I shave my head every two days and I was wondering why it becomes so oily. Years ago, I was assuming that the oil on the scalp was there only when you have a lot of hair on your head. I guess that I was making the wrong assumption. I can personally state that this problem happens to me daily. What is causing my bald head to become so slick, sticky and greasy? I did some research for you and this is what I found out.
Why is my bald head so oily? A bald head becomes oily due to the presence of sebum that tries to protect the scalp from losing moisture and then drying out. Sebum is an oily, sticky substance that most mammals secrete. On a bald head, it makes the scalp shiny.
I researched the importance and the purpose of sebum for you.
What is Sebum and What Does it Do?
Sebum is secreted from the sebaceous glands that are located in your scalp and on other parts of your body. This substance is also produced by most mammals as a way to protect their skin. It does sound like a strange substance, but it is beneficial. I realize that you are probably now blaming sebum for giving your bald head the look of a shiny pool ball, but here are its benefits.
Sebum comes from the Latin word for fat. It creates a layer of fatty protection on your scalp. It actually waterproofs your head which is a good thing.
If you were a bald man golfing on a hot day without any protection on your head, it will block out the sun to some degree. Not as well as a sunscreen, but at least your head would not burn as quickly and your scalp would not dry out super fast and flake soon afterward.
Bald Men Protection Policy
Protecting your scalp as a bald man is important. I have burned the top of my scalp several times and it is very unpleasant allowing water to shoot onto it while showering even if the water temperature is just slightly warm.
Besides providing a slight shield on your head, it also lubricates and moisturizes your scalp. Even though your follicles in your scalp may be deserted and lonely because they are not holding onto hairs, they are in your skin and they are part of your scalp.
You need to keep your skin looking healthy as a man that worries about his personal grooming. You do not want people to shy away from you because your scalp is a big flaky mess.
As a bald man, your head still believes that it has a full head of hair. It has the follicles and it is happy about that fact. Do not constantly worry that your slightly greasy head is going to freak people out and that they will steer clear of you. You should only be concerned about the healthiness of your scalp, it will never leave you as your hair has done.
Why do bald guys have shiny heads?
Why are you as a bald man seemingly cursed with a shiny cue pool or eight ball head if you have dark skin? The oily deposit is not surfacing to protect your hair. Your hair is dead matter. The sebum is protecting your scalp from harm.
You probably agree that protecting your follicles is fine, but you are also likely wondering why the follicles are still important. Your scalp follicles are having a hard time sprouting long luxurious hairs. As I had mentioned earlier in this article, your head is oblivious to the fact that you are now bald. Your scalp is going to protect itself by having a greasy film spread over it.
Even with a full head of hair, you are aware that if someone does not wash their hair for days, that the greasiness in their hair will become more and more apparent. It is the same principle with a bald head, if you do not wash it, the oily film will thicken.
Do not Freak Out, Remain Calm
In other words, the film on a bald that causes its shine is completely normal and a healthy occurrence. Do not fret and worry about it. Do not obsessively wash your scalp to death hoping to rid yourself forever of being a shiny head. For one thing, it will not work and also you are just going to succeed in drying out your scalp and perhaps you will be creating the perfect environment for an infection to set in because of overwashing it.
Also, if your brain determines that your scalp is drying out more than it usually does, it will signal to your glands to shot out even more oil to deal with the problem. You will be trapped in a vicious scalp washing endless loop that will increase your daily stress level.
How do you get rid of a shiny bald head?
Would not it be great if you could simply snap your fingers and your shiny doom would have just a slight glow to it? That scenario sounds amazing to some, but it is not realistic. Your brain is going do whatever it can to protect you, that is why it exists, to begin with. You cannot totally stop oil from appearing on your scalp unless you were to kill off all of the follicles.
Even if you were successful in ridding your scalp of follicles, perhaps androgen would go into overdrive and starts creating new follicles that would be more than happy to spit out lots of oil onto your dome.
Best Counter-measure Against a Shiny Scalp
Your best defense against a super shiny scalp is to care for it and to keep it clean. Start off your day by washing it with a mild moisturizing soap so that your scalp will not think that it is in dire need of grease to keep it from drying out.
Before you go out for the day, you should do what do presently. I add an SPF 15 sunscreen to it. I recommend the sunscreen by Sun Bum (click for pricing on Amazon). This keeps it moisturized and protects my head from the harmful sun rays. You do not have to add a lot, just use the size of a dime on your scalp. Squeeze the sunscreen directly to the top of your head and spread it around in circular movements with your palms and fingers. The sunscreen protects you against getting a sunburn and it also ensures that your scalp does not dry out. If your scalp is too dry, your scalp will be signaled to release more sebum.
What do bald people use on their heads?
I did some research to find out some quick tips on products to use of my bald head to protect my scalp. I learned that it is a good policy to keep it clean. When you have a film of sticky oil on your bald head, your head when exposed to the elements will gather tiny pieces of dirt and debris especially if you are outside in a slightly dirty and windy environment.
If you start rubbing out the dirt with your hands, you are going to create microscopic tears in your scalp that will open up your skin to exposure to bacteria and fungus.
I have noticed at my local gym, that I unknowingly was doing so quite often out of habit even though I had a small towel handy. Sometimes I would notice the surfacing of tiny red pimples appearing within my scalp the next day. I must have been rubbing some toxic gym junk into my scalp.
Now what I do is that I ensure that I use my towel and that I just lay the towel over my head to dry it off. I do not rub my head with a towel. The gym germs are probably present on my towel and rubbing frantically my scalp will tear away at follicles, which means that you are just begging for infection.
Shampooing for Bald Men
Some men to prevent scalp problems, I have read, quickly clean their scalp in the shower. They add just a few drops of shampoo onto their scalp, rub around the shampoo and then do a quick rinse. This sounds like a good tactic, but personally, I do not waste my hard earned money on shampoo. I guess that I am cheap. Nevertheless, if you live with someone with hair and you are frugal-minded, use their shampoo! Nevertheless, if you would like to purchase a tear free shampoo, I recommend Johnson’s Tear Free (click for pricing on Amazon).
Further research on what the average man does for his bald head revealed to me that it a good idea to massage your scalp. Even though you do not have hair, you do have follicles that would appreciate the loving attention. You can actually increase the blood flow to your scalp which is a big plus.
Caring for your bald head, even if you feel that it has the drawback of being too shiny, is something that you should do. The above tactics are not terribly expensive and you deserve to have a healthy, vibrant looking bald head.
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