My son is 11 and a half. Lately we have been dealing with a boy who wants to grow his hair out, which is fine. But it seems to be chronically greasy. We have had discussions about washing hair (EVERY TIME I SHOWER?–yes, every time) and technique, and rinsing, and everything else. Yesterday it looked like he washed his hair with olive oil, so I went out to buy something stronger than the strawberry scented Tone shampoo he had been using.
WHERE HAS THE SHAMPOO to “beat the greasies” GONE?
I looked in a large chain drugstore. I looked in a supermarket. There was no specific “shampoo for oily hair”.
I found
Volumizing
Shine Enhancing
Moisturizing
Gentle
“Clean…No build up”
For Dull hair
for limp hair
I would have thought citrus shampoos would be good for the greasies but they all contained words like “restorative for colour treated hair”
I finally found one men’s shampoo that was for oily hair. I bought it. Apparently this has made the boy happy, he told my mom on the phone “Mom bought me a fancy shampoo for MEN”.
I admit I am an unhip 45 year old mom who alternates between good salon shampoo and stuff that smells good and greasy hair has not been a problem for years. but help an old dame out here. I cannot possibly have the only greasy haired pre teen out there… what is the new code word for oily hair.
Sorry, but “greasy” and “oily” are no longer PC. :rolleyes:
Pretty sure what you want to look for is a “clarifying shampoo.”
If all else fails, he could always try a final rinse with either lemon juice or vinegar. He’ll need to get it more on the scalp than the hair, it’s the scalp producing the oil. The smell goes away once the hair is dry.
Prell is about second only to Dawn dish soap for cutting grease. It’s also bright green and not at all flowery or fruity smelling, so it should pass the Boy Test.
I think the Head and Shoulders citrus one is specifically for oily hair. I can’t imagine a dandruff shampoo would be bad for some who doesn’t have dandruff.
Back before they had ‘clarifying’ shampoo, I did use Head and Shoulders once a month for that very purpose. I can’t remember who gave me the tip originally, but it works well for the purpose.
Great suggestions. The clarifying ones all seemed to talk about “enhancing your hair’s moisture and shine” and that seemed like something to avoid. I just miss the eighties I guess when shampoo labels would say things were for normal to oily hair, etc.
Anyway he seems happy with his MAN_POO right now. Sigh. I miss the baby shampoos but got used to the fruity smelling varieties. Clearly this “my little boy is growing up” is hundreds of bandaids being ripped off at varying speeds. Love my pre-teen but I miss my sweet little boy who used to make bubble beards in the tub.
I’ve been using the H&S (or the store brand knockoff) labeled for “normal to oily” hair for 40 years now. And I’ve never had dandruff or any other scalp issues. But as a teen I did have really oily skin & hair. Nowadays not so much, but I’ll be damned if I’ll run the gauntlet of trying to make sense out of 200 kinds of damn shampoo. I just buy something I recognize. It hasn’t killed me … yet.
Prell’s great stuff; I’ve used it off and on for probably about 20 years now. Nothing works better on greasy hair; it doesn’t matter how greasy, one good washing and your hair will be squeaky-clean.
Clean … No build up is a good start - this means that it’s not designed to leave a coating on your hair. (“No-frizz” is the opposite - it’s supposed to leave a fine layer on each hair shaft, smoothing the texture and appearance. Same with “Moisturizing.” Avoid both of these.)
**Volumizing **or **For dull/limp hair **might make it poofier, but YMMV.
I’ve got fairly oily hair, but I won’t use Prell. It really is like dish soap - it strips so much that it tangles the fuck out of my hair ( which varies from moderately short to moderately long depending on the season ) to the point where it is either actively painful to untangle after a shower or I have to use two pounds of conditioner.
I agree that “clarifying” appears to be the new code word. I figured that out in some transition phase when I found a label saying something like “clarifying for oilier hair”. But it annoys me as well that plain old “oily” no longer seems PC :).
I haven’t seen Prell in Canada in a long time. I loved Pert, still will buy a mini bottle if I am going to be on a holiday and swimming a lot. It’s great once in a while but not for me every day.
I bought a L’oreal man shampoo that said for normal to oily hair. Results seem good, but it was around $5.00 which is more than I would pay for an 11 year old’s shampoo, especially since he tends to slop it on.
Not the ‘model’ I buy but my brand makes one for oily hair. It’s in the fine print and probably nothing special, but it’s still there. Your best bet is going to be two fold, first just find out what’s best for oily hair (I don’t know) is it citrus? is it tea tree oil? is it mint? etc and get that. More importantly, have him do what I did in high school when my hair was greasy…take two showers a day. Shower in the morning before school and shower after school. The problem is that A)he probably just doesn’t care and B)if he’s asking you if he needs to wash his hair every time, that means he’s probably not washing his hair every time. Just getting him to use shampoo every time he takes a shower might make different…and it WILL make a difference if he’s using any kind of product in it. Especially if it’s petroleum based like pomade. That won’t come out with plain water. If that’s the case, have him, at least, switch to something water based like fiber or wax since it washes out easier and doesn’t make your head look like an oil slick.
As someone who has oily as all heck hair, I can tell you that the times I came out of the shower looking like I doused myself in olive oil were the times I tried to rinse it with just water.
Maybe all he needed was a shampoo he liked better and maybe smells/looks less girly to him or something.
As other alternatives that may or may not be available to you depending on where you live, Whole Foods makes a remarkably cheap minty shampoo for oily hair, and Lush makes a shampoo bar that a boy might enjoy.
I don’t know how to say this politely so…y’all are wrong, wrong, wrong.
Oily hair and oily skin are made worse when you use harsh soaps to strip away the grease and/or wash too frequently. That creates a vicious cycle whereby your skin creates more oil to ameliorate the now-too-dry skin and scalp, making you oily again. It sounds counter-intuitive, but you need to use gentler products, not harsher, and to wash your hair less frequently. And there will be a period of adjustment that you just have to power through, all the while cursing the idiot who told you to wash your hair less since that clearly doesn’t work for you. The period might take weeks for some people.
Things to consider:
**Look for a shampoo that is not made with sodium lauryl sulfate. Sodium laureth sulfate is its less harsh cousin, but go ahead and try sulfate-free shampoos. There are a number of widely available drugstore brands of shampoo that fit this bill – L’Oreal and Organix are two brands that come to mind.
**If you currently wash your hair every day, try washing it every other day. If you’d like to move more slowly, wash it every day and a half (wash it in the morning today and wash it again tomorrow night) until you can work up to washing it every other day. Or even less frequently.
**Use dry shampoo on the day you don’t wash your hair (or when you need it). Suave makes one that’s around $3 that’s decent, and Not Your Mother’s dry shampoo has a good reputation for working well.
**If you don’t want to use dry shampoo for some reason, on the day that you don’t use shampoo on your hair, wash your hair with conditioner only. Scrub that conditioner into your scalp like you would a shampoo that doesn’t lather. Some people do very well adjusting to using conditioner only (never shampoo) for good.
You’re probably thinking, “Girl, you’re clearly nuts, this cannot work” right now, but just give this a shot. Like I said, there will be a period of adjustment during which your hair will look extra oily. Stick it out! Wear hats or scarves, pick a time frame where you’re on vacation or don’t have to look your best, whatever. You’ll eventually notice your hair becoming less and less oily in between washes.
Thank you everyone for advice. Some is excellent and some would be excellent if, it was for me. For MY 11 YEAR OLD BOY a one-step cheapish remedy is all I ask. I am fascinated to know about the Head and Shoulders working for oily hair, I thought it would end up with a rebound effect, drying the scalp or some such.
Dry shampoo-- I love, it, no way would my kid use that. He isn’t really concerned about his appearance yet. (Except he must have skinny jeans in exotic colours. I bought them and said nothing but I did the dance of joy when the banana yellow skinny jeans became too short.)
He isn’t even sweaty/fragrant yet. Just his hair gets ridiculously slick. This new shampoo from L’oreal seems to be working. But he still misses his Strawberry scented cheap stuff.)
It’s also like a buck a gallon so you often have to look for it on the bottom shelf (like cheap liquor). I use it as well but haven’t had any tangling problems or the like with it.
I had this problem in high school when I had long hair. My issue was that if I washed in the morning, it would be dry and staticy all day at school, but it was dripping grease by bed time and therefore I couldn’t go a second day without washing it. But I found out that if I washed my hair before bed, it would develop a light layer of oil overnight to give my hair shine and body, without being either staticy or greasy. Also, combing it frequently distributes the oils so they keep your hair shiny and healthy looking without building up at the roots and making the top of my head look like it needs an oil change.
All this is much simpler with short hair, because I shampoo in the morning and immediately put some pomade in it to avoid the dry, staticy limpness. Also, I’ve come to appreciate the oils in my hair, and I usually go all weekend without washing it. If I keep it combed, it looks more like healthy, full bodied hair and not greasy or stringy.
