Causes of Greasy Oily Hair | Scalp


Why is my hair and scalp oily and greasy? This problem is suffered by many people, and many are embarrassed to ask questions about this scalp condition.

Well, there are solutions to this problem, so don't worry too much about it as there are lots of other more important things to worry about in life.

Greasy Oily Hair Situation

Is the following your situation or similar to it? You've just washed your hair in the morning and it feels and looks nice and fresh. You head out to conquer your daily routine, and by the end of the day your hair isn't looking and feeling so fresh anymore.

Instead of soft and luscious, your hair is oily and nappy. Perhaps this condition appeared suddenly and seemed to have developed overnight. Perhaps previously you could go a day or two without shampooing and conditioning your hair and it would still look great. If this is your situation, you may want to read on...

What Causes Greasy Oily Hair

The cause of this condition is due to excessive amounts of sebum coming from the scalp. Sebum is the oil under your skin produced by the sebaceous gland. Since the scalp consists of skin, sebum is also produced in the scalp.

Oily Scalp is the Root of all Evil

Yes, to put it in a nutshell, your hair being abnormally oily is caused by your scalp being abnormally oily. So, your scalp is where the problem lies, and to cure your hair problem, you need to care for your scalp.

How to Get Rid of an Oily Scalp

There really is no single set way to get rid of a oily scalp problem as each individual's body reacts differently to specific treatments. There are many different ways to attempt to tackle and treat oily scalp, so let's consider some of them:

Avoid hair products with oils

Shampoos, conditioners, hair sprays, mousses, and other hair styling products that have oils in them may want to be avoided as the use of these may indeed flare up the condition and worsen it. There are oil-free shampoo and conditioner products available so consider being more selective in your choice of hair care.

Moisturize your hair and scalp

Your hair and scalp need to be moisturized in order to maintain the health and beauty of it. A product does not necessarily have to have oils in it in order to provide moisturizing properties. Unlike what a lot of people think, moisture and oil do NOT go hand in hand. Try using oil-free moisturizing shampoos and conditioners.

It is important to use conditioner. Some may reason that because your hair is oily, it does not need to be moisturized by conditioner. This thinking is wrong as the scalp may attempt to compensate to not enough moisture received and produce excessive amounts of oil...rather the use of that agent will likely balance and fill the needs of your scalp.

Maintain the ph balance

As with our whole body, proper balance is essential. Using products that are too acidic or too alkaline can throw off the ph balance of your scalp and cause it to either be too oily and greasy or too dry and flaky. There are many products offered that are ph balanced.

Are you also suffering from smelly scalp | itchy scalp? More articles on that around the site.

Treatments for Scalp Acne

What is scalp acne?

Have you ever wondered about scalp acne? Well, if you are reading this, your answer to the former question must likely be yes. To answer another question that many have, scalp acne is indeed a medical condition.

Scalp acne is defined as simply acne that develops on the top part of your head also known as your scalp. If you feel a small bump on your hair that is tender or sensitive to the touch, it is very likely that it is a pimple or zit that has formed.

Don't be too alarmed about this. Contrary to what you may be thinking, this medical condition is not all too uncommon.

What causes scalp acne?

Well, first, think about facial acne or body acne...they develop due to excess oil caused by hormones, stress, or several other factors. Because the scalp consists of skin, acne is very much able to develop there. Therefore, what causes facial acne also causes the formation of it on the scalp.

Treatments for scalp acne

Much like the regular form of acne, the same active and inactive ingredients used to treat them are also used to treat scalp acne. Some of the popular treatments include a solution containing salicylic acid and sulfur.

However, this does not mean that what you can put on your face, you can also put on your hair without any adverse unwanted effects. Let's use the ingredient benzoyl peroxide as an example.

Benzoyl peroxide is a common organic chemical ingredient used to kill the bacteria that causes pimples and blackheads and whiteheads to form and flare up. Benzoyl peroxide is used in facial care products such as the proactive daily cleanser and proactive renewing cream.

Now, to get back to the point, benzoyl peroxide isn't typicallly used in scalp acne treatments or any scalp condition because it is of the peroxide family. Peroxide is a bleaching agent, so unless you would like to lighten your hair, we definitely do not in any way recommend using this organic chemical ingredient as a scalp or hair rinse as it will bleach hair and may cause it to be brittle.

An ingredient that should do well at treating this condition is salicylic acid. There are many over the counter (otc) shampoos with this ingredient in it. Some common brands are Neutrogena shampoos and Denorex shampoo.

Denorex shampoo has a couple of different types of dandruff treatments so make sure you choose the one with salicylic acid if you want to attempt to treat scalp acne.

If your scalp is tender and sensitive, you may want to consider using a treatment with a smaller percentage dosage. If you are extremely concerned about the tenderness and sensitivity, it is always best to consult a dermatologist or your physician.

What Causes Tender Scalp



I have been reading a lot of questions as to the causes of tenderness of the scalp. Many people are wondering what is the cause of their sensitive scalp. I can very much understand the cause for concern, as this condition may possibly be a symptom of a serious medical condition.

We are all very much aware of our health, and there is no doubt that we want to take all rational, logical, and plausible measures to maintain our personal physical well-being.

Common Tender & Sensitive Scalp Symptoms

Let's start off with the majority of the complaints of tender scalp. Some people have complained of an area or spot on the scalp near the crown of their head being sore. When I state sore, what I mean to say is sore or a certain extreme of tenderness and sensitivity to the touch (not as a migraine or some other type of headache).

Others are complaining about a tender area right on the top of the head. The pain started off very lightly so perhaps this did not at first alarm them at all. However, after a few days or a week passed, the pain continued to get more intense and the tenderness continued to worsen.

Some times these symptoms can be accompanied by shooting pains on other regions of the scalp part of the head including regions very close or near to the head such as by the ears or around the ears, on the neck (mostly on the back side and on the base of the neck), and the forehead or upper areas of the face, and also not to leave out the jaw area.

Keep in mind that just because you cannot see anything visibly wrong definitely does not mean that nothing is wrong at all. My saying is that if it hurts and it is sensitive and you are feeling not normal than usual, perhaps it is worthy to take a closer examination to discover the root of the 'abnormality' or 'problem' at hand.

It is always better to be safe than sorry, right? Alright, well not that we have got that covered, let us attempt to rule out what would NOT be the symptoms...let us identify the obvious things that would not affect you in this way.

Rule Out What Does Not Cause Scalp Tenderness

One obvious condition that would not cause this is dandruff. Dandruff will not cause your scalp to be feeling as if it hurts or give you shooting pains that feel almost as if you were being poked at or stabbed at lightly. Usually, dandruff is not at all serious and it will not cause detrimental effects to your health and physical wellness.

If anything, it will cause you much embarrassment when you are out on the town or socializing with your peers. Flaky dry skin from your scalp can be harmful to your self-esteem and self-confidence, but that's about it for that condition so don't fret about that.

Another even more obvious thing to rule out is any myths or old wives tales that you've heard. If you do this or say this, this will cause this to happen...come on and get real!

Okay people, now that we have gotten some of the stuff that aren't factors out and open in the air, let's consider some possibilities that would be the cause of tenderness.

Possible Causes of Tender Scalp Symptom

Allergy | Allergic Reaction

What could likely be causing this problem is an allergic reaction to something that you have come into contact with. To discover if this is it, you could try to back track and keep tabs of the things that you use and what is around you. Let's see...ask yourself some of the following questions: Have you eaten anything that you would not usually eat and is not normally in your daily regular diet? What about detergents and household cleaners? Did you buy a different brand of fabric softener, shampoo, conditioner, gel, hair care and hair styling product, or dishwashing liquid?

If you are wondering about the dishwashing liquid and maybe even the laundry detergent part (which may at first seem pretty stupid because normal people don't dump stuff like that on their head), remember that your sheets and pillows and clothing go into the washing machine with all the chemical products and do come into contact with most of your body including your noggin.

The handsoap and other stuff you touch with your hands...well, you discovered that your head was tender by touching it with your HANDS so yes, your hands do play a role in the whole discover and elimination process we are dealing with here.

Spine, Back, Neck, Shoulder Injuries

I have recently personally experienced tenderness in the tempos and the back jawline when I woke up in the morning. In fact, this has happened to me a handful of times during the previous month.

This is very annoying and irritating so if you are experiencing something somewhat similar to this, I can and do empathize with you...it is a major pain to be feeling like this. Perhaps people around you don't understand and think you are being overly dramatic. Well, anyway we are straying off subject so getting back to the point...

If you are in the same situation that I am in, then the cause of the tenderness is due to injuries sustained to the back, neck, spine, and shoulders. If you are questioning in your mind how these injuries happened, well it was due to a car accident.

This is not a recent event, no it happened awhile ago. About two years ago to be exact. What a lot of people don't understand is these injuries may not manifest itself right away. Matter of fact, many times these types of occurrences do not really manifest itself until later on in life. Just when you think that everything is okay, then it comes to bite you in the buttocks.

Well, everything is connected to the spine. The reasoning is your head is attached to your neck, and in turn, your neck is attached to your spine.

Since everything is attached to your spine, and in the occurrence that your spine is in one way or another injured, then this can very well affect your head and cause tenderness of the scalp.

So maybe your tender scalp is not an actual scalp condition, but a back or spine condition. To be sure, you should go and check with a doctor.

If You're Worried About Your Tender & Sensitive Scalp...

So, I've just given you a few ideas of what could be causing your tender scalp issues. I'm not a doctor, so if you feel like you have got a serious condition, you should see a professional medical doctor and/or dermatologist.

I cannot stress enough the importance of consulting a professional if you are really concerned about it. Even if there isn't anything wrong, as I have stated before, you are better off safe than sorry.

Well, that's a wrap. If you are looking for other scalp answers feel free to look around the site. Some popular articles are those about Toppik scalp irritation and if Toppik causes scalp cancer. Thanks and have a great day