April 2, 2021

Causes of Build-Up on Curly Hair & How to Prevent It

Are your washing and styling techniques causing build-up? In this video, we discuss the most common causes of build-up, dos & donts, and more.

Build-up can happen whether you’re following the curly girl method (CGM) or not. In fact, the CGM can sometimes cause MORE build-up for some people due to co-washing combined with using products with oils and butters.

It’s important to reduce build-up and remove it for a healthy scalp and healthy hair.

When there are layers of build-up on our scalp, it can lead to scalp conditions like dandruff and even hair loss in extreme cases. Product build-up on the hair can cause our curls to stretch and appear limp, sticky, oily, become dry, frizzy, and tangle more.

Image of my actual hair with build-up from a MyManeBio hair analysis

Causes of build-up

Dead skin
Our scalp is skin, so it naturally has a turnover rate and sheds dead skin layers. Dead skin can accumulate and appear flaky. Exfoliation and stimulation can help loosen dead skin cells.

Sebum
Our scalp produces oil to protect it and keep it moisturized. Not properly cleansing can cause a thick layer of build-up which leads to dandruff. Check out this video to learn more about detoxing your scalp.

Not properly shampooing
When shampooing, it’s important to take the time to thoroughly massage the scalp, especially if you have thick hair. A shampoo brush such as the Tangle Teezer Scalp Exfoliator & Massager can help you get down onto your scalp to exfoliate away dead skin cells and remove build-up. It can also be used on dry hair to loosen build-up, dead skin, and stimulate blood flow for hair growth.

If you still see or feel build-up on your scalp after shampooing, try double cleansing and go in with a bit more shampoo.

Using only co-washes
Co-wash or low-poo shampoos as your only cleansing method is not advised, especially if you use products that contain oils and butters. Co-washes contain cationic surfactants that stick to the hair rather than remove oils and build-up.

Instead, use a clarifying shampoo every couple of washes for a deep cleanse. The Curlsmith Detox Kit is one of my favorite ways to clarify without stripping. The Giovanni Tea Tree Shampoo used in the video above is a great affordable option.

Ingredients that clarify without stripping

C14-16 Olefin sulfonate
Sodium cocoyl isethionate
Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate
Sodium methyl cocoyl taurate
Sodium lauroyl glutamate
Sodium lauroyl Sarcosinate
Sodium methyl cocoyl taurate

You can also try ACV rinses to remove build-up and smooth the cuticle. Learn how in this video.

Not thoroughly rinsing conditioner
Rinsing too quickly with cool water can leave conditioner behind, especially on the scalp. Instead, use warm water and gently massage the scalp while rinsing to ensure all conditioner is rinsed off the scalp. Then if desired, finish with a cool water rinse.

Washing and rinsing upside down
Although it’s convenient sometimes to wash upside down over a tub, it can be tough to get down to the roots thoroughly on the top of your head when your hair is flipped over, especially if you have very thick hair. Washing upside down also causes excess shedding and tangles for me, so I prefer to wash my hair in the shower. When I do have to shampoo upside down, I make sure to lift the hair away from the scalp and really get in there. Also, be sure to thoroughly rinse when rinsing out deep conditioner.

Hard water
Many people have hard water in their homes and may not realize it. Having hard water means that there are high amounts of calcium and magnesium in the water. These minerals can build up in your appliances, shower heads, and cause a film to accumulate on surfaces. This also happens on our hair and can reduce the lathering ability of shampoos and cause the hair to feel dry, sticky, and lifeless. Find out if your county/city has hard water here.

The best solution to hard water is installing a water softener system in your house. You can also install filtered sh o wer heads if needed. There are shampoos called “chelating shampoos” that have special surfactants that remove hard water.

Chelating ingredients:

Disodium EDTA
Tetrasodium EDTA
Pentasoidum Pentetate
Sodium gluconate
Sodium phytate

Product build-up
There are many ingredient in our curly hair products (even some that are CG-approved) that can build-up on the hair over time.

Silicone
Petroleum
Mineral oil
Polyquats
Polymers
Waxes
Butters
Plant gels (film-forming humectants)

Styling techniques that cause build-up on the scalp
Applying styling products to soaking, dripping wet hair while upside down can cause the product to fall right down onto your scalp. Instead, try damp styling in the upright position so you have more control over the water and product.

Avoid applying product directly to your roots. I usually focus my leave-ins and curl creams to the lower 3/4 of my hair, while gels and mousse I will take up to the root if needed for frizz protection.

Scrunching is another culprit of product getting on your roots because you’re pressing the hair right onto the scalp. Instead, lift the hair away from the scalp before pressing upwards. This also gives more root lift!

Plopping is a major cause of product build-up on the scalp because the hair is placed on top of the head and the towel or T-shirt tied, pressing the hair tightly against the scalp. Instead, try the microplopping method which just involves scrunching out excess water with your towel or T-shirt. This absorbs more water anyways and improves definition and clumping, just be sure to lift away from the scalp when scrunching.

Refreshing
Adding product to your hair in between wash days is one of the easiest ways to get build-up on the hair because it involves layering on additional product. When I refresh, I try and use as little product as possible. Strong hold gels that can be re-activated with water are great because you can get a cast back just by adding a little water. Then, if I still see some frizz, I will smooth extra gel over flyaways.