How can my hair be both straw-like and greasy?

[hippospot]

Not sure why my hair is so horrible at the moment. Could be hormones, as I had a hysterectomy last year (am taking HRT though).

I've always washed my hair every day, as it's short and needs styling. I'm now growing my hair a bit longer and maybe it's because the ends of the hair are older/damaged but the condition seems terrible. As the days goes on it feels wispy and straw-like yet the roots are greasy. It's all limp and yet flicky. I style it nicely smooth and curled under (chin length) but by lunchtime it's going in all directions and messy.

I am also confused about sulphates/silicone etc. I live in a hard-water area.

Can anyone advise?

First thing I’d try would be some L’Oréal extraordinary oil. I don’t bother with conditioner and this keeps my (fine) hair silky smooth but doesn’t flatten it out at all. Can’t speak for everyone but it doesn’t make my roots greasy either, I can go most of a week before my hair looks like it needs a wash.

My hair tends to get very greasy at the roots and very dry at the ends. Its a bit torturous when you have this kind of hair, but I've found what has really helped me is to actually wash it a lot less, which sounds completely counter intuitive. I tend to wash my hair just once or twice a week now (although I'll wash my fringe every day), and when I do wash it I've pretty much given up on normal conditioner and use the richest hair mask I can find on just the lower lengths of my hair. I should also add I get though cans and cans of dry shampoo! I try to only blow dry my hair once a week as well. Over time its definitely helped settle things down a lot, so might be worth a try if you can bear it.

Thank you both.

Anyone else?

I have long (elbow length) hair and it's nearly always greasy at the roots and dry at the ends, even if (reluctantly) have inches cut off it. I use tigi conditioner, and between washes I sometimes leave a mask on the ends. (Loreal elvive for very dry hair)

Mine is also the same. Lockdown boredom saw me bleaching it to platinum, putting box dyes on it. The condition is wrecked basically, but get greasy roots. Yes to going as long as possible without washing and dry shampoo is your free. Trying now to do weekly treatments and going to source a leave on conditioner to spray through too. I can't be without conditioner so it's dry shampoo all the way for the greasy roots.

*friend

You could try improving it from the inside out. I've recently almost eliminated meat from my diet and my hair is no longer greasy (I don't sweat anymore either!) I also take collagen and omega 3 which I think help with condition.
I also use a tiny amount of olive oil on the ends after washing.

Sounds like product buildup to me. Don’t get shampoo with silicone ... it will only look amazing at first until the silicone starts weighing it down and making it greasy

Mine was a bit like this. It’s curly so I started the curly girl method - no shampoo, and washing my hair in conditioners that are silicon free, sulphate free and I think paraben free and maybe alcohol?

I’m not sure if your hair is straight or curly but it might be worth a go? I had my first year curly girl method anniversary a few weeks ago and even though I only had one hair cut last year, because of covid, my hair looks so much better now than in photos of Xmas 2019.

I have this. Shoulder length, very fine. I've started using Moroccan oil moisturing shampoo and conditioner, washing every other day/three days if I can; and using their oily scalp treatment once a week. After six months it's made a big difference.

I don't use styling product as that made it worse, and I find dry shampoo just makes it matted and greasy. I've tried so many products.

Sometimes I don't use conditioner and put Moroccan oil on the bottom 1cm of hair.

Fine hair, dry ends but greasy roots. I never put conditioner all over, only in the ends and not alot or my hair is flat as a pancake for days! I wash it every four days as it takes a good two days to get some texture into it. Dry shampoo on the roots works wonders for me! I've just started using ogx charcoal detox but after one wash it seems okay and wasn't as silky after a wash

This is my post menopausal hair😭

My hair has always been very fine, prone to static if dried with a hair dryer, needed washing every day, lank and stringy if getting too long, so style wise it's been chin length, or permanently up if any longer

Conditioner helped with static, but then felt like I could barely make the day through without thinking it looked greasy at the roots

Anyway now there is a lot more grey through it, the coarser body of the greys has really helped with body and volume...I wash it probably twice a week now, but more often go four or five days with spritzes of batiste to liven it up, it's long shoulder length now and mostly swooshy and lovely. ...although it could do with a professional trim since I have not been to the hairdressers since before christmas 2019! I have snipped the ends myself to keep it from looking completely wild.

Dry ends and greasy roots - yep. Tried everything, I only condition the last few cm of my hair, use a silicone free shampoo, and vosene every now and again as I get dandruff if I leave more than a few days in between washes (nice).
In the days when you could visit hairdressers 😔 I got very regularly trims to get rid of the very dry ends before they split.