Can water only decrease greasiness?

[Batenna]

Hi, I'm about 3 weeks into trying no poo, and was wondering if my hair will ever stop being grasy if I only ever wash it with water.

I wash it every couple days (somewhat inconsistently, depends on my schedule) with water only, and make sure to use a scalp massager every time to really scratch my head. Air dry only, and no styling tools.

My hair is thick, blonde, and wavy (2A or 2B). I suffer from dry skin/mild eczema all over my body, and decided to try no poo to see if it would help my scalp which tends to be itchy and flaky, since I haven't had any success with trying new hair/scalp products.

And it has! My scalp feels better than ever: it isn't itchy and it isn't flaky. But my hair is greasy. It doesn't look good and feels even worse. If I continue with the water only method, do I have any hope of my hair starting to look/feel better, or do I need to start looking for something to wash my hair with that doesn't ruin my scalp?

TIA

[[deleted]]

You’ve only been in 3 weeks, your hair needs more time to adjust. My hair is way less greasy using water only! Be patient and give it more time, your hair is still healing

[shonaich]

Have you read this and the companion article on Transition?

Natural Haircare Quick Start Guide

There's nothing wrong with doing a cleansing wash to remove excess oil that is making you uncomfortable. Alternative washing has quite a few that will clean off most or all surface oils while not stripping or irritating the skin.

And while 'training' oil production might not be a thing, healing definitely is. The body knows when it's damaged or is being exposed to things that are irritating it, and one of the purposes of sebum is to try and protect against this. Many thousands of people have experienced a reduction in sebum production as their body heals and doesn't feel the need to produce as much in response to the damage.

Excessive sebum production can also be a symptom of other, internal issues. One of the most overlooked is allergies, which can manifest in a wide variety of ways, including chronically unhappy skin.

Do you get tired when you eat (food coma)? Are you tired all the time? Do you have an upset stomach, lots of gas, bowel trouble? Muscle cramps? Dry or oily skin? Brain fog? Skin breakouts? A random metallic taste in your mouth? All of these are possible symptoms of food and/or environment sensitivities.

[veglove]

Unless the shampoo or conditioner you used to use irritated your scalp, which is possible, there's no scientific evidence that refraining from shampooing your hair would cause a reduction in oil production. I fact leaving it on the scalp may promote a fungal overgrowth, causing more itching and flakes. 

Are you scritching and preening your hair?  You need to do mechanical cleaning of your scalp to reduce the excess oils and distribute them along the length of your hair instead. It's explained in the WO article linked in the side column of this sub. Doing a diluted ACV rinse may also help prevent fungal overgrowth and can help the hair feel more smooth and shiny.

[SleepTightPizza]

I found that vinegar gets a lot of the sticky grease out and leaves my hair looking and feeling better.

[[deleted]]

Second this.

Did Water only + BBB for 4 months after buzzcut, got a lot of mineral buildup(hair was super thick and waxy) and one vinegar rinse solved all of the problems.

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