Struggling with oily or greasy scalps can be tricky. Often the advice is to reach for a harsh, stripping, clarifying shampoo - which can over-strip your hair of its natural protective oils, and leave strands feeling limp, dry and lifeless.

These shampoos can have the opposite effect, too! While they initially help and your hair and scalp feel less oily after washing, over time it can lead to your scalp producing more oils - meaning you need to wash more and more often.

Before outlining the best products to use, it’s good to know exactly why this happens…

Why Does My Scalp Get So Oily?

Oily skin is a beauty pain - but it’s actually a sign your skin is doing what it's supposed to do. Skin produces oils to help protect itself from environmental stressors, keeping it moisturised and nourished, rather than feeling dry.

When you reach for a harsh cleanser your scalp works harder to re-produce those oils. Frustrating, but it’s the way it keeps up the natural barrier that helps protect your scalp! Swapping to products that work with your scalp and help regulate oil production will work better in the long run - but it might take your scalp a little while to regulate itself.

Use A Gentler Clarifier.

Swap your harsh clarifying shampoo for a much gentler, clay based clarifier. Using a natural product will help with removing oil build up from the hair and scalp, without stripping your hair too much or aggravating your scalp.

The It’s Pure Clarifying Treatment works really well for this, as it’s a blend of mineral clays and essential oils which work together to clarify. It isn’t too harsh on your hair, and we’d advise you use it as a treatment, rather than your daily shampoo; use it every couple of weeks for the most benefit.

If you’re someone who struggles with dry lengths and ends, you’ll find the swap extra beneficial as the treatment is fine to use for every hair type, not just for oily hair.

Choose a Mint or Tea Tree based shampoo

Finding the right essential oil to balance your scalp is vital. The top two essential oils to help regulate oily scalps are Mint oil, or Tea Tree essential oil - finding the one which is better for you depends on your scalps needs!

If you’re simply struggling with balancing your scalp and suffer only with excess oil, try the Acala Clean Green Shampoo Bar. Made with a mix of conditioning plant butters, green tea and peppermint essential oil, this helps with balancing and regulating your scalp. The added bonus of cocoa and shea butter will give your hair a conditioning boost with each wash.

If you have a particularly problematic scalp and suffer with excess oil, dryness, or itchiness, then using a Tea Tree based shampoo will work better for you. Tea Tree has strong anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties, helping to tackle sore scalps as well as regulating oil production. Odylique’s Tea Tree shampoo is ideal for this and has added horsetail and coconut oil to condition and strengthen hair, and aloe vera to soothe seriously itchy or irritated scalps.

Another top tip is to make sure - especially with your scalp! - you rinse with cold to lukewarm water. While it’s also reputed to lock in hydration and shine, very hot water can dry out your skin; so if you’re always rinsing with hot water you might be causing your scalp to produce excess sebum to protect itself (just after washing!)

Add in an Amla treatment!

Amla is renowned in Ayurveda as a medicinal berry that helps to balance the three Doshas. There is a belief that if you have an imbalance, this can cause issues for you; such as skin concerns, or health concerns, so using a treatment to help balance will aid skin issues - such as oily skin!

Amla comes from the dried up Indian Gooseberry and is rich in vitamin C, and is known for its anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial and astringent properties. Used as a treatment on the hair and scalp, it helps aid scalp issues, as well as giving life and shine to your hair.

In particular, if you’ve noticed that your hair has felt limp or lifeless, Amla can help restore volume and bounce back to the hair; as well as promoting your natural curl or wave pattern.

 

As a bonus, if you’re concerned with oily skin on your face as well as your scalp, it can be used as a toning facial mask or scrub also.

Dry ends? Add in a lightweight conditioner

If you’ve been struggling with an oily scalp for a while, you’ve probably been told to avoid using a conditioner as it will be too heavy, or weigh your hair down.

While this might work for some, if you’re someone who struggles with dry lengths and ends, or finds yourself battling frizz, or flyaways - then adding in a cream conditioner will help. 

Don’t panic; if you’re really worried about using too much on your scalp, you only need to condition the lengths (or just the ends, if that’s the only place you’re experiencing dryness!)

The Odylique Rosemary Conditioner works well for this. Its two concentrated Rosemary extracts, plus Aloe Vera are ideal for scalp issues, and help with limp, or lifeless hair; while Shea Butter and Rice Water aid with locking in hydration on your hair strands.

The Odylique conditioners are silicone free and have the added bonus of working as leave-in conditioners, too; meaning you only need to use a pea-sized amount as and when, rather than having to use it each time you wash your hair.