Having lots of oil/sebum on my scalp (shampoo daily) ?!?!

[biglikeatank]

Basically I shampoo once a day, sometimes even TWICE (if i have a shower at night, too).

Generally within 4 hours I have some odorous oil coming from my head. If I run my fingers through my scalp I can smell them afterwards and its definitely not exactly regular.

The scalp is extremely oily with lots of sebum (I think this is correct term) being excreted.

What can be made of it? How can I get rid of it?

When my hair was "normal" it wasn't greasy but it wasn't dry. It was a good balance in between.

But now the oil is going nutso. I even shaved my hair short and its still a problem.

 

[CHARL1E]

:: BigLikeATank :: The same thing is happening to me. Alot of people say not to wash your hair that often, but I usually do twice a day to remove any oil on my scalp or styling products. I definitely feel that the oil scalp is bad. If my scalp is oily hair hair appears super thin and comes out easier when I run my fingers though it.

I don't know what to do to control it though. Still trying to hatch it out. Hopefully someone has some good input.

 

[The Gardener]

I think the increased sebum is probably hormonally related.

Sebum is NOT good in the hair. It provides a very favorable habitat for Malaseezia yeast to thrive, which causes irritation, which is not conducive for fighting male pattern baldness.

You need to wash your hair more often, up to twice a day if necessary. Using a ketoanalconahole shampoo such as Nizoral, I believe, also helps reduce sebum output. If you aren't already, I suggest getting on the Nizoral for 2-3 days a week.

 

[powersam]

or just cut down on refined sugars , recent study in australia showed that diet affects sebum levels, specifically that refined sugars will increase sebum production.

washing your hair more is treating the symptom not the cause.

 

[biglikeatank]

Damn.

I got up a couple hours ago and haven't showered yet. I can smell it permeating from my scalp without even touching it.

I think part of the problem is that I tend to touch my head a lot (as do many other thinning dudes). It doesnt create sebum, but seems to trigger it when the scalp is touched often. Purely anecdotal evidence though.

I'll definitely have to look into refining my diet and in which ways.

Also, I shampoo daily with Nizoral. If I don't shampoo daily it gets worse, but Nizoral doesn't seem to do anything for the sebum.

I think T-Gel might have actually done more for it. When I used T-Gel (prior to Nizoral) my hair wasn't so greasy. I'll switch up the routine and add the T-Gel to it. Maybe 2 days Nizoral, 2 days T-Gel.

Definitely going to look at other factors such as diet, though.

 

[So]

Powersam is right, diet is an enormous precursor to many hormonal related issues as well as others.

A poor diet presents itself with horrible results in the skin, nails and hair and you can only imagine the kind of strife occurring internally within your body.

 

[worriedmale]

i also suffer from a oily scalp/face and have to wash my hair everyday with head and shoulders.

i also no for certain that certain drinks cause the scalp and hair to become more oily.
this is tea . when i drink tea which i used to do. i noticed that my hair would get very oily and my face to immediatly after i had drank a cup. i dont know why it happens. this is just after one cup of tea.

the next day i didnt drink tea. and noticed less oil/sebum in my hair instantly.

the same could probably be said for coffe tea. i think its something to with the hot water.

if you want to reduce the sbum/oil in your hair continue to wash your hair daily and rince thoroughly. dont drink coffe/tea or similar hot drinks. also dont wear hats/caps or hoods. you will notice that after you take a cap of your head your hair has become very oily. why this happens im not sure.

and avoid soda drinks completly if you suffer from dry scalp dandruff.

hope it helps.

 

[Bryan]

or just cut down on refined sugars , recent study in australia showed that diet affects sebum levels, specifically that refined sugars will increase sebum production.

Do you have a reference or citation for that study?

Bryan

 

[hopewas]

i used to have dry scalp with liquid minoxidil..flaky skin, etc..then i used foam..and that all ended..foam is your solution..either that or use neutrogena intensive anti dandruff t gel shampoo

 

[CHARL1E]

:: BigLikeATank :: I def would not recommend using Nizoral everyday. As I stated earlier I am having the same problem. I think it is from using the Nizoral to much. When I use other shampoos its not as bad...Ty using it less and see if that helps, it worked for me.

 

[Knendell]

I get a shower everynight before going to sleep and my pillow case actually gets stained from whatever my head produces. No matter how much I wash the pillow case it still gets stained and I always shower before sleeping just for this reason. My head just gets oilly very quickly. I know I was destined to be bald but am trying to fight it just in case. I am almost to the point where I have to buzz it and live the rest of my life like that and I am 29.

 

[powersam]

or just cut down on refined sugars , recent study in australia showed that diet affects sebum levels, specifically that refined sugars will increase sebum production.

Do you have a reference or citation for that study?

Bryan

yeah sorry should have posted it in the first place. there were two of them actually, one done on teenage boys and another on chronic acne sufferers. i'll try find them in a bit, think i forgot to bookmark them.

heres a few links,

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-17-2006-102608.asp
http://acne.about.com/od/acnetriggers/a/AcneCarbs.htm

http://www.acne-advice.com/articles/lin ... acne.shtml

"However, there is recent research pointing the finger at diet — eating refined carbohydrates and sugar leads to a surge in insulin and an insulin-like growth factor called IGF-1. This in turn leads to an excess of male hormones, which encourage the skin to excrete large amounts of sebum. This grease-like substance encourages the growth of bacteria responsible for acne."

 

[Felk]

That's the Melbourne University study isn't it sam?

A low-GI diet brought a significant reduction in acne in a large group of boys in their teenage years/twenties. I think it's pretty obvious by now that insulin resistance is pretty far ranging in it's effects.

 

[powersam]

yeah i think that was one of them, having trouble finding either of them at the moment for some reason. but yeah im totally sold on the importance of insulin in the balding process, and in many other health related issues. especially autoimmune conditions like psoriasis etc

 

[Bryan]

Well, I was hoping to get a reference or citation for a full medical journal write-up, so I could read the details. I have problems with some of the claims made at those links you provided.

Was it an actual abstract of a published study that you read before?

Bryan

 

[powersam]

yeah sorry having trouble finding the actual study, just many articles referring to it. Felk do you still ahve the link to that melbourne study?

 

[Felk]

No mate, i actually searched for it briefly on pub med and couldn't find anything.

What I saw was in a medical magazine, "Australian Doctor" i believe. i could probably find it and post the specifics, but it wouldn't be full pub med style so perhaps that's not what you're after Bryan?

 

[Bryan]

Nah...it probably wouldn't answer the specific objections I have.

I wonder why that darn study hasn't been published...

Bryan

 

[powersam]

so would you not agree that diet can affect androgen levels?

 

[Bryan]

I'm not sure about that, Sam. I tend to be skeptical about it.

I'm also somewhat skeptical of the claim that extra androgens would increase sebum production (at least in males). Kligman did a study several years ago which found that as much as 300 mg/day of methyl testosterone given to healthy young men had no effect on sebum production. The effect in women was a little more variable. His tentative explanation for that curious lack of response was that the normal, endogenous production of androgens in healthy men is already enough to "max-out" the production of sebum, and larger amounts won't produce any more.

Bryan