Is your hair getting oily too quickly?

Summer heat and sweating make life a bit more difficult for those with oily skin/hair. If you are one of those people you might have noticed that during the summer, your face tends to become shiny and you may need to wash your hair more often.

All that is down to increased sebum production which many people try to address by using harsher and harsher chemicals and washing their hair on a daily basis. But that fix is hardly effective; in fact, chemical- and alcohol-based cosmetics only make matters worse as they increase skin dryness.

Without the critical level of moisture and its protective sebum layer, the skin becomes more vulnerable to external impacts, injuries and infections. Harsh chemicals and excessive hair wash (especially if done with hot water) may boost sebum production and promote the formation of dandruff – exactly the opposite of what you are trying to achieve.

What can you do then? What are the natural ways to beat dandruff and oily hair?

Start by heeding these simple tips:

• Try washing your hair less frequently. Two or three times a week should be enough to keep your hair healthy and beautiful. While you are waiting for the sebum production to drop (i.e. on the second, third and fourth day following your last wash) tie up your hair or cover the oily-looking hair roots with a colourful scarf.

• Just as you would do when washing your face, avoid using hot water for hair wash. Lukewarm water may be perfect in summer.

• Almost everyone needs an extra rinse with vinegar or lemon juice after washing their hair with soap. The extra rinse will make your hair even more radiant and it works great on oily hair. You can replace vinegar or lemon juice with a rosemary rinse (see recipe of the latter at the end of the post).

• From Manna’s range, I can recommend Healthy Locks Soap in particular – but Coco Tea Tree Oil Soap can also do a great job.

• There are other Manna soaps you can use for hair wash, so go ahead and find the one that fits your needs best. Once you have found it, stick with it!

• One of the best natural ingredients to treat oily scalp and dandruff is rosemary.

Made of rosemary brew and essential oil, this hair rinse is amazingly refreshing especially in summer.

How to make it:

1. Boil a cup of water and put in 4 branches of rosemary (wash them beforehand).
2. Let it simmer on a low flame for 30 minutes
3. Transfer the mix to non-fragile bowl or bottle fit for use for hair rinse and leave it to cool
4. Finish by adding 5-6 drops of Manna Rosemary Essential Oil, cover and shake it to mix.

Use it after hair wash (instead of the vinegar/lemon juice rinse)