Definition
Oily hair, medically known as “seborrhea” describes an overproduction of sebum, which is regularly secreted by the sebaceous glands of the skin and hair root cells.
Tasks of tallow
Sebum is necessary in many ways and is urgently needed by the human body. The most important task of sebum is to moisturize the skin and hair. A constant moisturizing is necessary to make the cells more durable and extend their life span.
In addition to the preservation, sebum has a protective function and forms a kind of protective film on the skin and hair. If this film is constant and coats the skin and hair with a regular consistency and quantity, it can be guaranteed that pathogens and parasites cannot penetrate the skin or attack the scalp hair so easily. A homogeneous sebum film also prevents the hair from becoming brittle or the skin from cracking so quickly.
Oily hair as an overproduction of sebum in the area of the hair cells can have different causes and has at least affected everyone at least once before. Sebum is secreted at regular intervals in the area of the hair root and thus reaches every single hair. If hair hygiene is practised regularly, the sebum film on the hair is washed off at regular intervals.
The sebaceous glands then begin to produce and coat the hair with sebum again. If the hair is not washed regularly, the sebum film on the hair does not change regularly. The sebaceous glands continue to produce the secretion and coat the hair with it, which results in the thickness of the sebum film increasing.
This results in the appearance of “greasy hair”. The next time the hair is washed, the film is washed off and the hair reappears in its normal state. The production of sebum can be controlled, the sebaceous glands can thus be trained.
If you wash your hair every day and then stop using it for a day, you will notice that the hair looks greasy after only one day. If you wash your hair every three days, you can see that the sebaceous glands are used to this “film change” and do not produce sebum as quickly. Hair greasing is usually only observed when the accustomed washing rhythm is exceeded.
The sebaceous glands thus react to external stimuli on the one hand, but also to internal stimulations on the other. The sebaceous glands are subject to a complicated hormonal control mechanism, which can quickly become imbalanced and result in greasy hair. The most common cause of disturbances of the internal regulatory cycle are hormonal fluctuations.
Particularly during puberty there are strong fluctuations in the hormonal balance. As a result, the sebaceous glands are usually more strongly stimulated. This leads to so-called seborrhea (greasy hair), the overproduction of sebum.
As a result, the skin becomes oily more quickly and the hair also becomes oily more quickly. In most cases, skin and hair must be washed daily to counteract the overproducing sebaceous glands. The high stimulation of the sebaceous glands also causes the sebaceous glands to become temporarily clogged or even colonized by bacteria.
This results in impurities in the skin and acne formation. After the end of puberty, this imbalance usually returns. When the menopause (menopause) begins, there is a new hormonal change.
This time, however, in contrast to puberty, the sebaceous glands are almost not stimulated at all. As a result, less sebum gets onto the skin and into the hair, which leads to increasingly dry skin and sometimes very brittle hair. In this case, it is usually necessary to try to counteract this new imbalance by using greasy creams and moisturizing lotions for the hair.
In addition to hormones and external influences, such as hygiene and frequency of care, sebum formation is also influenced by another system of the human body. Messenger substances, which are released in different situations in the body, stimulate or reduce the activity of the sebaceous glands. If there is prolonged stress, the messenger substance adrenaline and the hormone cortisone are released.
Over many intermediate steps, this causes an increasing overproduction of sebum, both on the skin and the hair.So people who find themselves in a stressful, long-lasting situation will therefore sometimes suffer from an increasing overproduction of sebum and complain of increasingly oily skin and hair. During this time, hygiene and hair care must usually be intensified to counteract the overproduction. If the life situation calms down again, there is a flood of cortisone and adrenaline, which also inhibits the sebaceous glands again.
The production of sebum returns to its usual level, and hair care can resume its normal frequency. In addition to all the factors mentioned, the sebum production of skin and hair is also subject to an extraordinary individual range. There are people who, by nature, only have to wash their hair every 2-3 days because the sebaceous glands only work in such a rhythm by birth.
Still others cannot do without daily hair washing under any circumstances and have very active sebaceous glands, independent of the corresponding overall and life situation. Some also describe a connection between oily hair and skin and the seasons. After long periods of cold, where you often visit heated rooms and where there is a constant change between cold and heat, there can also be an overproduction of hair sebum and greasing of the hair.
In order to prevent faster greasing of the hair, in addition to the exact selection of hair care products and the frequency of care, you should also make sure that the hair is well ventilated. For this reason, hat and cap wearers are often more often affected by greasy hair (seborrhea) than people who do not cover their head. Frequent blow-drying is also attributed to faster hair greasing.
The reason for this is that the sebum film formed evaporates quickly due to blow-drying and the sebaceous glands are quickly animated to produce a lot of sebum again. This leads to a passagere overproduction. There are also theories that the frequent application of chemicals to the scalp leads to an imbalance of the sebaceous glands.
One example is the frequent coloring or tinting of the outer hair, which is also seen as a cause of sebum gland overproduction. However, the causes and evidence for this theory are still pending. Some diseases also cause oily hair, regardless of the type and duration and frequency of hair care.
Mostly, these are diseases in which there is an imbalance of hormones and/or messenger substances of the human body. The best known clinical picture with this symptom is Parkinson’s disease. In this disease, a cell death of a brain region leads to an imbalance or a deficiency of the messenger substance dopamine.
Among other things, this ensures that excessive movements of the human body are inhibited. If a deficiency occurs, this is the reason for the well-known tremor. In addition, a dopamine deficiency leads to an activation of the sweat and sebaceous glands, which leads to a rapid greasing of the skin and hair.
In the context of Parkinson’s disease, one also speaks of the so-called ointment face, which patients often have in advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease. Due to the overproduction of the sebaceous glands, the face looks like it has been oinged. Hair quickly becomes greasy, regardless of the frequency of hair care.
Patients with oily hair can try a variety of methods to treat seborrhea. It is important to research the cause of oily hair. If the frequency of hair washing has been changed (usually once washing is omitted), and if greasing of the hair occurs as a result, it can be assumed that the sebaceous glands of the hair have “got used to” the familiar rhythm and have fallen into overproduction.
There are two methods to stop the overproduction in this case. Furthermore, general measures should be taken to reduce the rapid greasing of the hair. In the case of severe sebum overproduction, some drugs can be used, which have an effect especially on the hormone balance.
The background is that a lack of female sex hormones, such as estrogen, leads to an overproduction of sebum on skin and hair. To treat this, women can take estrogens in low doses at regular intervals. In general, an improvement in symptoms is described while taking the pill, which consists of estrogens.
However, attention should be paid to the side effects and risks should be weighed up against the benefits. The treatment of affected men with preparations containing estrogens is more difficult.Due to the numerous side effects and unfavorable effects of estrogens on the male organism, their use must be considered very carefully. A long-term intake of estrogens leads to the development of female sexual characteristics (breast development).
For this reason, affected men should first take and try out all other measures. The use of mild soaps should also be considered, which should be applied to the scalp. In some cases, treatment with the substance isoretinoin can be attempted to bring about an improvement and relief.
If the cause of quickly greasy hair is not known and all applied treatment attempts are of no use, a dermatologist should also be consulted. It may be necessary to consult a specialist in endocrinology, as a severe hormonal imbalance is the cause of increasing hair and skin oiliness. A blood test should be carried out to determine the levels of estrogens, cortisone and thyroid hormones in the blood in order to start a balanced hormonal treatment.
- The hair should always be exposed to the air and
- Frequent wearing of hats or caps is avoided
- Frequent blow-drying of the hair should be reduced
- The use of mousse or gel products should be reduced or, if hair grease is present, the products should be replaced.
- Frequent tinting or coloring of the hair should be avoided.
- Sometimes it can help to massage the scalp at regular intervals. This should be done dry without using oils or preparations. The massage should be done in a circular motion over the head and last a few minutes.
It can happen that shortly after this, the hair becomes increasingly greasy, because the sebum still present in the sebaceous glands is expressed and thus gets onto the hair. However, regular massage is more likely to regulate the sebaceous glands and bring about a rapid improvement. The massages of the head should be done in the first time daily once or twice a day for about 5 minutes each.
Directly after the massage, the hair should not be washed out.
- Since excessively dry scalps can also result in compensatory overactivity of the sebaceous glands, it may also be necessary to treat dry scalps with moisturizing lotions, oils and shampoos. There are several shampoos available on the market especially for oily hair, but they contain such aggressive washing substances that they are more harmful than helpful for the body and hair. This can lead to scalp problems such as dry dandruff, redness and itching, the scalp can become inflamed and hair loss can occur.
For these reasons and because the sebaceous glands would be stimulated to increased production after the massive degreasing, it is recommended to use only gentle shampoos. Most baby shampoos are suitable for this purpose, but also many of the shampoos from various natural cosmetics companies. Especially shampoos with tea tree oil help against greasy hair and dandruff.
You can also find instructions for use under: Tea Tree Oil
- In addition to the mild shampoo, the scalp can be lightly oiled overnight with a massage (for example almond oil, jojoba oil or coconut oil), so that the stressed area is naturally cared for and sebum production is regulated over time. The next morning, the gentle shampoo is then applied normally, so that the hair is then carefully de-oiled and can shine freshly washed. If, despite this gentle treatment of the scalp and hair, the problem of permanently greasy hair still exists after some time, a dermatologist should be consulted who can examine whether the problem is caused by a disease (such as seborrhoeic eczema), which then needs to be treated medically before the symptoms can improve.
- Besides shampoos and oils, there are also various powders that can be applied to the scalp at regular intervals.
- Washing the hair immediately and following the daily hair care regimen will cause the sebaceous glands to produce sebum in the usual way, and daily hair washing will balance the production of sebum and washing off the sebum film.
If, however, the hair washing would be omitted again later, the hair would be greased again.
- The second possibility would be to train the sebaceous glands. One leaves the hair in this state for another day, so to speak, then washes the hair and in the future only washes the hair every two days. The sebaceous glands will quite quickly “save” the change and adjust the sebum production according to the hair care.
The interval of the daily hair care can also be increased further, as desired. However, this only works if there is no disease of the sebaceous glands, the hormonal system or an imbalance in daily life (stress). In this case, these factors would first have to be treated and eliminated before an improvement in sebum production can be expected.
With oily hair, the right care is the most important thing.
In most cases, excessive washing worsens the symptoms and also leads to undesirable side effects such as drying out of the scalp and dandruff formation. Neglecting to cleanse the scalp can lead to the development of scalp diseases, such as fungal infections. The choice of the right shampoo plays a special role in the care of oily hair.
Here it is important to ensure that under no circumstances is too aggressive a product chosen. People with a tendency to oily hair should choose particularly mild shampoos that contain sufficient surfactants (washing-active substances – absorb grease and dirt) and are not greasy if possible. The latter property is particularly evident in products offered to consumers with particularly dry hair and dry, itchy scalp.
Shampoos containing silicones should be avoided for oily hair. These substances have a strong refatting effect and can worsen the symptoms. Recommended are mild, soap-free products, which are offered as medical skin and hair care in the drugstore and in many supermarkets.
Herbal extracts based on camomile or rosemary also help to cleanse the hair effectively and gently and also maintain the natural environment of the scalp. When washing the hair, the shampoo should be massaged in thoroughly and then rinsed out completely with lukewarm water. Shampoo residues remaining in the hair can give a greasy appearance and also irritate the scalp.
Although daily shampooing is also allowed for oily hair, mild products should be used for the shampoos used daily. Special grease-removing shampoos should never be used too often, as ́sie dry out the scalp, which reacts to this with increased sebum production, which makes the hair appear greasy. Affected persons who shower more often during the day should only include the hair wash in one shower cycle to protect the scalp.
When blow-drying, care should be taken to ensure that the scalp is not hit by the hot air jet, as this has a drying effect and can cause increased sebum production in the wake. If the hair appears greasy again in the course of the day after daily washing, a so-called dry shampoo can be used. Corresponding products are available in the pharmacy.
If the problem of greasy hair cannot be solved with conventional methods, those affected should consult their family doctor or dermatologist and have the exact origin of the problem clarified. Under certain circumstances, the doctor may also prescribe special shampoos containing selenium or tar. These substances have proven to be particularly effective in treating oily hair.
