Why does rainwater make your hair oily?  Pexels
Beauty and Wellness

4 reasons why the hair looks naturally oily during monsoons despite a fresh wash

Why does the hair look and feel oily during monsoons despite a fresh wash?

Subhadrika Sen

You have just spent hours washing your hair with the best shampoo and conditioner. Your hair looks voluminous and feels extra soft. You go out and then come the rain. Although you take shelter fast a few drops do hit your head. And when you return home and brush off your hair, the scalp feels oily and sticky. This is often the case that most people experience during the monsoon. Despite washing your hair in the morning, it still feels sticky, frizzy and dry the moment even one or two drops of rainwater falls on it. Have you ever wondered why does this happen? No worries, if you haven’t, because we decode the four reasons why…

Freshly washed hair feeling oily in after the rains? Here’s why…

Rainwater and scalp oil merges to make the hair appear sticky

There might be several reasons why the hair would feel oily; the major ones are listed below.

Flat hair: When rainwater touches the hair, or parts of it, you would notice how the area falls flat; no matter how much you brush it. That’s because rainwater binds the hair together and makes it lie flat. In turn, this reduces volume, and the natural scalp oil gets exposed. This accounts for the oily look and feel.

The humid trap: During monsoon, the humidity level rises, which is why even after heavy rain, you would notice that you are sweating. This sweat combines with the scalp’s natural oils (sebum) and makes the hair feel heavy and greasy.

Hair becomes sticky, oily, greasy and frizzy when it gets wet in the rain

Invisible pollutants: Never think that rainwater is pure water. It is mostly not so. Unknown to many and hidden in the rainwater are pollutants like dust, pollens, and other particles. These stick to the hair and make it feel oily and dirty.

Leave-in products act up: Many a times you use leave-in products like dry shampoo, conditioners, perfumes etc. these products are supposed to be left in dry hair. But when rainwater falls on the hair, it dilutes these products and activates them, making the scalp feel stickier than usual.

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