All over your scalp, you have thousands of little sebaceous glands just below the surface. These little glands produce a natural oil called sebum. This oil travels from the glands up to your scalp and then onto your hair. It starts at the base of your hair and then works its way to the ends of your hair. These little glands don't produce a whole lot of oil until puberty and then they slow down again after you are about 50 years old.

Some people produce a lot more oil than others. There is nothing you can do about it other than frequent and regular shampooing with a mild shampoo. The best time to shampoo your hair is first thing in the morning. This way your hair is fresh all day. If you shampoo at night, your oil glands will have an 8-hour start on you and your hair could look quite oily come lunch time.

Not only does oily hair look dirty, it also has an odor. People who frequently have oily hair often are not aware of this. You can teach them by telling them to wash their hands, dry them, and smell them. After that, get them to run their clean hands through their hair and rub their scalp. Have them smell their hands again. They will then see what you mean.

Natural hair oil can change your hair's appearance and behavior. Fine hair is especially effected by oil and tends to have a wild appearance when it's oily. Places on your head that have cowlicks (such as at the crown of your head, or at your front hairline) become less manageable and stick up when they are oily. The oil makes your hair stick together and therefore causes curly or wavy hair to look curlier or wavier. Oiliness also makes then hair look even thinner by clumping your hair and making your scalp visible.

Needless to say, a frequent and regular shampooing schedule will help the health of your hair and keep it looking and smelling better.