10 Year Old and Clean Hair

A friend of mine went thru that w/her daughter & her hairdresser recommended Head & Shoulders eventhough her daughter didn't have dandruff. Her hair went from a greasy mess to being really shiny. She said that some children just have a build up of oil in their scalp and this helps. Best of luck to you.

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First of all, some people do just have oilier hair than others, so she may be one of them. But I recently went through a period of having excessively oily hair, and I was totally dumbfounded about what was causing it. Changes in diet, hormones, etc. can play a part. Also, I was told by some hairdressers that an overly dry scalp will go into overdrive to produce more oil to moisturize itself, so overwashing, while seemingly the right idea, can actually be counterproductive to reducing scalp oil. I actually posted a question about this... I'm going to link you to it so you can read the responses I got...

This was my first post on the subject:
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/14077760482475900929

And I posted again a short while later and got these responses:
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/6838760377149423617
**Especially read MommaL.'s response in this post... it is long, but it really details the essence of oily hair, and what to do/not to do...

Hope you figure this out... my hair has returned to normal... which means that I can basically skip one day of washing and not look like a total greaseball. Hope you can figure this out for your daughter...

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Another tip - you've gotten some good ones - is to NOT condition all the way to the scalp. Only do the ends.

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get a good shampoo and a good conditioner for oily hair like garnie fructise (spelled wrong) but not the combo shampoo conditioner, and have her wash with the shampoo twice and every other day condition it to help with the shine and the twice shampoo helps get all the dirt and oil out

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Condition the ends only.
Use shampoo for oily hair or a clarifying shampoo.
When you lather the shampoo, really get beyond/underneath the hair and down to the scalp with the pads of your fingers and rub/massage the scalp.
Her hair probably needs to be washed every day or every other.

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Maybe try a clarifying shampoo??
My daughter just got over a bout with lice and Dawn dishwashing detergent worked wonders for 'stripping' her hair and scalp clean.

good luck!

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Is she washing her scalp well? If she's not, that could be a cause.

My son has the same problem. Turns out it wasn't him but cheap drugstore (read even panteen ect.) shampoo. I even had him using a clarifying shampoo. Two days of using my salon shampoo and omg what a difference. He needs the stronger sulfates in the pricey stuff. He came home today and his hair still looked great! I didn't want to pay that kind of money for a kids shampoo but like you, after two years of dealing with his hair always being greasy it was worth it! And for the record he is 11 and his hair is below his shoulders. Ask your salon what she should use. FYI baby shampoo is really harsh on hair it may be causing more oil production because it is stripping it of all oil.

I would try something specifically for oilier hair. She's kind of getting to that age....

p.s. I have a skim-comber too! Drives me nuts!

What about some layering or shearing in the crown and using moose or styling products to give it body, and a "lift" effect. Maybe the alcohol content in the products (use the formulas for oily hair of course) will help control the oil build up.

Or going shorter and precision where straight and heavy works with this texture of hair. The Vidal Sasoon cuts of the 20s and 30s are classic and always look good.

If she doesn't want to cut it, what about investing in hair do-dads and encourage more up-dos, pony tails and braids?

An old time remedy my grandma used (she had oily hair) was to rinse with either Witch Hazel (can find at a store that sells organic and natural toiletries) or diluted lemon juice after a shampooing. She swore by Prell shampoo. I don't know what this will do to dark hair, if she has dark hair. Grandma had blonde hair and it made it bright and shiny.

See if you can find Breck shampoo. Maybe check online. It's a little hard to find but I think it would work for her.

D.

Have you tried washing her hair no more often than every other day? Also use less conditioner and have her apply it to the ends first then rub into the scalp and rinse thoroughly. I would also do an experiment. You wash her hair in teh kitchen sink for a week or so and see if there is any difference.

Does she wash her hair every day? Shampooing daily can make hair more oily.
Have you tried a shampoo for oily hair?

at 10 years old she should be using a regular shampoo not a kids shampoo, just get her one without a conditioner... im the same way and cant use conditioner... as for brushing her hair she should have had that habit down by age 10 i dont think their is much you can do to make a 10 year old brush her hair she will figure it out on her own.

I have this same exact problem with my daughter!!!! We use tea tree oil shampoo, and it works for a couple days pretty well. She wears a lot of hats, too. Good luck!

(I'm keeping my eye on these other answers!)

She is probably skim brushing bc it hurts when she hits tangles - so like any smart person she avoids the issue to avoid the pain :) My 4YODD does the same. Our miracle answer has been the Diva Brush see here:
http://www.amazon.com/Wet-Rubberized-Detangle-Shower-Asso...

actually I'm kinda irritated now bc I, in desperation, paid $15 at a salon for one of these. huh. LOVE that Amazon has it for only $4.50.

Good luck!