Okay, so I have began my journey of CO washes. So far, pretty good...but I have noticed alot of shedding, and I would like to find a new conditioner to use for my CO. Currently I use Suave Daily Clarifying, which I have added a little, rosemary, and lavender eo, and some tea tree oil, and a squirt of AVG. It seems to work okay, but I feel like there could be something better. I have not used any drugstore conditioners for over 2 years untill now. So I still feel weird about using them. I just bought some Suave Refreshing Tangerine condish to try, but now I'm not sure if it is cone free(didn't see it listed on the cone-free condish list) But beyond that, I feel like I don't really want to use suave. I can't find any other cone-free cheap condish's around here (VO5, Whiterain) So I am fine paying a few extra dollars for something maybe slightly higher in quality. I would love to find a natural brand that has a condish that works great, and isn't outrageous in price. But I've also been looking at other drugstore brands- I would really like some suggestions...and I understand that it will be a trial and error to see which works best for me, but I'm fine with that. I just want to do whats very best for my hair and scalp.

I noticed that walmart had a sell on their Dove condishs for a big bottle with a pump, I glanced at the one in the plain white bottle and didn't see any cones but I could have overlooked it. Does anyone know if any of the dove condishs are cone-free? Or does anyone know of medium price range conditioners that are good for COing?

I also just noticed the Freeman high shine condish on the list, has anyone used this one?

Sorry that I can't answer your question but what is AVG? :oops:

Sorry that I can't answer your question but what is AVG? :oops:

It's probably Aloe Vera Gel. Handy stuff. :D

For CO washes usually the tough part is searching and trying new conditioners before you find what works well for you. That tends to get pretty trial-and-error since what might work for some might not work for others. I've heard that, for CO washes, finding a nice lighter conditioner tends to be better and leaving the heavier conditioners for more deep treatments. I've heard some do well with Giovanni conditioners (moderate price depending on location) and many seem to enjoy VO5 conditioners as they're both light and inexpensive. Both are cone-free. When I was full into my CO washing I used Suave but on retrospect what I used may have been just a tad too heavy for me. I may try it again sometime with a lighter conditioner.

I found in the end that the best conditioner was actually a plain conditioner base sold by a company specialising in supplies for people who make their own toiletries and cosmetics. I use one by a company called The Soap Kitchen, but they're in the UK... and you aren't ;) But it might be worth looking at similar companies in the US. The one I found has no proteins, no cones, no parabens... it's just the basics! Cetyl alcohol, sweet almond oil, glycerin and the chemical things they use to emulsify and preserve etc.

As others have suggested, I use something a little heavier on my ends.

Do you have any other Suave types available? Daily clarifying conditioner might not be the best kind to use for CO, but I've never had a problem with the other Suave kinds (the naturals line, specifically).

I went and looked at cvs earlier, and they actually had the V05 kiwi lime squeeze that I have seen alot of people rave about. So I just tried it earlier, and now my hair is drying. In the shower it seemed to not rinse as clean, so I was worried about it weighing my hair down. But now that it's drying it doesn't seem to be weighed down. I have many of the other suave naturals available to me, but I just read today that Suave tests on animals, so I would like to avoid supporting them. I will use the Vo5 for awhile, and see how that goes. I would like to use a more natural condish though, but I guess I will just have to try a few to know whats best.
I have a new question, does anyone add anything to the CO condish? Like any eo's, or anything. I think I like the idea of putting some AVG, and other goodies in it to supplement it. It seems like putting good thing in it could only help my scalp, just as long as its not something that will weigh down my hair or anything.
I have also noticed more shedding, I'm not sure if this is due to the new CO routine, or that I haven't been taking my vitamins regularly. Has anyone else experience shedding when starting CO?

I add a squirt of Tea Tree oil to mine as my scalp is prone to breakouts and just plain greasiness.

And I think I read some shedding is normal for some people when first starting CO. I may have to go back and read the CO article again. I'm the exact opposite, though. My heavy shedding has been virtually eliminated since starting CO.

I pretty much CO and I shed like a cat, i.e. seasonally. I swear I have a heavy shed in the spring and fall and only lightly shed during the summer and winter. My sisters and I laugh about us losing our "winter coats" so maybe that is a familial thing. Are you noticing more shed hairs in the shower? If so, are you combing the 'dish through your hair then? When I quit combing in the shower my hubby was very happy not to have the hairy monster in the drain, but I think those hairs just ended up in my brush. I guess what I'm saying is I think I shed the same amount as I did before I started CO, but I'm shedding less in the shower and more in the brush now.

missmanytoes -I do not comb in the shower, just with my fingers. But there still seems to be alot of hair come out. I have to clean the drain of hair once to twice a week of clumps of hair. My hair is fine, and tends to be thin in some areas, I have noticed maybe more of my scalp is showing in the front (but it may be my mind playing a trick on myself since I am worried about what seems like extra shedding) I guess I noticed about when I started COing b/c thats when the tub began to clog, I guess it could also be from the use of some many greasy things in the shower too causing the clog. My hair overall seems to be thicker, but now I'm worried the CO is causing more shedding.
happymommy - I went ahead and added the tea tree oil, lavender, and rosemary eo, and some avg to the V05 I got today. I figured none of that stuff will leave build up, is good for my scalp, and can't hurt anything(I hope).
My hair does feel a little limp today now, but it does not look too bad. My hair feels much smoother, and I overall feel better about this for my hair. Hopefully the shedding will subside, or I will not notice it as much, and then I wont be so nervous about all of it. I will keep my eye out for different conditioners to try for the CO wash, but for now I will stick with the cheap stuff I have. I just hope this give my hair that extra boost to help it grow faster.
Thanks for all the help everyone.

Unfortunately, most of the cheap conditioner that people like is tested on animals or made by a company who tests individual chemicals on animals. I don't know about more expensive stuff, like JASON or anything, those might not.

I don't add anything to the conditioner and I'd caution you against doing so until you know how CO washing works for you. If you have an issue now, you can't necessarily say it's COing that's doing it-it could be that your scalp doesn't care for one or any of the essential oils in your mix.

I stopped majorly shedding when I started COing. I used to literally cover the drain in the shower with hair, sometimes a fistful or more, before I even finished shampooing and this was in heavily layered shoulder length to apl hair. Now, I shed maybe ten hairs during a wash, one or two during a post-washing detangle. I estimate that I lose 50 hairs or so a day, whereas I could comb out that much a couple times a day when I shampooed. It's been really miraculous for me, but other peoples' scalps hate it.

I don't think my scalp hates any of the eo's I put in, since I use rosemary nearly on a daily basis for my acv rinse. And the other I mix with oil to use for my scalp massages. I think I will go buy another bottle today, and combine them in a pump bottle I have, and not add anymore stuff to it for now. That will dilute whats in there now, and I prefer a pump bottle anyway. I think what really causing the issue with my drain is all the conditioner I'm using, it's leaving a oily coating, and my fiance also uses alot of oil in his hair from time to time, so I think its just time for some draino. I don't really see that many coming out when I shower, but I notice them after I'm done on the side of the tub, and when the drain needs to be cleaned. I shed most right after the shower when I am detangling, but this has always been true. I should also start taking my vitamins again, I think that had helped to slow my shedding. I will continue to do CO washes, and just keep a closer eye on just how many hairs I'm losing. It may just be an adjustment period for me. It is a lot of stimulation for my scalp, that otherwise doesn't get, except for like once a month. When I use shampoo I don't scrub that hard, and with CO you have to scrub it when you put it in, and before and during rinsing it out. I really hope it works out for me, me and my hair feel really great about doing it.

I've used White Rain Ocean Mist most lately and like it.

*sigh* I can't get most of the CO conditioners that you guys use. The VO5 conditioners have different ingredients over here, which is most vexing. They're loaded with cones over here!

I really like the smell of the VO5 KLS, but I think overall I would feel better about something more natural, since I am trying to go that route with most everything in my life. Although I am quite strapped for cash these days, and it's about to get worse when class starts in a couple of weeks. Oh well I think the VO5 will serve me well enough till I can afford something better. I think I will continue to add AVG and such to it, b/c I feel better about putting those things on my scalp, cause I know they are good for it. If this works out really well for me, I am going to tell my mom, who suffers from SEVERE scalp psoriasis, and this may help her out as well. I am not sure, but I think the KLS has protein in it, and I have been trying to reduce the amount of protein in products I use, I try to rotate it. So I guess it would be a good idea to rotate my CO conditioners as well. I am really excited about this new venture, and with the great results I have had so far from techniques I learned from here, I can't wait to see how much even better my hair gets. I am going to have gorgeous wedding hair :) !!!
I think I finally decided on my goal, nearly waist and longer layers in the back(grow out what I have now a bit) and shorter face framing layers in the front. I know most people here try to get rid of layers, but I think they look good with my face shape, and give me and overall fuller look. If someone would have told me that I should grow my hair out to waist length a year ago, I would have looked at them like they were crazy, b/c I never thought my fine hair could look this good at such a long length.
Now that I'm well on my way to wonderful healthy hair, I need to find a skin care regime that makes my skin look poreless and smooth.

Now that I'm well on my way to wonderful healthy hair, I need to find a skin care regime that makes my skin look poreless and smooth.

Sounds like a perfect candidate for OCM! Have you tried the oil cleansing method? The thread is here - http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=811

Thanks Pariate I just checked out the thread about the OCM, and gave it a try. I didn't have any castor oil, so I just used an olive oil and tea tree oil mix I had for my scalp massages. I don't know if I will later have ill side effects from this but my skin looks and feels great now. It actually made my pores on my nose look cleaner and smaller. I used two wet paper towels to remove all the oil, and I am very impressed. Do you think its okay to just use the EVOO mix, without the castor oil? I will definetly keep trying this method.

I haven't tried mixing my own OCM without castor oil but, as I mentioned somewhere on the OCM thread, I've used cleansing balms before that are made with different oils and none of them included castor oil. They all worked really well on my skin but I did find I needed to "clarify" my skin every few cleanses, a bit like using a clarifying shampoo to break up the COing on my hair!

pariate, here in Canada, Alberto Balsam apparently is similar to other countries' Alberto V05. Even though we DO have V05 products over here. Sounds strange, I know... Not sure if you have Alberto Balsam over there.

The Alberto Balsam kiwi lime squeeze (I think that's what it's called?) is working well right now for me. I believe it's no-cone. It still has some unpronounceable chemicals, but I try to ignore that.