Does Washing Your Hair More Frequently Make It Greasier?

[forlorn]

A slightly OT question, but I'd like to see some evidence in regards to whether washing your hair more frequently makes your scalp produce more sebum.

You really can't trust so-called hair experts because one will tell you that frequent washing will make your scalp compensate by producing more oils while the other says that the rate of sebum-production is constant. The only thing they agree on is that washing strips your hair of its essential oils (no sh*t).

I'm asking because I've had very fine hair my whole life, and the difference between day 1 and day 2 is noticeable, since the hair gets darker, shinier and more clumpy.

I trust that I'm not the only one who wants a definite answer to this question since many men here are suffering from thinning, which makes your hair greasier at a faster rate.

 

[Unlucky93]

A slightly OT question, but I'd like to see some evidence in regards to whether washing your hair more frequently makes your scalp produce more sebum.

You really can't trust so-called hair experts because one will tell you that frequent washing will make your scalp compensate by producing more oils while the other says that the rate of sebum-production is constant. The only thing they agree on is that washing strips your hair of its essential oils (no sh*t).

I'm asking because I've had very fine hair my whole life, and the difference between day 1 and day 2 is noticeable, since the hair gets darker, shinier and more clumpy.

I trust that I'm not the only one who wants a definite answer to this question since many men here are suffering from thinning, which makes your hair greasier at a faster rate.

Yea, washing your hair a lot does cause your skin and hair to secrete more oils... but if you have fine/straight hair like I do, then you kinda need to wash it every day because as you said, grease is more apparent on fine/straight hair.

 

[WheeljackG1]

I think it depends on your shampoo and local water. If your hair is very dry after washing, your scalp will get oily to compensate. If your hair is still soft and scalp not stripped of its oils my guess is it's less likely to ramp up oil production.