Oily hair? You should be washing it with micellar water, apparently

If greasy hair is your beauty nemesis, you might be about to learn that you’ve been washing your hair wrong all along. The secret? Micellar water.

That’s right, TikTok has presented us with yet another hair hack – and this time it’s for all those oily-scalped folks out there. According to one viral video, the key to non-greasy lengths is rinsing your hair with micellar water before shampooing. Who knew?

Abbey Yung first tried out the technique back in April, and the video has since picked up 1.2 million views. In the clip, she pours micellar water over the top of her head before shampooing twice, saying: “I applied the micellar water directly to my scalp and evenly saturated my roots… [and] massage it in.”

Showing off her results once her hair was dry, she said: “WOW my hair feels SO clean. Also so soft and shiny! I’m obsessed.”

Another TikToker, Daniela Flores, has shared that she likes to spritz a micellar water product to refresh the roots of her curly hair, rather than washing it. “I am just now finding out about this technology, but it’s the tea!!” she’s captioned her own video.

In theory, micellar technology could be beneficial for greasy hair or product build up – since it’s used in a similar way on the skin. Micellar water is made up of ‘micelles’ (aka tiny cleansing balls, suspended in water) which attract oily substances and draw them away from the skin – or hair. So, it’s not surprising that some have found them to be clarifying as a hair treatment.

However – as many have pointed out – dousing your hair in micellar water every time you shampoo isn’t exactly cost-effective (or eco-friendly, for that matter). 

For a homemade alternative, you could try an apple cider vinegar hair rinse (simply mix 3-4 tablespoons with around 2 cups water), or even a micellar-infused shampoo, which will give you the benefit of the technology without getting through so much product.

Even better, we’ve rounded up our favourite micellar waters, shampoos and treatments below…

Scroll to shop the best micellar hair products.