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Does oily hair appear on your child's hair roots at 8? Don't know how to fix it? Know that there are solutions to avoid this problem and prevent your child's daily life from turning into a nightmare. So, what to do against oily hair at 8 years old. First of all, we will see why your child has oily hair at 8 years old. Then we will see how to get rid of oily hair and prevent your child from having hair that does not grease too quickly.

Why does oily hair appear on my child at 8?

Oily hair is caused by sebum, natural hair oil. The duty of sebum is to lubricate them, hydrate them, and protect them from external aggressions. It is fundamental in the balance of the scalp.

However, as soon as the sebaceous glands, responsible for its production, are deregulated, sebum can be produced excessively. Because of this, it can then suffocate the roots and cause an oily and greasy appearance on your child's hair. The disorder can come from multiple factors: stress, pollution, too aggressive or unsuitable shampoos, bad diet, genetic factor… Normally, you should not need to wash your hair more than twice a week. In the event that your child needs to wash them more than that, he is one of the people who have a scalp that produces excess sebum.

We will see, more precisely, the various factors that risk giving oily hair at 8 years old.

1 - Genetics may be responsible for oily hair at 8 years old

Note that this usually appears around the age of 9 when hormones start to change. However, it can happen in rare cases that oily hair appears before this age. One of the causes of the development of oily hair can be due to the genetic makeup and therefore to heredity. To confirm this, nothing could be simpler, just ask yourself if you also tend to have quickly greasy hair. If so, and on top of that you had oily hair as a kid, it's probably written in your child's genetic makeup.

However, other parameters related to our way of life can accentuate this trend. Also know that there are solutions to remedy it, as we will see in the last part.

2 - A change in hair routine can cause oily hair at 8 years

The use of new hair products and therefore the change of ingredients in the composition, can cause the development of oily hair at age 8. As a result, if you recently changed your child's shampoo or hair product, the problem may be with that change.

3 - Lifestyle can lead to oily hair at age 8

A bad lifestyle can cause oily hair at 8 years old. Here are the main causes:

• A diet that is too fatty, too sweet, or too salty. Obesity or liver problems can cause sebum disturbance.
• Daily stress or permanent anxiety.
• A psychological shock such as a death or an accident.
• Consumption of certain drugs.
• The environment such as pollution, the sun, chlorine, salt among others, are factors that act on the hair. Wearing a cap or cap regularly can also accelerate the production of sebum.

3 - Unsuitable hair products can lead to oily hair at age 8

Aggressive shampoos or shampoos that do not match your child's hair can cause disruption of the sebaceous glands and consequently lead to oily hair at 8 years old. The products that potentially risk attacking the scalp are sulphate, silicone, paraben or quaternary ammonium salts (quats). It may happen, even more occasionally, that your child is intolerant to one or certain components of your cosmetic products. If despite the advice that we are going to see, your child's scalp remains oily, we advise you to call your pediatrician for more in-depth examinations. This way you will be sure that they are not a more serious problem.

How to prevent the appearance of oily hair at 8 years old?

What are the solutions that exist to prevent your child from having oily hair? Be aware that oily hair can be prevented. There are solutions and tips to prevent this problem for your child.

Oily hair at 8 years old: which products to use?

1 - What shampoo to use against oily hair at 8 years old?

We recommend that you use a special children's shampoo and wait until they are over 12 years old to use the same hair products as adults. In fact, the skin up to the age of 12 is not yet mature enough to use the same products as adults.

Be careful when choosing your shampoo. We recommend that you pay attention to the ingredients present in the shampoo. Otherwise, you risk stripping your child's scalp and increasing the production of sebum responsible for the greasy effect.

• Avoid all shampoos that attack your child's scalp and hair. More precisely all those based on sulphate, silicone, quaternary ammonium salts or paraben. If you want to know more about your cosmetic products and their compounds, see the site or the app Yuka ou INCI Beauty. They will let you know if your cosmetic products are good for you and the environment, or not. 

• Preferably buy a mild shampoo, for frequent use or a shampoo with a neutral pH to fight against oily hair at 8 years old. Indeed, it should be known that the hair and the scalp must have a pH of 4,5 to 5,5. The majority of our large surface shampoos are well above this figure. This is more than 60% of liquid shampoos that have a pH greater than 5,5. Therefore, the ideal is to choose a shampoo with written "neutral pH" or located between 4 and 7. Special pH strips can be bought in pharmacies if you want to test the pH of your shampoo.

• Only occasionally use degreasing shampoos. Conversely to what one can believe, these shampoos are very often very dosed in surfactants harmful to health. They strip the sebum from the scalp. To respond to this aggression, the sebaceous glands produce even more sebum… So the hair greases too quickly and you get into an endless loop.

• Choose shampoos with natural products that are formulated with mild surfactants that are not harsh on your hair to avoid having oily hair at 8 years old. Surfactants are formulated in shampoos to cleanse the hair. Their function is to wash your hair and lather your shampoo. In this way, they are then essential in its formulation.

You can find its 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, Sodium Glutamate Lauryl Methyl isethionate or Lauryl Glucoside.

In any case, if your child has oily hair at 8 years old, 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.

2 - What care should be adopted to avoid oily hair at 8 years old?

Children can use conditioner, however, check that it is gentle and free from aggressive components as described above for shampoos. Therefore, absolutely avoid silicone hair products. Prefer the purchase of natural care or with the indication "for children".

3 - Vegetable oils that have been proven to get rid of oily hair at 8 years old

To prevent the development of a surplus of sebum responsible for oily hair at 8 years old, nothing is more effective than the use of 100% natural vegetable oils. Indeed, some oils will tend to grease your hair, while others have a function to regulate your sebum. The vegetable oils that we are going to offer you have purifying and sebum-regulating active ingredients. Ideal for avoiding oily hair. Be aware of allergic reactions, however. We advise you to seek the advice of a doctor before buying these vegetable oils or performing a skin test 48 hours before using it on the scalp. On the other hand, apply it occasionally and use 1 or 2 different oils. You don't need to use them all.

The most effective oils for oily hair are: Jojoba, Camellia, Hazelnut, Macadamia, Coconut, Nigella, and Inca inchi oils. You can use these oils on a weekly basis, at least 30 minutes before shampooing your child.

Techniques to prevent the hair from greasing again too quickly

To fight against the development of oily hair at 8 years old, be careful that your child adopts good automatisms concerning the washing of this hair.

1 - The right actions to avoid oily hair

• Gradually reduce the frequency of washing your child. Make sure you do not shampoo more than 2 times a week.
• It is better to avoid rubbing on his scalp, massage the scalp quietly and carefully.
• Insist on rinsing, there should be no leftover shampoo!
• He should brush his hair regularly, preferably with a natural brush. And clean it often.
• Clean her hair accessories on a regular basis.
• If you use gel for your child, choose a soft gel. And don't forget to rinse him well every night before he goes to bed!

Note: Until the age of eight, weekly shampoo is sufficient to wash hair, especially when it is fragile and / or fine. It is from the age of 9 that the roots tend to grease faster, and this is due to the hormones that change. Try not to exceed more than 2 shampoos per week. As a result, your child's hair will not be used to producing excess oil.

2 - What not to do to fight against the development of oily hair at 8 years

• Avoid your child touching his hair too often so as not to dirty it.
• Beware of shampoo abuse! Since conventional shampoos are particularly aggressive for the scalp, the latter protects itself by producing excess sebum. Therefore, your child will then shampoo even more… until it becomes an endless curl.
• Your child should only shampoo once per wash, not two in a row.
•  The heat stimulates the sebaceous glands and therefore the production of sebum. It is better to avoid heat sources such as the hair dryer or the sun for a long time.

3 - Change certain habits in your lifestyle to prevent the arrival of oily hair at 8 years old

• Pay attention to your child's diet. Food that is too sweet and too fatty and fast food should be avoided as much as possible.
• If you can, give your child a balanced diet and prefer fresh foods, quality fruits and vegetables, fish, and meat.
• Try to eat foods rich in trace elements, minerals, and vitamins, especially vitamins A and B. Iron, zinc, and copper are also essential for maintaining very healthy hair.
• Remember that smoking and beauty of hair are not compatible. Avoid smoking in front of your child.

How to hide oily hair at 8 years old?

If your child has oily hair at 8 years old, here are some ways to style it and hide this oily effect. Indeed, as seen above, to avoid excess sebum, overly repetitive shampoos should be avoided. The initial advice to reduce this frequency of washing is to gradually reduce the number of shampoo per week. To prevent your child from having a bad time during this period and therefore to camouflage his oily hair, here are some hairstyle tips.

• Tie up your child's hair, and place barrettes on areas that are oily. Usually they are located in the ears and around the face.
• Likewise you can use a headband or headband to camouflage these areas.
• If that hair allows you, you can make glued-in braids which are also effective for If that hair you hide it from her oily hair.
• Finally, know that loose hair is still preferable if you do not want to use accessories for your hair. Oily hair will be less noticeable than if you tie her hair up.