Hair is greasy, dry, frizzy, flaky, and stringy at the same time — nothing works
I’ve been dealing with this for a while and nothing I try works, so I’m hoping someone can actually explain what’s going on. My hair looks completely normal when it’s wet — smooth, clumped, no frizz — but as soon as it dries it turns frizzy, puffy, stringy, and kind of dry/straw-like. At the same time, my scalp can be both greasy and flaky, which makes no sense. The flakes are mostly small and white, sometimes slightly bigger, not very greasy.
Hair type/details: I have medium-length wavy hair (around 2–4 inches), pretty thick/dense, with a natural wave pattern. When wet, it forms small clumps easily, but when dry those clumps break apart into thinner pieces and lose shape. The ends feel dry while the roots can get oily. My hair overall just feels inconsistent and “off.”
Routine: I shampoo about once a week, and my hair usually feels pretty stripped after. I condition the ends. I’ve tried no product, minimal product, and heavier products (leave-ins, creams, oils), plus air drying and diffusing. I’ve also tried leaving it completely alone and also restyling with water — everything ends up looking basically the same. I’ve used Nizoral (ketoconazole) and it didn’t help.
The main thing is: my hair looks good when wet but completely loses control when dry. I’m trying to understand what could cause greasy scalp + flakes + dry/frizzy/stringy hair all at once. Is this more of a scalp issue, or something with how my hair holds moisture?
Not really looking for random product recommendations — just want to understand what’s actually going on.