The Secret, 3-Step Hack All Oily-Haired Women Must Know
by Marissa Pomerance
If you, like me, experience a pool of oil drenching your scalp a mere 12 hours after washing your hair, welcome to this article.
There’s a lot of advice for achieving balanced, not-flaky, not-oily scalps in the long term. “Wash your hair less,” they say. “Use a clarifying shampoo!” “Don’t even use shampoo AT ALL.” “WASH YOUR HAIR ONCE EVERY 19 DAYS!!”
Of course, I’ve tried all of these things. And somehow, they all made it worse, causing oil to find its way from my scalp down to the ENDS of my hair such that I resembled a grungy 90’s musician on month 7 of his shampoo-less world tour.
But after an embarrassing amount of trial and error, I discovered this once-a-week, 3-step hack for achieving the bouncy, beautiful, clean hair of my dreams. My scalp feels refreshed, not flaky. My strands are soft, not brittle, and it takes more than 36 hours for the oil to come back!
Here’s the secret: it’s the perfect mix of hydrating AND clarifying.
1. I Prep My Scalp With This Oil
Yes, I add MORE oil to my oily scalp.
But, this oil is made for oily scalps, using a combination of argan oil and ginger root oil to nourish and moisturize, while clarifying and balancing.
Here’s what I do: before I get in the shower, I spend 2 minutes dropping this stuff onto the most oily parts of my scalp, and then rub it in.
Then, I let it sit and work its *magic* as I move on to step 2.
(Fair warning: the smell is medicinal, but not terrible).
2. WHILE I treat my ends with this mask
While the oil sinks into my scalp, I get in the shower, gently wet the middle-to-ends of my strands, and apply this deeply nourishing hair mask.
Because here’s the key; when we blast our scalps with stripping shampoos and scrubs, we dry the heck out of the rest of our hair, leaving it brittle straw.
This mask prevents the straw, and makes my strands feel like literal silk.
I leave both on for about 5-10 mins as I do the rest of my shower routine—I’ll often leave this whole process for shaving days, so my head hair can marinate as I rid my body of the rest of its hair.
Pro-tip: use big, industrial-sized hair clips, like these, to keep your masked, oiled hair out of your face while you shave.
3. And then I use A Clarifying Shampoo
And then I rinse it all out!
But instead of just using water, I use this exfoliating shampoo.
I mean, it’s called “Scalp Revival.” Have you ever heard of something so exciting?
This stuff just really gets in there, and with a gorgeous combination of charcoal and tea tree, cleans all that gunk out. Which, according to my hairstylist, is something we should be doing weekly/a few times a month.
In case you don’t believe me, here are the before and afters to prove it.
BEFORE: 2 days of grease, before doing the above hack. Do you see that? My hair is not wet. That is OIL.
(Yes, I’m wearing a towel, but this was pre-shower, which shows you how committed I was to an accurate “before” shot).
AFTER: Please ignore my horrendous roots, but this is 2-days of no washing, post-treatment!
It’s not completely without oil, but a significant improvement from the above, don’t you think? I’m showing it flipped to the side, too, so you can see that it’s at least wearable in public. Plus, my frizz is (mostly) tamed, and my ends aren’t straw.
BONUS: If your scalp and ends need a bit more TLC after the above hack, try these:
Bonus: This Scalp Oil From Briogeo
We swear, this isn’t sponsored by Briogeo. But they have an entire Scalp Revival line, which is genius.
This oil, like their shampoo, uses charcoal and tea tree to intensely clarify without drying out your scalp or creating flakes.
And it’s especially soothing for itchiness or irritation.
If I’m feeling extra energetic, I’ll squeeze a few drops into my damp scalp (after I’ve conditioned and rinsed), right before I get out of the shower.
Bonus: This Hair oil from gisou
If your ends are still dry as brittle straw, try this oil.
Honey-infused, supremely hydrating, and smells gorgeous.
It can be used as hair mask, overnight treatment, or just squeeze a few drops into your palms and lightly run through your ends to tame frizz and add moisture. Since it’s not a particularly oily oil, you won’t look like you just dumped EVOO on your head.
Is this whole process a bit longer than just blasting my hair daily with sulfate-rich shampoo? Yes.
But will you reap the rewards 2 days later when you wake up without oil stains on your pillowcase?
You sure will.
Marissa Pomerance is the Managing Editor of The Candidly. She’s a Los Angeles native and lover of all things food, style, beauty, and wellness. You can find more of her articles here.
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