Please help if you can!!!  My oily scalp could use a wash every day, but my long hair doesn't need it and gets dried out.  What are your suggestions?  I've pulled my hair into a bun at the nape of my neck and tried to just shampoo/rinse around the hairline, but my whole head ends up getting soaked anyway.  That sort of defeats the purpose...

I would really like to get a good method, because actually the longer my length goes without being washed, the better it looks.

It doesn't bug me if my whole head ends up soaked with water.You might try tying a shower cap or plastic bag around your bun.

Here's an idea to try for scalp washing.  Pull your hair into a bun on top of you head.  Be sure to make the bun loose, so that you can cover the bun with a plastic bag and secure.  Use a pitcher, jar, or bowl to wet the scalp hair, shampoo, and rinse - again using the pitcher, jar or bowl to rinse.  Using a faucet or shower head to wet or rinse the hair, usually provides too much force if you are trying to keep part of your hair dry.

but do you really feel like this rinses well the shampoo. personally it's a reason i never tried it. first of all i don't really use shampoo anymore, and seems pretty annoying with conditioner. and then there's the spot where you make the bun that stays greasy.
i'll never become a great scalp washer  :'(

I have only done a scalp wash once - it was very cold out and I knew I would not have time to dry my hair before having to be outside for an extended period of time.  I had diluted the shampoo so that it was easier to work into the hair and rinse out.  It worked OK for me.

Normally I prefer to wet all of my hair.  I shampoo only the scalp and condition only the length.  I realize, however as my hair gets longer that this might be a luxury I will not be able to afford.  My just classic length hair is frequently still damp when I go to bed at night (when it was washed in the early evening) and again, still damp in the morning.  If I leave it in a bun all day, it would stay damp all day as well.  

I find doing two braids loose under the ears, then putting the shampoo on the trouble spots without extra water, then lifting the braids up with one hand while dousing the scalp from above with the shower head works the best.  No greasy spots, full rinse acess, and for some reason you don't get as much end soakage as you do with a single bun.  Just takes a little co-ordination.

ceridwen, that's a smart idea! i'll try that one one day!  :D

You've probably heard this a million times already and I even see a thread on it below,  ;D ...but CO'ing can really help with that problem. My hair is in pretty nice condition now but it used to be very, very dry on the ends (from chemicals). Yet, when I went a day without shampooing, it was INCREDIBLY greasy on the scalp. I would have an oil slick on the top and dryness on the ends.

I found with CO'ing, after my hair got used to it, it was more uniformly soft and non-greasy from the top to the tips. I know it sounds counterproductive but when you shampoo, your scalp responds by producing even more oil. It feels stripped and dry so it oils up like crazy. If you can bear the first few weeks (wearing hair up), your scalp may normalize if you try CO'ing. Just my 2 cents!