puberty & greasy hair?

[ReneeA]

Help! My DD will be 11 in a few weeks, and is very obviously going through some changes now. She's grown 4 inches this year, starting to develop, and has oily skin and hair. I mean...freshly washed, her hair is limp, greasy and stringy. It doesn't help that it's very fine & straight as a pin. She can wash it, dry it, and comb it and it will look nice for 30 minutes. Then she looks like a well dressed bag lady. I don't know what to do to help. Any suggestions?

 

[aaarcher86]

I would try and change her shampoo/conditioner brand. And make sure she is REALLY getting it all out of her hair when she's washing it.

 

[TifffanyD]

I agree with changing product. You could also try dry shampoo for when it gets oily. If that fails - maybe consult a hairdresser?

 

[Nennie]

I would suggest using a dry shampoo during the day to freshen up. Tresemme makes one that you can get at Walmart. It looks like hairspray, and you just spray it on, and brush. Dries up the oil.

I would also maybe start using some product in her hair (gel or mousse), as that will dry it out as well.

Just a couple ideas!!!

 

[pigletgirl]

Around your DD's age I also had TERRIBLY greasy skin and scalp. The shampoo that worked best for me was the Suave Normal to Oily hair shampoo. The other suggestion I have is to use Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree Oil.

Maybe also blowing drying her hair would help too?

ETA: I think I also washed my hair 2x/day at that age too. It was a necessary evil.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Around your DD's age I also had TERRIBLY greasy skin and scalp. The shampoo that worked best for me was the Suave Normal to Oily hair shampoo. The other suggestion I have is to use Paul Mitchell's Tea Tree Oil.

Maybe also blowing drying her hair would help too?

The blow-dry definitely helps DD13.

 

[Zooshoveller]

I would try changing shampoos to one for oily hair, maybe ditch the conditioner or just use a very small amount, and lightly blow dry.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

If she has fine hair you may want to try without a conditioner as well and see if that helps.

 

[NotUrsula]

DS had that happen, and his hair also developed a noxious odor -- it smelled rather like spoiled meat for about 6 months. Absolutely reeked.

The most commonly recommended remedy for uber-oily hair is usually tea-tree shampoo. DS tried that and it really didn't help much; plus it was expensive and he hated the scent.

Based on a tip I read somewhere online (I don't remember now where) I turned to cheap, and that solved it. We went to Alberto Kiwi-Lime shampoo, which in my area can be had for $.95/bottle at the supermarket. It worked beautifully. It would damage most people's hair because it is mostly detergent, but when you get a case of the uber-oilies, that's just what you need for awhile.

PS: The Alberto Kiwi-Lime is a clarifying shampoo; the strongest one I've ever encountered (It will remove permanent haircolor in just a few washes.) Probably the best-quality clarifying shampoo for normal hair is Paul Mitchell Shampoo 3; the blue stuff. I carry it with us when traveling to remove chlorine after swimming. That one runs about $30 for a large bottle at Beauty Brands.

 

[Laura66]

Most 11 year olds are not washing their hair correctly! Found that to be the case with my older daughter when she was that age.
They need to get their hair completely wet! Sounds silly to say - but many teens, including my DD were not doing that! Jumped in the shower got her hair a little wet and tried to shampoo. Gross results! Then they to completely rinse. Completely! If they don't rinse out all the shampoo and/or conditioner it will be a greasy mess!
And start massaging the shampoo at the scalp and comb the shampoo thru the rest of the hair. That's another mistake DD made. Just applying the shampoo to he ends.

 

[RitaZ.]

I would try and change her shampoo/conditioner brand. And make sure she is REALLY getting it all out of her hair when she's washing it.

That's exactly what I thought.

Kids that age aren't that thorough when washing their hair. That could be the case here, especially if she has a lot of hair to wash and rinse. I'd make sure she is doing a thorough job first, then I'd look at trying other products.

 

[trip]

Besides all of the above suggestions, you might want to try a new hair style that is good for fine, straight hair.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Such good ideas. Add to all the physical changes....the emotional changes and you have a double wammy. These tween girls are starting to care more about how they look and care less about what mom says. I suggest taking her to a hair salon. Talk to them in private when you make the appointment. Ask them to give HER...read her and you...suggestions on products and hygiene tips that would help and to have them find a cut and style that she might enjoy and be able to care for better. Kids listen to other people better than mom and you might give her a great moral boost!!!!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Check for build up.

Recently, I had my daughter's hair professionally styled. She had washed her hair and as usual it appeared greasy. Stylist actually showed me the build up on her strands of hair. His suggestion was to use a clarifying shampoo.

For now, she is just using my Wen until I can figure out what clarifying shampoos to try.

I should note her after the stylist washed her hair, it wasn't greasy. But it was a busy day and I had just gotten my cast off so jotting down what he used wasn't on my mind.

 

[ReneeA]

Thanks for the suggestions! We're going to try some new things this weekend.

 

[Poohforyou]

My dd is 14 and had the same problems with oily hair and skin. She also has fine, straight hair. I researched a lot of shampoos for oily hair. She now uses Garnier Fructis pure clean shampoo and conditioner. It does the job without weighing her her down or leaving residue. She needs a bit of conditioner or her hair is difficult to comb. She does need to wash her hair every day but it doesn't look greasy at the end of the day.

As for her skin, she tried a bunch of otc stuff with some success but she's now under the care of a dermatologist. He has her using 2 topical creams and her skin looks pretty good.

Good luck.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I would recommend doing a vinegar rinse along with new product. Your hair does not smell like vinegar and does get old product out and keep the scalp clean.

 

[ennazus]

Here's another vote for Suave-daily clarifying normal to oily. It's the only one my son uses and he swears by it and he has gorgeous hair (and he'll tell you that, too )

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Most 11 year olds are not washing their hair correctly! Found that to be the case with my older daughter when she was that age.
They need to get their hair completely wet! Sounds silly to say - but many teens, including my DD were not doing that! Jumped in the shower got her hair a little wet and tried to shampoo. Gross results! Then they to completely rinse. Completely! If they don't rinse out all the shampoo and/or conditioner it will be a greasy mess!
And start massaging the shampoo at the scalp and comb the shampoo thru the rest of the hair. That's another mistake DD made. Just applying the shampoo to he ends.

Yep.

I had dd in the shower with her swim suit on and had her show me how she was washing her hair.

Strangely enough, her hair was clean that time. Hmmm....

Found out she was not washing it all the time.

In addition turned out she has dermatitis on her scalp and has to use T-SAL shampoo. If she does not her scalp gets build up similiar to "cradle cap" and the grease oozes from that. I know, gross, but she has it under control now. She did have to use a prescription strength shampoo from the dermatologist at first to get it under control.

So check her scalp as well, just to see if you see anything odd.

 

[DisDance]

I have naturally oily hair, Herbal Essence Naked works great with my hair, also desert essence lemon tea tree shampoo is amazing, google it and order it online, that's the only place I can find it