8 Year Old with Very Oily Hair

My daughter was/is going through this. Whenever her hair gets oily with little salty looking dandruff, her skin gets very oily and she gets red pimples. A derm, an endocrinologist, and a pediatrician all said it was puberty. SHe has had blood work and it came back normal. SHe got breast buds at 9.5 and pubic hair earlier than that. She has been shaving up to the knee since spring. Maybe you can take her to the beauty salon and have the shampoo girl teach her how to wash her hair properly--sometimes kids pay more attention when someone other than mom tries to explain it to them lol! A lot of moms say that kids that age don't brush their hair or try to keep it styled nicely---wait until junior high--it's all about fashion.

First of all Mom, change the tune.... she's not your 'poor thing', this is life, normal, wonderful life. Don't be making comments that cast doubts about her body image.

Breast buds at almost 9 is normal. Oily hair can be genetic... get a shampoo for oily hair and use it every day or a clarifying shampoo that helps helps with the hair and the dandruff. Don't be cutting her hair short, just remind her that she needs to shampoo her hair every day. Hairy legs? who told her so? Again, enough with the comments, it's probably very fine hair. This is normal and if you're looking at fashion magazines and making comparisons she wouldn't know any difference.

Puberty does begin around 8-9 yrs of age. I remember being in the 4th grade and having those separate movies for boys and girls. As we have 'evolved', girls are getting their periods early, some believe this is in response to the meats we eat, lots of hormone supplemented feed being fed to cattle, pigs and chickens. Finding a cause doesn't change what's happening to your daughter's body now. Celebrate her. Don't draw attention to the changes, but accept them as a normal, day to day occurance. Life is tumultuous enough for a pre-pubescent girl (or boy) and the last thing they need is someone else drawing attention to all of that.

Make sure when she is washing it she is actually cleaning the scalp good with her fingertips/fingernails and be sure she is rinsing all the shampoo and conditioner completely out of it. Only apply conditioner to the ends. When my son was much younger and would shower himself there were a few times his hair would look oily and I would think, he just washed it yesterday. Come to find out he was using too much shampoo and wasn't rinsing it all out, it make it look oily.

hormones can definitely play their part in oily hair. I would suggest you try Paul Mitchell's tea tree oil shampoo/conditioner for her hair. Also, maybe do an apple cider vinegar rinse every other week for her scalp. You can get her nair for her legs so she doesn't have to shave.

as a nation we're over nourished and we have hormones in so much of our food that our bodies are able to mature more quickly.

Good luck

Updated

hormones can definitely play their part in oily hair. I would suggest you try Paul Mitchell's tea tree oil shampoo/conditioner for her hair. Also, maybe do an apple cider vinegar rinse every other week for her scalp. You can get her nair for her legs so she doesn't have to shave.

as a nation we're over nourished and we have hormones in so much of our food that our bodies are able to mature more quickly.

Good luck

Check how she is wash her hair. Some kids when they wash their own hair take it literary and wash their hair not their head. Now she is getting older and it is hot it might make the big difference. Make sure if she is using condictioner she is only putting it on small amounts, not on top of her head. Have her scrub, use her finger nails on her head too. Use oily shampoo. You could also put a brush in the shower and have her brush it while she is in their with the condictioner will save time when she gets out.

I have to agree with everyone else. They have been saying for decades the hormones in our foods are affecting our children and making them mature earlier and earlier. It's time to switch to grass-fed, organic, free-range meats. And hormone free milk. Eat a lot of fast food? Think twice as you are eating the worst meats and fats possible. Even soy can affect hormones, so watch out for over-consumption of products with soy.

In regards to her hair, it could be tied to genetics or puberty. I would make sure she is washing her hair and her scalp to ensure it is all clean and there isn't a build-up of oil on the scalp making hair greasy right after a shower. A shampoo formulated for oily skin would help. If you can't get her to wash her hair daily, perhaps try a dry shampoo that can be brushed through the hair to soak up oil and keep things in check between washings. It's probably a phase and she'll outgrow it.

Puberty is hitting kids earlier and earlier all the time. One school of thought is that it is caused by all the hormones in our foods, like chicken.

I would suggest Melaleuca's Herbal shampoo.

I am 35 now, but I had the same thing happen to me when I was 9-10. I started my period at 10 and I think things got better after that. I would get her some scalp serum from Aveda, my nephew had white flakes when he was about that age and it really helped. If you want to try tea tree shampoo, Trader Joe's makes a good and cheap one. I would let her shave her legs up to the knee. she's old enough when she is self conscious about the hair. Nair is such a harsh chemical that every time I have tried it I have gotten burned from it. Good luck, and know that she should get better. I like the idea of teacher her how to wash it at the salon. Maybe talk to the stylist first to explain the problem. Apple cider vinegar is great for removing residue and oils. I just pour it on my head in the shower and rub it on the scalp. I still have oily hair, but a volumizing shampoo seems to be the best at helping keep it under control. Good luck!

Yes the growth hormones put in our food supply - our milk is tainted, meats, etc. The route to go is buy organic grass fed beef, organic free range chicken and turkey, wild caught fish (never farm raised), and for eggs buy free range organic eggs, and for milk Raw Milk is the best (organic would follow second). You can read more on raw milk here:

http://realmilk.com/

http://search.mercola.com/Results.aspx?k=raw%20milk

These things are the reasons you see kids walking around at 10 yrs. old in puberty - the whole population is getting taller and bigger, and people in general (especially kids) are having an epidemic for obesity. It's all tied to our foods.

OMG, sounds just like my daughter! She is ten, almost 11... same thing happened to her. She has her period now, shaves her legs up to her knees, (has pubic hair, too!) and has boobs! She is very skinny and full of muscle from karate and gymnastics....... so nobody can tell me it's fat!! She is five foot 2 and just over 100 pounds. Her hair was below her butt until she donated 14 inches this year to Pantene Beautiful Lengths (Locks of Love charges for their wigs, so we didn't give it to them). Her scalp was the same as your daughter and her hair looks greasy fast! It's a bit better now, but not all better. I do believe it's hormones!!!! The ends of her hair are dry/normal... I have noticed she doesn't wash it well in the shower though. I bet part of it is also product choice and operator error! She doesn't shampoo well all over (into the scalp) or rinse well, so that's an issue. I'm trying to let her deal with it, but she really doesn't seem to care much. I keep telling myself it's a phase! :o) I'll be sure to watch and see what other folks tell you...... You're not alone! Good luck!
PS, There is NOTHING wrong with your daughter. What she has going on is normal. I've spoken with many mom's about the same things. However, with her birthday coming up, you can rest easy knowing she has a check up later this year, and you can discuss these things with her doctor if you're still concerned.

Puberty hits both boys and girls early because of all the hormones they put in the meats. I know it sounds weird but this is really true. If you could change your diet to incorporate natural, organic foods - vegetables, fruits and meats then your daughters problems would not be so severe and it may even stop or help her budding breast and oily hair.

N.

I had great luck with peroxide/water mixture to lighten the hair on my legs. Summer is a great time to do this because the added sunlight will also help lighten the hair. This may stave off shaving for a couple more years.

I started getting breast buds at about that age and we ate a lot of farm grown/raised foods that used no hormones. I'm in my late forties. It does start at about that age.

Make sure she understands what is happening and celebrate with her that she is becoming a woman (yeah, with kid dreams and thinking still). It is very tough to let our kids grow up and 9 is still quite young in the scheme of things, but your body does what it does.

I was a total tomboy and refused to wear bras until I absolutely had to. I hated the fact that I was getting breasts and wished they would go away.

Good luck to your daughter and let her know that she is still your baby and that she is beautiful. At the same time, try to work on hygiene.

D.

Hi,K.!
I do not think it is puberty.I think something wrong with her health.Maybe Lynn is right that it happens because of all the hormones in our food.But you should take her to the doctor without fail very soon. It is not normal thing that happens to her.

My best friend several years ago had this issue but she had to wash her hair a couple of times a day. Her young daughter had the same too. They ended up getting a body perm about every 6-8 weeks to keep the hair off the scalp, it gave it enough body to not get slicked down and it didn't look oily until the day after washing it and that was if she brushed it down.

Hormones fed to animals can advance puberty. A shampoo with peppermint or tea tree oil, look in the health food section.