Our Best Shampoo for Oily Hair

Do you ever wash your hair in the morning, only to develop greasy roots by the time the day’s done? If this sounds familiar, you’ve got greasy hair. And that’s not a bad thing! On the contrary, your hair needs natural oils to stay hydrated and healthy—but that doesn’t mean you'll want to suffer through having oily roots and dry ends. And you don't have to. Instead, use the right hair care products and switch to a quality shampoo for oily hair. Not sure what the best shampoo for greasy hair is? Here, we’re sharing our best shampoo for oily strands, plus walking you through exactly how to use it as part of your oily hair care routine. But first, let’s talk about how often you actually need to wash your hair.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU WASH OILY HAIR?

There’s an old beauty myth out there that goes like this: If you wash your hair less often, you can train your hair to produce less oil, and thus become less greasy. However, this just isn’t true! According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), you should actually wash oily hair more frequently—not less! How often you wash your hair should directly correspond with how much oil your scalp produces. So, if your scalp is very oily, you may need to wash it as often as once a day. However, you shouldn’t just reach for any old shampoo to do so. Instead, you’ll want to use our best shampoo for oily hair. Keep reading for all of the details. 

OUR BEST SHAMPOO FOR OILY HAIR

Now, allow us to introduce you to our best shampoo for greasy hair, the L'Oréal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Clay Shampoo. Formulated with three refined clays, this shampoo works to instantly purify oily roots while also keeping the lengths and ends of hair hydrated—giving you the right kind of shiny hair! The result is a clean, fresh feeling from root to tip.

Editor’s note: Clay is a powerful hair care ingredient for those with greasy strands. To learn more, head over to our article on The Benefits of Clay for Greasy Hair.

HOW TO USE OUR BEST SHAMPOO FOR OILY HAIR

As with many things in life, this product works best when it’s used as part of a complete hair care system. For best results, follow this hair care regimen.

STEP #1: SATURATE YOUR STRANDS

Before you use any type of shampoo, make sure that your hair is fully saturated with water—preferably lukewarm water since washing your hair in too hot of temps can strip it of its natural oils. Although the goal here is to keep greasy roots at bay, you don’t want to completely take away the natural moisture (aka oil) produced by your scalp.

STEP #2: SHAMPOO

Reach for the aforementioned shampoo, and suds up as usual. Make sure to focus mainly on your scalp whenever you shampoo, rather than on your lengths and ends, as this is where the oil is coming from. After you’ve massaged it onto your scalp and lathered up, rinse the shampoo out completely.

STEP #3: CONDITION

All hair types—we repeat, all hair types—need conditioner! And yes, this is still true if you have oily hair. For that reason, reach for the L'Oréal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Clay Conditioner, next. Apply the product onto the lengths and ends of your strands, and leave it on for up to three minutes before rinsing out.

STEP #4: T-SHIRT DRY YOUR HAIR

Rather than reach for a towel to dry your hair, which can be rough on your strands, grab a soft, old T-shirt. It will dry your hair just as well, sans any damage!

STEP #5: STYLE AS USUAL

That’s it; it’s that simple! Whether you typically air-dry your hair or opt for heat styling, go about the rest of your hair styling routine as usual.

MORE OF THE BEST PRODUCTS FOR OILY HAIR

Shampoo is just the start—there are plenty of other oily hair products you can add into your routine to help keep grease out of the equation. Here are our best picks.

L'Oréal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Clay Pre-Shampoo Mask: A one-of-a-kind purifying hair mask, this product is formulated to absorb oil and impurities on the scalp, leaving you with fresh, clean hair. To use, apply onto dry hair at the roots before shampooing, working in sections to cover your entire head. Leave it on for five minutes to soak up excess oil, then rinse while gently massaging your scalp. Follow up with the aforementioned shampoo and conditioner duo.

L'Oréal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Clay Dry Shampoo: Need to freshen up your roots, but don’t have time for a full wash and style session? No problem! Reach for this dry shampoo, which is our best dry shampoo for oily hair, and spritz it on as needed for an instant refresh.

Next up: Learn How to Deep Condition Your Hair.