Postpartum hair problems are more common than you realize, affecting up to 50% of women who just gave birth. Oily scalp is one such problem that can’t be solved by increasing the number of times you shampoo. Mild shampoo, baking soda with shampoo, and keeping a clean hairbrush are ways to get rid of an oily scalp. While eating healthy to replenish vitamin B, essential for hair, will help you too.
Postpartum depression in women can leave them with a list of problems, both mentally and physically. One such problem is how it affects the new mom’s hair. You can go through a sudden change from glowing thick hair during pregnancy to hair fall, greasy/oily scalp, or dry hair.
Although this change is temporary and your hormones will go back to normal after 3-4 months, it is still scary to experience such a dramatic change.
Especially if you’re a first-time mom, you have washed your hair multiple times a day but still end up with an oily scalp. Well, let me help you by giving you some useful tips.
How does postpartum turn hair oily?
When you are pregnant, your hormones are on a high, and they affect everything in your body, keeping it healthy and glowing. Thus, called the pregnancy glow. The same goes for your hair, which grows longer and thicker, without any oily hair or hair loss.
After childbirth, your hormones go haywire and try to go back to normal. During this time, a duration of 3-4 months, you experience a lot of hair loss and might even go through oily scalp all the time.
You might try to get rid of it by increasing the quantity of your shampoo or how many times you wash your hair, but it won’t go away so easily.
6 ways to get rid of oily hair
Just increasing the times you shampoo your hair won’t help you get rid of the oiliness. Below are 6 ways you can help make your scalp clean and smell fresh again. Give it a try to see what works best for you.
1) Mild shampoo
The more you try to get rid of that oiliness, the more your scalp will produce it. The reason being, your scalp naturally produces the essential oils needed for your scalp. So you trying to fight it will only make it produce more oil, resulting in very greasy hair.
Try using a mild shampoo for a week to notice a change. It won’t strip your hair of natural oils and will leave your scalp feeling fresh and clean.
2) Low on Vitamin B
Vitamin B could also be another reason you have that oily scalp. Not getting enough vitamin B affects a person’s level of sebum (oil) production.
After childbirth, your body is depleted of all nutrients and vitamins.
Replenishing your body with vitamin B is a must, as vitamin B6 is great for scalp health. This regulates oil production, which combats oily hair.
3) Baking soda with shampoo
While there are a lot of tips out there that suggest rinsing your hair with baking soda can help get rid of your oiliness, but this quirky tip of using shampoo with baking soda might be a new one.
A lot of new moms try this trick to rinse their hair with baking soda, but the end result might not be to their liking, or it could not help them at all.
So next time, try using a spoonful of baking soda by mixing it with your shampoo’s quantity. Who knows, you might actually like the end result?!
4) Less or no conditioner
Everyone loves using a conditioner. It makes your hair smooth and silky. But when your hair is already greasy and oily, smoothness is not something you need anymore.
For such reasons, when fighting oily hair, try using little or no conditioner at all. But, if you must, just for your tips is enough.
5) Clean hairbrush
That hairbrush you are using might be all dirty, filled with gunk, grease from your hair, and left-over hair stuck in it. With a baby in your house, cleaning your hairbrush comes on the list of the last things you might do.
But a clean hairbrush goes a long way into making that hair look all fresh and clean. So, get that hairbrush soaked in warm water with a bit of vinegar or a bit of shampoo. Then, use an old toothbrush to clean it thoroughly.
6) Keep it gentle
Your body and hair are already going through a lot. So the best advice is to keep it to a minimum and simple at the same time. This means you shouldn’t use any styling products or tools for your hair for about 6 months.
Be gentle towards your hair when tying, brushing, itching, or washing it. An irritated scalp produces extra oil.
Tips to remember
- B6 can be found in many food items such as beans, meat/poultry, fish, bananas, fortified cereals, milk, wheat germ. Or you can take supplements too.
- Take notice if your shampoo has ammonia in it. If yes, then get one with no ammonia as it can react when added with baking soda when mixing with shampoo.
- Instead of going through the trouble of cleaning your hairbrush often, switch to a thick stranded comb that might need less cleaning and hair won’t get stuck in it.
- Keep your hair short for a while for low maintenance, and get it trimmed often.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why is my hair more oily than usual?
When you wash your hair with shampoo, it makes your scalp want to produce more sebum (oil). If you’re washing your hair often, more than required, then your scalp will go into overdrive and produce excess oil, leading to an oily scalp.
Another reason for the oily scalp is pregnancy, when many mothers experience hormonal changes in their bodies, including hair.
Does hair texture change after pregnancy?
Your hormones are on overdrive during pregnancy, resulting in a healthy body, skin, and even hair. This is termed pregnancy glow.
After childbirth, your body goes through a lot and needs to be replenished with nutrients and vitamins. For the hormones to go back to normal, your body experiences a change for 3-4 months, making hair thin, more hair falling, and an oily scalp.
Why is my hair greasy right after I wash it?
Proper hygiene is essential to follow when trying to keep a clean and fresh scalp. Use of shampoo too little or too much also contributes. A dirty hairbrush also makes it challenging to have a clean scalp.
Does cutting hair help with postpartum hair loss?
Getting a haircut won’t resolve the hair problems you might be facing after giving birth. The only thing it helps with is making it easier to maintain and create an illusion of volume. Your body will still go through the changes most new mothers go through.
What vitamins help postpartum hair loss?
Vitamin B6, zinc, biotin, antioxidants like vitamin C and E are all helpful in maintaining healthy hair. You can get these from various food items, or you can get help from supplements.
To summarize
Postpartum is already a hard time for you to go through. With your newborn taking most of your time, you have little time left to take care of yourself. But still, you must take care of yourself as your body went through a lot during childbirth.
Just as your body, your hair needs your attention too. You might suffer from an oily scalp or hair loss. But it doesn’t have to be that way when there are ways to make your scalp feel clean and smell nice again.
Eating right and healthy is crucial for your body to fill it up with nutrients and vitamins needed.
Who knows, these tips might actually end up helping you feel better than before and at least solve your problem of an oily scalp. I hope you wake up with a fresh and nice-smelling scalp!
