What is the first image that pops up in your head when you think of second or third-day hair? Most likely, it’s an appearance of greasy and waxy hair that looks flat. In an ideal world, our mane would always look fresh and bouncy, however, a slew of factors can influence the mood and behaviour of our hair — from stress and pollution to the many aspects of a hair care regimen. And, sometimes, even after a good shampoo sesh, your hair could continue feeling unctuous. We outline a guide on how you can care for your hair, if it falls under this category, and prevent the recurrence of greasiness.
But first, what causes waxy hair?
As mentioned earlier, there can be many contributors to waxy hair. For starters, wrong (read: unsuitable) hair care products make for the topmost reason behind waxy hair, even on the day you’ve washed your hair. A bunch of hair care and hair styling products such as sprays, pomades and creams consist of waxy/sticky ingredients such as resins, silicones, dimethicone, plasticizers (substances used to make the product more pliable) and sulphates. Most of the time, these very ingredients are the culprits behind all that residual build-up that has settled on your scalp, crown and lengths. In fact, in some cases, such substances aren’t even water-soluble, making shampoo a rather ineffective solution. Additionally, not adhering to the usage instructions of a product, not washing your hair frequently and correctly, uncontrolled and reckless exposure to pollution (dust, dirt and grime), and not using the right shampoo meant for your hair and scalp type can also lead to accumulation of unwanted build-up, thereafter, rendering that oily and waxy appearance to your hair.
How can you get rid of waxy hair?
Getting rid of waxy hair is easier than you think — all it takes is a couple of tweaks in your hair care routine combined with some other measures:
Step 1: Run an ingredient check across all your hair styling products, that are notorious for depositing a film of grease all over your mane. Of course, the next step is to toss out products that can be potentially menacing.
Step 2: Shuffle your hair wash products; introduce translucent clarifying shampoos like the Olaplex No. 4C Blond Maintenance Clarifying Shampoo, The Body Shop Tea Tree Purifying & Balancing Shampoo or L’Oreal Professionnel Scalp Advanced Anti-Dandruff Dermo-Clarifier Shampoo to maximise the cleansing effect.
Step 3: Indulging in scalp exfoliation before shampooing your locks is a good idea to slough away all the dead skin and dirt accumulation — the award-winning Kevin Murphy Scalp Spa Scrub and the Bare Anatomy Cleansing Scalp Scrub are our favourite picks.
Step 4: It’s recommended to switch to a shower head that filters hard water, to minimise the exposure to waxy substances.
Step 5: Wash your hair twice and give the scalp a massage in circulation motions to make sure you discard as much grime as possible. Don’t make the blunder of slathering a conditioner or hair mask on the scalp — should you fail to remove it thoroughly, it can lead to added build-up and additional loss of bounciness. Lastly, be wary of unprotected exposure to external aggressors and cover your hair with a scarf or hat when possible.
