If your hair smells musty, a bit like damp laundry or a closed-up basement, the cause is almost always moisture that stayed around too long. When hair and scalp stay damp for hours, the oil, sweat and microbes on your scalp have the perfect warm, wet spot to create that stale, mildew-like smell. The fix is to dry your hair faster and more completely, and to keep damp things (towels, pillowcases, hats) away from your head.

Here's what causes musty-smelling hair and how to get rid of it.

What a musty hair smell means

A musty smell is different from the sour or oily smell that builds up between wash days. It usually shows up within hours of washing, often after your hair was tied up wet, slept on damp or caught in the rain. It tends to be strongest at the roots and the nape of the neck, where hair dries last. If your hair smells off for other reasons too, here's a look at why hair can smell even after washing.

Why your hair smells musty

Your hair takes a long time to dry

Thick, long, curly or coily hair can stay damp at the roots for hours, even when the ends feel dry. Hair that has been colored or heat-styled also tends to soak up more water. The longer the scalp stays wet, the more likely that musty smell is.

You tie it up or cover it while it's wet

A wet bun, braid, ponytail or towel wrap traps moisture against your scalp and slows drying way down. The same goes for putting on a hat, helmet or hood before your hair is dry.

You go to bed with damp hair

Your pillow keeps the back of your head warm and covered all night, so hair there barely dries. By morning, the nape and crown are the first places you'll notice the smell, and some of it can transfer to your pillowcase.

Humid weather and slow air-drying

On muggy days or in a steamy bathroom, air-drying can take much longer than usual. Rain and sweat during a commute or workout can rewet hair that had only just dried.

Damp towels and hair wraps

A towel or microfiber wrap that never fully dries between uses can smell musty itself, and it passes that smell right back to your clean hair. Hang towels flat to dry, and swap them out every few uses.

How to get rid of a musty hair smell

1. Dry your roots first. Squeeze out water gently with a dry towel, then point a blow-dryer on a low or cool setting at your roots and nape before you worry about the lengths.
2. Don't tie it up wet. Wait until your hair is completely dry at the scalp before buns, braids or ponytails.
3. Time your wash. If you wash at night, leave enough time for your hair to dry fully before bed, or wash in the morning instead.
4. Use fresh, dry towels and wraps, and change your pillowcase often, especially if you sleep with damp hair now and then.
5. Wash hats, headbands and scrunchies regularly, since they hold onto moisture and scalp oil.
6. Rewash if the smell sticks. If your hair already smells musty, a thorough shampoo at the scalp, followed by a complete dry, usually clears it.

Keep your scalp feeling fresh between washes

Once your hair is fully dry, a light refresh can help keep it smelling clean through day two and three. Fluff Me Hair Deodorant is a pump mist made for dry hair. It combines patented SymClariol®, which helps target scalp odor at the source, with 10% rice-derived powder, which absorbs excess oil at the roots. In testing, scalp odor scores dropped 89.55% right after use and were still 49.15% lower 24 hours later.*

Shake well, mist dry hair at the roots from about 6 to 8 inches away (not directly on the scalp), then fluff with your fingers. It's not meant for wet hair, so dry first, then refresh.

*Tested by SKINMED Co., Ltd., Aug 24–25, 2026, with 22 participants (Report No. SM-LW02-26H24-578). Individual results may vary.

When a musty smell is worth a closer look

If your hair still smells musty after a full wash and complete dry, or the smell comes with itching, redness, flaking or tenderness on your scalp, check in with a dermatologist. For a broader look at odor that starts at the scalp, see why your scalp might smell.