Got Greasy Hair Postpartum? Here’s a Simple + Cheap Fix

Inside: The pregnancy symptom no one talks about? Greasy hair postpartum. Here’s a quick, cheap fix for greasy hair during pregnancy or postpartum.

One of the good parts of being pregnant is that you’re supposed to get this amazingly thick, shiny, beautiful hair.

Not me.

My hair gets flat and greasy.

When I’m pregnant, I can shampoo my hair TWICE but after I’m done blow-drying it, the crown of my head looks like the place where someone spit out the remnants of their oil pulling experiment.

While I was pregnant with my second child, I told myself I just had to make it to six weeks postpartum, and everything would be back to normal.

Six weeks rolled by, then three months. Four, five, six…

Still a greasy postpartum mess.

I tried using more shampoo, which seemed to make it worse. Less shampoo didn’t have an effect. Then I tried five different shampoos—some mainstream and some natural and one perfectly organic, fair-trade, shade-grown brand whose cost rivaled a month of daycare.

All the same reaction.

Gross feeling hair.

So I turned to my good buddy Google.

A Radical Solution I Wasn’t Ready For

Lots of folks will recommend that you go the no-poo approach to remedy greasy hair during pregnancy or postpartum.

This basically means that instead of using shampoo every day or two, you wash your hair MUCH less often with cleaners that won’t strip your hair of its natural oils. The idea is that when you strip your hair of its oils, it produces even more oil, making your hair greasier and requiring more shampooing, which starts this vicious cycle that leaves you shampooing three times a day just to avoid looking like Forrest Gump on his walk across the country.

To switch to a no-shampoo life, you need to be patient while your hair adjusts. I know this because I lived no-poo for a couple years.

But I was ready to be done with this greasy postpartum hair situation YESTERDAY.

Also, I absolutely hated my hair when I went no-poo. It was flat, limp, and just plain ugly.

And yet, search result after search result sang the praises of no-poo in resolving my greasy postpartum hair dilemma.

There had to be another way.

Related: The Single Best Way to Reduce Swollen Feet in Pregnancy

A Match Made in Hair Heaven?

What do most no-pooers use instead of shampoo? Baking soda.

So I had an idea.

I hated my hair washed in just baking soda.

I hated my hair washed in just shampoo.

But what if I combined them?

The next morning before my shower, I went to the kitchen and found this:

Then off to the shower I went.

I squirted a normal amount of shampoo in my hand.

Then I sprinkled some baking soda on top of the shampoo and washed my greasy postpartum hair.

It felt gritty and sudsy, weird and wonderful.

The result?

Okay, I only wish that were my hair.

However, shampoo + baking soda SOLVED MY GREASY HAIR PROBLEM.

I’m back to needing to wash my hair only once every 3-4 days, and no more greasy mess.

Best of all, I didn’t have to buy some special “postpartum greasy hair shampoo” at $37 a bottle.

Updated to add: After first writing this article, I went on to have two more babies, and this greasy postpartum hair solution worked like a charm again and again.

Here’s a Quick Fix for Greasy Hair During Pregnancy or Postpartum

If you’re pregnant and struggling with greasy hair, your postpartum greasy hair isn’t resolving on its own, or if you’re just dealing with greasy hair in general, give this trick a try.

Warning: Before you start, check your shampoo’s ingredients list for anything that mentions “ammonium.” Ammonium-based ingredients can cause a reaction with the baking soda, so if your shampoo has ammonium as an ingredient, find an ammonium-free brand to use for this beauty hack. Also, if you get your hair colored, check with your hair colorist on whether you can use baking soda on your hair without impacting the dye.

1. Put a normal amount of shampoo in the palm of your hand.
2. Sprinkle a couple teaspoons’ worth of baking soda on top of the shampoo, and use your other hand to mix it into the shampoo.
3. Wash your hair using the shampoo and baking soda mixture, concentrating on any greasy trouble spots.
4. (Optional) Use conditioner. But afterwards if it seems like your hair didn’t get squeaky clean, next time try using conditioner on just the ends of your hair—or try skipping it altogether.

It’s cheap, it’s simple, and it’ll give you the cleanest hair you’ve had in ages. Enjoy!

Your Turn

What’s your favorite solution for greasy hair during pregnancy or postpartum? Share in a comment below!

Social media photo by Takashi Ota.