Fashion

5 Foods To Avoid That Make Your Hair Oily

by Carina Wolff

When it comes to oily hair, we usually take a shower, pile on the dry shampoo, or put on a pony tail to deal with a greasy hair day. However, you can also change up your diet to help with your hair, as certain foods can make your hair more oily. Avoiding these foods can improve your hair health as well as get rid of unwanted grease, making it so you don't have to hide under a hat or hop whip out the special shampoo as often.

"I always stress the importance of a good diet, because it not only affects your overall health, but it also affects your hair," says celebrity hair stylist Tierra Tubbs over email. "How your hair cooperates with you and the health of your hair is almost always determined by your diet. My clients who follow a low carb or low sugar diet see an improvement in oily hair almost immediately. It's important to avoid foods that are processed and foods that are high in sugar."

Eating foods that help get you in shape can also help control your hair's oil production, so it's important to load up on plant-based, whole foods and ditch any excess junk food. If you're looking for natural ways to make your hair less greasy, try cutting down on these five foods that can make your hair oily.

1. Fried Foods

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"Excess oil in fried foods can seep from the body into the hair shaft as well as the skin, promoting excess oil because you are over stimulating the oil glands," says hair stylist Katsumi Kasai over email. That means its best to avoid any fast food that's deep fried or loaded with extra oil.

2. Dairy

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Even though they taste so delicious, dairy products are notorious for causing oily hair. "Foods like whole milk, cream, and butter digest as oils and fats in the body, which produces an excess amount of sebum," says Kasai. "This in turn will transfer to the hair, weighing it down with oil."

3. Fatty Meats

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"Like heavy dairy products, excess fat will be too much for the body to digest," says Kasai. "In the way that fatty meats are not good for your heart because they surround it with unhealthy fats, think of it doing the same to your hair."

4. Sugar

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"Sugar can make your hair oily because it has absolutely no nutritional value that helps with balancing your hormones and your body oils," says Tubbs. Sugar causes inflammation in the body along, which can also affect your hair follicles, according to Today.

5. Refined Carbohydrates

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"We all know that our bodies convert carbohydrates to sugar in the same way as sugar," says Kasai. "It's going to tell your body to work overtime in processing too many starchy carbs. This causes oil glads to overproduce as well, weighing the hair and scalp down with oil."

One particular food may not cause your hair to become greasy overnight, but avoiding these foods as much as possible can keep your hair just the right amount of shiny.

Want more women's health coverage? Check out Bustle's new podcast, Honestly Though, which tackles all the questions you're afraid to ask.

Want more women's health coverage? Check out Bustle's new podcast, Honestly Though, which tackles all the questions you're afraid to ask.

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