Have oily skin?  No problem!  You can still wear face-framing hairstyles and use styling products!  Jordana Lorraine from Lorraine’s Colour Bar in Santa Monica, CA shares with us her secrets for keeping your hair pretty and your skin protected from hairline breakouts.

Q: Are there any particular ingredients in hair care that women with oily skin should avoid?

A: Products containing silicone can clog pores and make oil lay more visibly on the surface of the skin.  This doesn’t mean you can’t use them, but you should avoid using them near the scalp and face.

Q: Do you ever encourage clients with acne to avoid styles that touch their face (i.e. bangs)?

A: This is a tough one, because sometimes bangs can help hide blemishes, which is nice.  But they can also get very oily and stick to the forehead, which is decidedly not nice.  If someone with oily skin wants to wear bangs, the best thing to do is make sure you never put styling products in them; this can clog your pores more, and will make bangs appear greasy more quickly.  One exception: dry shampoo!  You can actually carry this in your purse to freshen up bangs if they get greasy throughout the day.  Try Dust It by OSIS, which comes in a small, purse-friendly bottle  or Dirty Little Secret from TiGi.

Q: How often do you recommend clients wash their hair? Is it different for women with oily skin or hair?

A: It is generally best to wash 2-3 times per week, but the best guideline is “when it needs it.”  The shampoo industry has ‘conditioned’ us (hahaha) to lather, rinse, repeat ad nauseam, but the truth is that over-shampooing can fade your color, dry out your hair, and even cause some delicate hair to fall out prematurely.  If your hair looks greasy, wash it, but don’t do daily it just out of habit.  Try dry shampoo for those ‘maybe’ days.

Q: Do you find that women with oily hair have oily skin?

A: Yes!  The scalp is also skin, though it has some different properties (like a lot more hair–hopefully!)  If someone has overactive sebaceous glands, that is likely to affect both skin and scalp

Q: Any other tidbits that would be helpful?

A: If you accidentally get product on your forehead or face while styling your hair, it’s not the end of the world. Just use some toner to remove it, and touch-up make-up if necessary.

If you have oily skin, we encourage you to try these secrets to preventing hairline breakouts!