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Fierce girls aren't afraid to get their hands dirty, but your hair's an other thang. Whether it's natural buildup or collateral damage from canoodling with a mechanic, greasy, oily hair is a hygiene disaster and a definite fashion don't. Getting grease out of hair isn't as simple -- or fun -- as getting it in. Washing out grease without drying your hair can be tricky, but cleaning greasy hair means you get to mess it up all over again.
1.
Scrape out any serious grease -- like petroleum jelly or dripped motor oil or cooking grease -- with a plastic spatula. The more of it you can get out of your hair, the easier it will be to wash it.
2.
Wet your hair with hot water. Cold or barely warm water tends to bead up on grease, so crank up the heat as much as you can without scalding your skin.
3.
Plop a good-sized dollop of clarifying shampoo onto your head and massage it into your scalp and your hair. The smart guys at "Exploratorium Magazine" explain that soap clings to grease and oil on one end of its busy little molecules and to water on the other end. When you rinse your hair, the shampoo hangs onto the grease like a clingy date, and it all gets rinsed away.
4.
Lather, rinse, repeat. It might take more than one washing to get all of the grease out, but don't give up. And don't use soap. The detergents in your shampoo are better at cutting through grease and oil, and they're also better for your hair.
5.
Turn down the water temperature, and slather your hair with conditioner. Work it though your hair with your fingers, giving every strand a thick, rich coat. You've just washed away all of your natural scalp oil with the grease, so you've got to protect your hair from drying out.
6.
Dry and style as usual, but avoid the blow dryer, hot curlers or flat iron for a few days to let your hair get back to normal.
Things You'll Need
1.Plastic spatula
3.Moisturizing conditioner
2.Clarifying shampoo
Tips & Tricks
Use grease-cutting dishwashing liquid -- the kind for sink washing, not the automatic dishwasher -- in extreme cases.
Don't get out the scissors unless the grease is attached to tar. You can remove most grease and oil with thorough washing.
Related Videos
References
Exploratorium Magazine: Better Hair Through Chemistry
Cosmopolitan: Help for Oily Hair
The Beauty Brains: Dry Shampoos and Other Weird Ways to Wash Your Hair
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