Does Your Hair Smell? - How To Avoid Bad Odors Coming From Your Hair And Scalp

I am not one to gossip but I do have a funny story I would like to share. Maybe it isn’t ‘ha ha’ funny but it is one of those things that can make you smile on the inside and give the person total side eye on the outside.

So I have a friend who was planning to get married to a white guy and you know in every relationship there might be some things that you just do not ‘get’ about each other? In their relationship the thing that he did not ‘get’ was her hair care practices.

Now I understand that especially in an interracial relationship because there might be things black girls might do with their hair that white guys might just have to get used to because they did not have to deal with it growing up.

My friend liked to use Sulfur* 8 in her hair and that does not exactly smell like strawberries or roses so her hair left much to be desired where smell was concerned.

Coupled with that she had a less than what we would consider, regular wash regimen. Now for any guy that truly loves you they probably will want to compromise and they might accept certain things even though they do not understand it.

In his case he just could not understand why she did not wash her hair daily like his sister and why her hair had to smell the way it did.

For him what was normal, was getting in the shower and washing your hair daily and repeat that regimen everyday for the rest of your ‘normal’ life.

Here is the thing, when I heard the story my first thought was how can I get a message to this guy? He has to know that my friend’s habit was not the norm for all black girls.

Some of us actually do ‘wash’ daily and our hair can smell like, honey*, cake, juices and berries at any given time, smelling like a steel manufacturer was entirely her choice.

You might wonder what the point of this whole story is and who puts their friend on blast about having stinky hair?

Well let me tell you, for one the story was funny and we are all friends here, two she has since changed her products and wash habits so that helps and three I do want to bring to your attention that the way your hair smells can be a great indicator that you need to wash it, or care for it in some manner. It is never acceptable or something to compromise when it comes to hygiene.

The way we think about natural hair nowadays is much different from 10-15 years ago, some of us actually do ‘wash’ our hair daily, maybe not with shampoo but we get our hair wet none the less.

Things are different for Caucasians too; they too are not shampooing as often, opting for co washing, water only washing or just cleansing with natural products like ACV or lemon juice.

The way we care for our hair as human beings is different so with that said what does having smelly hair mean?

You are washing too much

Yes! I know I just told you that not washing often can lead to smelly hair, well the opposite is true as well.

If you use shampoo too often stripping your hair of all its natural oils* and moisture your oil or sebaceous glands can go into overdrive and produce more sebum to combat the dryness that will ensue.

This does not happen to everyone but can happen none the less leading to excessive sebum buildup and a bit of an odor. These days we have options, you can shampoo with a sulfate free shampoo*, and we can co-wash to ensure that we remove build up and avoid bad odors.

If you have an oily scalp you can opt for an every 3 day wash regimen or even an every week wash regimen.

Scalp fungus or infection

Scalp issues can be evident based on smell, itchiness, buildup and flakes. If you find that you have a scalp problem we often recommend that you see a dermatologist first before trying to treat the issue yourself.

A dermatologist or a licensed trichologist can diagnose exactly what is going on with your scalp to cause infection or fungus.

If you do have an infection and you and your doctor have a treatment plan then the smell should go away once your scalp is healthy again.

You do not wash often enough

Like my friend sometimes life gets in the way of doing what you need to do for yourself. She has tight, 4C natural hair and to really give it what it needs takes time and commitment that sometimes she just did not have.

Not to mention if you are constantly adding product to your dirty hair to tame it for your day to day schedule, the build up will certainly lead to a smell eventually!

Somehow you have to find the time to care for your hair and scalp to keep it healthy and odor free. There is no point getting your daily schedule accomplished and allowing your hair hygiene to fall to the wayside. Eventually you will have to deal with it head on.

Using stinky products

Personally I have never used Sulfur* 8, but word on the street is that is smells like sulfur* and sorry boo, but that’s just not sexy.

I am very particular about hair products that smell funky because I know that the smell will linger in my hair like perfume on your neck or wrist.

Part of reviewing and choosing products is the smell especially if you have a perfectly healthy scalp and you are not tied to any one product.

When you choose hair products make the smell be a part of the ‘purchase test’. Some women love smelling like cake, others prefer fruit and coconut*, some like products to be fragrance free.

What we are happy about is that we all have a ton of choices now that we can use to combat smells that can be rather embarrassing. Kudos to my friend’s fiance though, he really was a trooper.

Do you know anyone that has smelly hair, did you tell them?