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Nothing is more annoying than discovering that after a good night's sleep, your hair has become oily! You don't necessarily have the time or the inclination to shampoo and yet you can't go a whole day with those oily, sticky roots either. So, what to do to prevent your hair from greasing at night? In the first part, discover the reasons that cause oily hair at night. Then, discover all the solutions to eradicate this problem of hair that greases at night.

Why does your hair grease at night?

Why does hair become oily?

The appearance of oily hair is triggered by the sebaceous glands on the scalp, which will produce hair. sebum. Sebum is the natural oil of the hair. Its role is to lubricate them, hydrate them, and protect them from external aggressions. It is essential in the regulation of the scalp. However, as soon as the sebaceous glands are disturbed or feel attacked, the sebum is produced in too large a quantity. It will then suffocate the roots and cause this oily and greasy appearance on your hair.

Although it is normal for this to occur a few days after your shampoo, when your hair suddenly becomes greasy after dark, it can come from other causes.

Causes that can cause oily hair at night

Is your hair greasy when you wake up? Even if we are not conscious, a lot of things happen at night while we are sleeping. And although it is annoying to note that our hair has greased during the night when we have done nothing, it is nonetheless normal that this phenomenon can appear. So, discover the reasons that can explain that your hair is oily after the night :

1 - A natural process is the cause of the appearance of oily hair at night

An individual sleeps on average 7 hours per night. And during this long period of time, the whole organism will work to regenerate itself. The scalp will in particular produce sebum (the natural hair oil) to repair and moisturize the hair attacking throughout the day. However, the sebum produced in too large a quantity is responsible for the fatty effect. As a result, when you wake up you can sometimes see that our hair has greased overnight.

After a few days this phenomenon is quite normal. However, if after the first or second night after shampooing your hair greases overnight, there may be other problems.

2 - sweating can lead to greasy hair overnight

We just saw it, when you sleep your body continues to work. This can lead to excess sweating. And when you sweat, the pores open to release body heat through sweat and sebum. This is because the oil forms a thin layer that helps regulate body temperature, while protecting your scalp. The environment can also affect your body temperature: a room where the temperature is too high, a shower that is too hot before sleeping, or even a feverish outbreak can be all phenomena that will increase nighttime sweating.

3 - Poor hygiene can make hair greasy overnight

A dirty ear cover can be responsible for greasy hair after dark. Indeed, bacteria, dust, sebum, or even a whole bunch of dirt accumulate over time. This may spread to your scalp and therefore make them oily when you wake up. It is advisable to wash your pillowcase once a week.

In addition, sleep with products applied to your hair the day before without being rinsed (hairspray, dry shampoo, styling products etc.) can suffocate your scalp and therefore stimulate sebum production.

4 - Unsuitable products can cause greasy hair at night

Hair that grows quickly is also often a sign that your hair products are not suitable. Indeed, irritating shampoos, harmful or which do not correspond to your hair are likely to cause the disorder of your scalp and thus give you oily hair more quickly. The components that attack the scalp are the sulfates, silicones, parabens or quaternary ammonium salts (quads).

5 - Rubbing can stimulate sebum production overnight

Finally, repeated rubbing of your hair against the bedding will stimulate the sebaceous glands which feel attacked, and the latter will respond by producing more sebum; and thus making your hair greasy after the night.

Solutions to avoid having oily hair after the night

To avoid having greasy hair at night, we will see the actions to adopt before and after your sleep. Then, we will see the effective hair products against oily hair.

The right things to do before going to sleep

Against the appearance of oily hair at night, some things can be done before sleeping. There are also certain habits to follow to ensure good hygiene.

1 - brush your hair against greasy hair at night

To remove impurities, styling product residue, and daytime sebum before sleeping, it is important to brush your hair at night. This will allow your scalp to breathe overnight and therefore prevent it from reacting greasy. The best for this is a boar bristle brush (very clean!). Thanks to its large spikes placed very close together, it will really remove dust and dirt from your scalp.

2 - Protect your hair from chafing

Wrap your hair in a silk cloth or in a nightcap to prevent chafing and thus prevent your scalp from greasing in reaction. In addition, it will allow you to avoid tangles and break your pretty brushing from the day before.

3 - Specific hairstyles to avoid greasing your hair

To sleep, keep your hair loose or make a braid to avoid greasy hair at night. This way, if you tend to sweat, your hair will be easier to dry. In addition, these hairstyles allow to have no tensions at the level of the roots (like the ponytail or the bun).

4 - Create an environment conducive to taking care of your hair at night

• Sleep in a temperate environment (between 16 ° and 20 °) to avoid sweating.
• Use a silk pillowcase. This allows you to sweat less, while protecting the hair from friction and dehydration.
• If you wash your hair at night, go to bed with your head dry. In addition to avoid stimulating the sebaceous glands and therefore that your hair greases at night, avoid too hot water, massage your scalp rather than rubbing it, and do not tie them when they are wet since this retains the humidity.
• Change your pillowcase regularly (about once a week) to avoid greasy hair at night. Indeed, during your sleep, the dead skin of the scalp, the sebum and the bacteria come to deposit on your pillowcase. As the days go by, this accumulation will transfer to your head. Result: your hair will be dirty and therefore oily when you wake up!

The right things to do when you wake up

You will understand, for prevent your hair from greasing at night, the best solution will be prevention. However, there are some easy tips that can be implemented in the morning to hide your oily hair:

• Brush your hair in the morning to remove the impurities of the night and to distribute the sebum.
• Use dry shampoo. But be careful, only once a week otherwise you risk drying out your scalp. In addition, if you have used it in the morning, in the evening proceed to a real shampoo. You should never sleep with dry shampoo powder.
• Wash your hair in the morning rather than in the evening.

Hair products to prevent greasy hair overnight

When you have hair that greases overnight, it can also signal a concern with your hair products. Indeed, oily hair that appears suddenly is often a sign that your sebaceous glands are out of order. Discover the right hair products to avoid oily hair after the night.

1 - What shampoos for hair that greases too quickly?

To avoid having hair that grows suddenly or too quickly, it is important to choose a shampoo that does not attack your hair. Discover all our tips for choosing it: 

• Use a truly mild shampoo, for frequent use or with a neutral pH to prevent your hair from greasing at night. Indeed, it should be known that the hair and the scalp must have a pH of between 4,5 to 5,5. Most of our large surface shampoos do not respect this pH. This is more than 60% of liquid shampoos that have a pH above 5,5. Therefore, the most recommended is to find a shampoo with specified "neutral pH" or really mild.

Please note: : Beware of false promises that state "mild shampoo" while they are just as irritating to your hair. To recognize a mild shampoo: choose shampoo with natural products that contain mild surfactants. Surfactants are the washing bases for shampoos. They allow you to wash your hair and lather your shampoo. Therefore, they are therefore essential in its composition.

You can find surfactants qualified as mild, under these names: Sodium Coco Sulfate (SCS), Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (SCI), Decyl Glucoside, Coco Glucoside, Disodium Cocoyl Lauryl Methyl isethionate or Lauryl Glucoside.

In all cases, if you have suddenly greasy hair at night, avoid the following surfactants: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS), Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) and Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS). These are surfactants which strip the scalp and sebum and contribute to the disorder of the scalp.

We advise you MAKESENZ shampoo - Gentle - Oily hair

Why do we recommend it to you?

Proven effect: An average of 4.9 / 5 in consumer reviews out of more than 130 reviews.
Very gentle organic shampoo, which washes without irritating or stripping and rebalances the scalps with excess sebum.
Formulated from natural surfactants without irritating sulphates.
Without controversial ingredients or toxic risks: without major allergens, silicone, synthetic dyes, and polymers. Vegan certified. 

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• Use degreasing shampoos only occasionally against hair that gets greasy at night. Contrary to what one might think, the latter are generally highly dosed with aggressive surfactants. As a result, they strip the sebum from the scalp. To react to this attack, the sebaceous glands produce more sebum and the roots grease again too quickly. You then enter an endless loop.

• Be careful not to use shampoo with ingredients that are irritating and harmful to your hair that could cause suddenly greasy hair after dark. More precisely all those based on sulfate, silicone, quats or paraben. To learn more about your cosmetic products and their compounds, use the applications Yuka ou INCIBeauty. They allow more transparency on your cosmetic products and tell you whether the ingredients are healthy or not.

2 - What care should be used to avoid hair which greases at night?

To avoid hair that suddenly greases overnight, we recommend the use of mask and pre-shampoo treatment instead. They have the advantage of not being too rich for your scalp, and therefore they do not weigh down or grease your hair. You can find it in hypermarkets, pharmacies or organic stores.

We recommend you Matessance pre-shampoo mask

Why do we recommend it to you?

A mask specifically created to be used before shampooing. It thus avoids weighing down and superfatting your hair and spacing out washes. 
Rich in rosemary and tea tree oils and white clay to purify and rebalance the sebum in your scalp.
Contains vegetable keratin, coconut oil and vitamin E known to hydrate and nourish hair. 
Formulated with 98% of ingredients of natural origin and without sulphate and silicone.

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Natural products are also great for moisturizing, nourishing, purifying and regulating your hair and scalp. They will allow space your washes andprevent greasy hair suddenly appearing overnight. Here are these natural ingredients:

• Personalized Ayurvedic or vegetable powders. Indeed, to fight against oily hair after the night, the powders are perfect for purifying, cleansing and purifying the scalp in a delicate way, without attacking it. These powders allow the regulation of sebum naturally. We recommend that you make a mask once a week with one of the following powders: Clay, Neutral Henna, Rhassoul, Shikakaï, Nettle, Nagarmotha or Reetha.

• Personalized vegetal oils. Certain oils help regulate your sebum. The most effective oils for this are: Jojoba, Camellia, Macadamia, Coconut, Nigella, and Inca inchi oils. You can apply these oils as a mask to your scalp once a week. Leave on for at least thirty minutes before your shampoo.

• Personalized essential oils specialized to fight against hair that grows too quickly. These essential oils are: Lemon, Ylang Ylang, Cypress, Cedar, Basil, Grapefruit, Lemon Litsé, Lavender, Rosemary, Sage, and Bay Saint Thomas. You can add one or two drops of one of these essential oils of your choice to your regular shampoo dose. Please note, essential oils are not recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under 12 years old. Always follow the recommended dosages.

To conclude: To prevent your hair greases overnight, you must first ask yourself about your habits and the actions you practice before sleeping and when you wake up. Are they good? Then, analyze the hair products you use and begin a transition to being natural and using truly gentle shampoos.