The sebaceous glands around the hair follicles secrete sebum, an oily substance whose mission is to protect the scalp and hair. Oily hair is the result of overworking sebaceous glands. Oily hair could also be the result of using the wrong shampoo. Build up of shampoo will also attract dirt and grease and make hair look limp and greasy. The good news is that oily hair can be easy to manage once you know how.
It's important to know what the cause of the oily hair is. Is it because you are using the wrong kind of shampoo? Is it because you are not rinsing out your shampoo well? It could be hereditary, but genes cannot change be changed!
Use the right shampoo, and make sure you also rinse well after using any kind of commercial shampoo. It's better to use a natural shampoo, as commercial shampoos tend to cause build-up, which will attract oil and dirt. You need not use any conditioner, as conditioners are meant for dry hair.
Homemade Shampoo: Make yourself some homemade shampoo by mixing green gram flour with water to form a runny paste. You can get green gram flour from Indian grocery shops. If you cannot get green gram flour, you can also soak yellow lentils overnight and the next day; grind them to make it into a runny paste. Massage this paste onto your hair. Gram flour is a great cleanser for oily, greasy hair. It is able to absorb oil and dirt and leave the hair clean. You don't have to use any shampoo to wash it off. Just use lots of water.
Baby powder: If you are in a rush and your hair is greasy, and you don't have the time to wash with gram flour, you can use baby powder, which is usually more pure talc than anything else. This is similar to dry shampoo. Put some powder onto to your palms and run your palms through your hair and scalp. Use more powder, if there's not enough for the whole head of air. Then brush it off till the powder comes off. Talc like gram flour can cut through grease easily too. You'll be very happy to find that your hair is oil-free once you've finished. Use this remedy only if you've no time to shampoo your hair, before a function.
Lemon Juice or Vinegar Rinse: Once you've shampooed the hair and rinsed it with water, you can rub any astringent substance like lemon juice or vinegar on the hair and scalp. You can mix either one of them with a little bit of water if you want, before applying onto the hair and scalp. Lemon juice or vinegar will remove excess sebum and also any remainder shampoo if any, from the hair. Lemon is a better choice as it smells good.
These home remedies do work for oily hair. You need not use any shampoo. Anyway shampoos contain chemicals, and it is best not to use them. Shampooing with gram flour and rinsing with lemon juice will not only clean your hair but will cut through the excess grease and oil. As they are completely harmless, you can say goodbye to limp, oily hair.
