starts to get greasy and loose the bounce. Everyone has very different hair and skin though and what works for one person may not for another.

I can’t stand the smell of an unwashed scalp, on me or anyone else 🤢 what’s the obsession with not washing your hair? Surely it’s part of your body, it needs to be washed?
And yes, I agree, if you have greasy skin (I do) you’ll have a greasy scalp and it needs washing or it will smell. Nothing will stop that surely.

I use that and I still have to wash every day 😭

I love all aveeno, it's the only shampoo i can use daily and it doesn't cause any irritation. Their moisturising products are really good for sensitive skin, too.

I can not wash my hair everyday due to grease which I am pleased about as love washing it everyday and don't feel right unless I do.

I just think it's pot luck what your genes are. Some people produce a lot more oil and sebum. I am a person who never gets greasy hair ever.… I am more prone to dry. Never got spots. My hair holds the smell of shampoo for at least 5/6 days, I only need to wash it once a week and it's down to almost my bum and thick. It would be terrible for my hair to constantly wash. Maybe if you trialled a shampoo that’s supposed to be good for oil? But I’m not sure you can train.

My face isn’t that oily and I hardly ever get spots, but my hair couldn’t be trained either. It’s also 36-hour hair. I tried in lockdown too and it was just awful. It’s crazy that we’d all been told so insistently that training our hair was necessary that the whole bloody nation decided they’d get on to that essential task in the teeth of a pandemic, as soon as we could do it without being seen! Silicone-free shampoo stopped my fringe separating and gives it more body, but didn’t do anything for how long I could leave it between washes. My scalp itches like fuck if I use dry shampoo so I’d rather wash it than put up with that. It is fine and thin, and it picks up cooking smells badly, but in the plus side it dries very fast.

If I wash mine on a morning, it's generally ok until about lunchtime the next day and I can eke it out with dry shampoo but I don't love how that feels or how dull it makes it, so if I was going out that second night, I'd begrudgingly rewash on day 2. It's really annoying.

I have noticed that using a moisturising shampoo helps, I think because my scalp then might not feel as much need to add its own moisture (ie. grease) - I use the Aussie Moist one and then condition just the ends.

I've also read that drying your hair aftee washing is better than letting it air dry, and your hair is better for longer and that draws the oils out faster. I'm not sure I've consistently tested that to say if it's true.

I might look at the Aveeno apple cider vinegar one - thanks for the rec!

I thought you had to persevere and never wash it if you want it to settle completely @TheJuryIsOut once a week wouldn’t have trained it … my understanding is also it looks worse before it gets better

But surely some people can wash every 3 days or every week without having had a very long period of not washing it at all? I mean, never washing it sounds very unhygienic

Ive tried and failed many times with this. I’m an oily person, very oily skin and quite fine hair. I can manage a day or two without my hair looking noticeably grim but to me it just feels rank. It itches and even if it doesn’t look bad, I can just feel that it’s unclean. I tend to wash my hair daily even if I’m not going out just because I want to feel fresh within myself. I’ve long since stopped caring what it looks like to others but I can’t stand feeling greasy and unwashed.

I did sink wash some parts of me, but I'm not sure it ever occured to me to try and wash my hair in the sink. Which sounds stupid now, even to me, but it had been drummed into me that washing "unnecessarily" was vain and immodest.

My parents' attitude is a mix of very conservative Christianity, beliefs they've invented themselves, and (I suspect) mental illness. I won't clog up the thread, but the shower situation was far from the weirdest thing in that house!

I had to wash my hair every other day or the grease was noticeable, especially as a teenager. The one good thing about being post menopausal is the dryness of my hair! I can get away with twice weekly now with the help of dry shampoo

Damn straight.

Yes my dermatologist has told me that “training” your hair to not be greasy is a myth. Think about it this way, would you only wash your face once a week? Absolutely not how disgusting, the skin on your face and the skin on your scalp is the same thing. Some people can get away with not washing their hair very often as maybe it thick or dry, but best believe their scalp is DIRTY, I can always smell when someone hasn’t washed their hair.

I have to wash mine everyday because of my
job, I have friends who wash once a week my hairdresser can go 3 weeks without washing I would look like worzel gummidge. I think you have to just do what suits you

I have very straight fine hair (it looks thick as there is a lot of it) and I've tried going without washing but it feels like someone emptied a chip pan on my head the day after. I don't use conditioner either.

Bit the flip side is because my skin is so oily it is in really good condition for someone in their mid 50s. Forehead is wrinkle free.

So the grease is a good thing for me. I'm happy with my greasy hair!

Three weeks without washing sounds quite a lot though. I suppose it works for her.

@TheJuryIsOut it doesn’t sound nice but I saw someone on TV many years ago and she had stopped washing it (apparently) and after a horrible few months of greasiness it looked like normal hair again (of course, she may have been lying). Always been curious but never actually
tried it. When I was younger I only
had to wash mine weekly but now it is every 2-3 days.