Shampoo suggestions for a pre-teen, we need help

[bopper]

I would suggest Head and Shoulders too.

[Tierrainney]

Thank you all for the many suggestions. I hadn't even thought that she wasn't rinsing well enough, that one is a distinct possibility.

We are struggling with this pre- puberty stuff, she is very, very moody at times and I don't get to supervise hygiene the way I used to be able.

[Slartibartfast]

I think going to a separate shampoo and conditioner would go a long way, honestly.  The shampoo strips out the hair's oils and the conditioner puts some artificial (and better-smelling) oils back in - but if she's got oily hair already, the manufacturer's pre-made ratio is probably putting too much oil back in her hair.  I've always had pretty long, thick hair too, and it takes quite a bit of shampoo (palm-sized glop) to have enough to get all the way down to the scalp and still get the oil out of the rest of my hair.  It takes a lot less conditioner.

[m2kbug]

I'm glad someone mentioned rinsing better.  I have run into this.  Their hair doesn't look washed, which means they either got their hair wet and didn't wash it or they didn't rinse it out properly.  I don't understand why this is such a complicated process.  I went with the combo shampoo/conditioner because they weren't taking the extra step to condition separately.  If you strip away the oils with shampoo and don't replace them, the body's response is to over-produce oils to compensate for what's missing.  That can be an ugly situation with hair that is oily to start with.  I feel your pain on moody teen.   

[Daquiri40]

When my dandruff was bad, I used Neutrogena T-Gel - recommended by my hairdresser.

[Yvaine]

I think going to a separate shampoo and conditioner would go a long way, honestly.  The shampoo strips out the hair's oils and the conditioner puts some artificial (and better-smelling) oils back in - but if she's got oily hair already, the manufacturer's pre-made ratio is probably putting too much oil back in her hair. 

Yeah, or in some cases not putting enough back in. My hair has been dry all my teen and adult life--not overprocessed, that's just the way it is--and I've never met a pre-blended shampoo and conditioner that worked. I don't think the premade ratio works for a lot of people.

[sparksals]

If her hair gets greasy fast, then she needs to wash it more often.  I also agree that she could be simply not rinsing well enough.   Conditioning is important, but as someone stated above, the wrong kind can make the hair more greasy.  The key is to put it only on the ends and not on the scalp.  She also  needs to scrub her scalp when washing, not just wash her hair.

[kevdarron]

This sounds a lot like me as a teen. I had very thick, coarse, dark hair that always looked greasy, along with a helping of dandruff. What I've found personally is that I needed to wash my hair less often. It sounds counter-intuitive but I wash my hair only every second day now and as a result, it becomes oily much slower.

Other things that have helped me: Neutrogena T-Gel as a previous poster suggested. I use this a couple times a week.

In order to get the shampoo entirely through my hair, sometimes I shampoo, rinse, shampoo rinse, before I condition.

I found areas of my hair were oilier than others, specifically the back of my head. I wasn't getting the shampoo all the way into that area. I spent more time applying shampoo there, and had to learn to really reach my scalp in all places.

Finally, I asked my hairdresser for advice. He was really helpful in helping me learn how to tell a) when my hair was thoroughly covered in shampoo and b) when it was completely rinsed.

[CakeBeret]

I am very prone to dandruff. I hate Head & Shoulders and I find that consistency in my hair care is key to controlling the dandruff. What works for me is using the Garnier Pure Clean line, using separate shampoo and conditioner. I cannot use the combo shampoo/conditioner under any circumstances. My hair is happiest being washed every 2-3 days. I rub the shampoo into my scalp, but conditioner goes only on the ends of my hair. (My hair is shoulder-length, ridiculously thick, and wavy to curly.)

[Outdoor Girl]

What I've found personally is that I needed to wash my hair less often. It sounds counter-intuitive but I wash my hair only every second day now and as a result, it becomes oily much slower.

I agree.  I have very oily hair.  But it is fine and curly rather than thick.  I've gone to washing 3 times a week and have much nicer hair.  It actually keeps a little bit of oil in the hair to keep it from being fly-away, while keeping my scalp from getting too oily.  I still shower everyday but one and I still condition my hair on those days I don't wash it.

I can't use a 2-in-1 because I need more conditioning than that.  I use about 5 times as much conditioner as I do shampoo.

I would consider a detachable shower head, if you can.  That way, she can bend over, flip her hair forward and rinse from the underside, too, to help get all the soap out.

I'm in process of switching to a laurel sulphate free shampoo and silicone free conditioner.  As soon as I use up what I've got that isn't, I'll be switching permanently.  I find it is much better for my hair.

[Judah]

What I've found personally is that I needed to wash my hair less often.

I've slowly decreased the frequency with which I shampoo my hair to once per week. I've always had super oily hair and if I didn't wash every day it was gross.  But the thing is, by shampooing every day I was just drying my scalp out making it think it needed to create more oil.  By shampooing less often, my scalp makes less oil. It was a slow process over several months, but now my hair is much less oily, even after a week.

I do, however, wash every day, just not with shampoo. I use a very light conditioner to wash with.

[carol1412]

Second (third?) on the Garnier Fructis line. It's not as harsh as Head & Shoulders, smells pretty good and has controlled my winter dandruff very well.

[artk2002]

Your DD sounds like me in those days. Head and Shoulders is good for dandruff. Other things I used when I was younger was a vinegar rinse ( two table spoons of Vinegar in a 16 oz tumbler poured over my head, and sometimes an egg rinse. My sister who has oily, very thick hair at 37 uses horse shampoo and she always looks great - sounds odd, but it works.

My boys (both with thick hair) have used Mane and Tail (both the shampoo and conditioner) for quite some time. It's available in many of our local drug stores.

[rain]

Years ago a shampoo called T-gel was the only thing that worked for one of my sibs

[Outdoor Girl]

I can't use Head and Shoulders, at least not more than once a week.  It dries my hair right out and yet the scalp gets oily, I think producing more oil to compensate for the drying out.

The Mane and Tail sounds interesting.  Anyone know if it is available in Canada and if it is laurel sulphate free?