Do you do a final rinse with cold water when you wash your hair?

And, if you do, does it make a noticeable difference in how your hair looks and feels?

I used to do this regularly, and then I got away from it. I’m thinking about doing it again, but I have to admit that I wonder how effective it really is. I just wondered whether people saw a difference in their hair as a result of this practice.

It does make a noticeable difference to me, in softness and shine, but I just dont have what it takes to make myself do a cold water rinse most of the time. Brrrrr....

I know that it should work, but I just can't stand it.

I've only done it a handle full of time, but Can I say BRRRR! I wouldn't mind if my whole body didn't have to freeze too.

My hair is much softer when I do a cold water rinse as opposed to when I don't; it seems to have more slip too. I don't mind the cold water rinse either, so I guess I'm in the minority in that aspect of it. :lol:

I've only recently started doing cold water rinses, and I voted that I'm not sure. It seems easier to manage when it's wet to comb (with my ultra-wide hair pick). Now that's it gotten much warmer around here, I find the cool rinse refreshing. I usually try to angle my head back far enough so I don't get as much cold water rinsing down my back and legs. As soon as I pull back the curtain I'm in a big fluffy towel in a steamy bathroom anyway, so my body temp is all right. :D

I do a cold water rinse every time. My hair is much shinier and softer. I also believe that it returns the hair shaft to a more normal length than letting it be, so it's less apt to break. All of these reasons allow me to withstand all that cold water... even in winter.

I used to do it when I was younger and apparently immune to cold. Lately, though, I haven't been able to notice enough of a difference to make it worth freezing myself after my pleasantly warm shower.

Yes, i always do a final rinse with cold water. My hair is silky, shiny and more manageable afterwars.

I would just like to add that I don`t pour the cold water over my body, except during summer. I have a large can to fill in my homemade lemon juice based hair rinse. After rinsing my hair, I wash the can out and fill in cold water. I grab (gentle) my hair over my shoulder and dunk (also gentle) my hair several times in the can of cold water. In the end I can pour the water over my head (sideways), but I don`t need it. I gently squeeze the excess water out of my hair and wrap my hair in a towel while I'm still in the shower. What can I do about my freezing feet? :D You get the picture?

I try to do it every time and I've noticed that my hair is much softer.

And since I shower in the morning before school while I'm slightly still asleep the cold water is a nice wake up call. :D

I don't get the "freezing in the shower" effect, because I wash hair separately. That way, the rest of my body can stay warm and dry while I'm gradually decreasing the warmth of my rinse water. If I change the temp gradually, I can get it pretty cool without feeling a shock.

This won't work after my crown layers grow out, though. Right now I just bend over and stick head under the tub tap. That gives 18 inches, at best, for hair to hang down from the crown before being sucked into the drain. :euuch:

I had to answer "not sure" because I started doing the cold rinse and the CO at the same time, and my hair is infinitely softer and slippier, but I don't know which action is responsible for what portion of that change.

I do a cold rinse, I think it makes me hair shinier, but I've never really done a comparison study. I mainly do it to get myself out of the shower. The final rinse is cold=unpleasant which means I want to get out of the shower, if I leave it warm I tend to linger under the warm water. In the winter I usually cant bring myself to make the water cold, so I do a cool rinse.

Jeni

I've only done it a few times, but I don't because I normaly have to coverup with a heavy blanket for 15-20mins to warm back up. (Cold and me SO do not mix!)
There is a big diffrence with my hair when I do do a cold rinse, I just don't do it so often because of how cold I get.

I do a cold water rinse every time I wash, and have done so for years.

I started doing this when I first started growing my hair and saw cold water rinses mentioned on tlhs. It made a huge difference! I have much more slip when my hair is dry, and the wet hair seems easier to work with too(though my hair always wants to stick together to some degree when it's wet). It seems to make my hair shinier too, but in my case, the slip is the primary benefit, as my hair tangles super-easy.

as far as avoiding the body freeze aspect, leaning back works well, and leaning to the side works well for me too. In our shower, to the side seems to work a little better than back. If you happen to have the type of shower head that you can move around, that helps too because you can adjust the direction that the water moves in. Something else I've learned is that (if you can stand it taking slightly longer to rinse) you can avoid creating tangles by lowering the water pressure as low as you can - that way the force of the water isn't moving your hair around.

If you just can't stand the cold water on your scalp/skin, perhaps at least try rinsing just the length with cold water after rinsing the scalp however you normally would.

I do a cold rinse. I find that it smooths down my hair. And, I find it refreshing. I generally do all of my washing in hot water then rinse my hair and face (WO on face anyway) with cold water then do an ice cold rinse on my hair before hopping out.

Usually I shower right before bed, so cold water is pretty unappealing, except in summer sometimes. But, even when I did, I didn't notice a big difference.

I've been doing cold-as-my-shower-provides rinses for hmmm...around a year I guess. Sometimes I don't do them and my hair gets tangled pretty easily (whereas, with the cold rinse, it barely tangles at all ever), my scalp gets oily faster, my hair is less shiny and feels rough-ish.

I enjoy the cold rinse on my body too, most of the time. If I can't possibly stand the cold water as an end to the shower, I cold rinse my hair quickly, squeal madly, squeeze most of the water out with the shower still on, put my hair up with a knitting needle (it's so much gentler on my hair wet than the cheap plastic sticks I use normally) and use nice hot water on my body with my hair out of the way.

i don't see a difference. so i let it be, because i hate the cold. i also think that when the cold water closes the hair shaft then oils are useless because the hair isn't able to absorb it, or am i wrong?

I started cold rinse and CO at the same time...I think it makes it shine more, but the general softness I attribute to CO. Sometimes though (like today) I just can't hack the chilliness!

For me it makes my hair softer, smoother, and alot shinier. I did a comparison between the cold and warm and the cold wins hands down for me. I lean back as far as O can, ring out gently, place on top my head, and then get under the warm warer for a second so I don't get cold.

I did cold water rinses for a while. I would just lean WAY back so that it went through my hair and less on my body. I got away from doing it, and now I don't really even notice a difference. However, I'll admit that I still don't rinse it in water the same temp as I use on the rest of my person. I still cut it down to well below body temp, but not 'cold'.

I do freezing cold-water rinses every shower (I do this sort of messed-up looking acrobatic thing where my head is near the bottom of the shower and only my hair gets the blast) and every time I do.. I notice that my hair is much shinier, tangle-free, and less prone to frizz.

I've only recently started doing cold water rinses, and I voted that I'm not sure. It seems easier to manage when it's wet to comb (with my ultra-wide hair pick). Now that's it gotten much warmer around here, I find the cool rinse refreshing. I usually try to angle my head back far enough so I don't get as much cold water rinsing down my back and legs. As soon as I pull back the curtain I'm in a big fluffy towel in a steamy bathroom anyway, so my body temp is all right. :D

I do this too, when I do the cold water rinse. I think of it as hair yoga! :)

I have done this cold rinse thing from the getgo of growing my hair longer, and I honestly have no clue if it works. People do tell me regularly how incredibly shiny it is though, so maybe it is from that :)

I do a cold rinse when im done with my shower . I can stand my scalp being ice cold but not so much my back .

My hair is much shinier with a cold water rinse.

I am definately convinced i have a much better shine when I rinse with cold water! I don't always like the cold water but the results are worth it!
Jim

I have been doing cold water rinses before i found the site, my hair is much whinnier, softer and much easier to comb when i do this.

Plus i like to think the cold water stimulates my scalp and makes those hairs reach for the sun!

I use CHEESE...:cheese:

I do cold water on occasion and my hair does feel and look better when I do. I just cannot stand the cold that just about no matter what I do it does not stay to JUST my hair. Summer time is coming though so I'm sure the cold water rinses my start up again for me.

My final rinse in the shower is as cool as I can stand (I'm not gonna freeze myself!), and then I do an ACV rinse in the basin in cold water.
I think it helps with smoothness, but my conditioner and the ACV rinse also help, so I don't have a definitive answer for that. :shrug:
But I have found that it really helps with rinsing out the final bit of product.

The function of cool rinsing your hair is more or less the same as using a cool rinse on your face - except instead of closing up your pores, you're closing up the scales of the shaft of your hair.

It works fairly well, but you don't have to turn the cold tap all the way on for it to work - just cool enough so that it wakes you up a little.

Cold rinses give my hair a lot more shine.
It works wonders for the skin too !!

I wanted to add a caveat to my answer, which was "No difference." It depends on my routine. My current routine is diluted shampoo and then conditioner. On that routine, the cold water rinse does nothing. :lol: BUT, when I was doing WO last year, cold-water rinsing was very helpful to me and did indeed make a difference.

Although my hair doesn't tangle much anyway when I wash it, it tangles less when I do the cold water rinse. But I do my rinse by filling the wash basin with cold water, adding ACV and also if I am using it Hibiscus tea. The effect may be due to the ACV in some way rather than the cold water.

I don't often wet my whole length, but I always use a cold water rinse when I do. It makes my hair have more shine.

I do them when I remember. I think there's a slight difference, but that may just be my imagination running wild.

It makes a huge difference in my hair. I should do it more. :silly:

If I can't possibly stand the cold water as an end to the shower, I cold rinse my hair quickly, squeal madly, squeeze most of the water out with the shower still on, put my hair up with a knitting needle (it's so much gentler on my hair wet than the cheap plastic sticks I use normally) and use nice hot water on my body with my hair out of the way.

You and me, both, Nevermore. That's just what I do, except I don't put mine up with a knitting needle. I just let mine hang down my backside and let the hot water run down the front. The cold water rinse does seem to keep my hair from getting oily as fast, but I have to finish my shower off with a "hot water topper".

Also, when I'm doing the cold water, I lean WAY back to keep as much of my body as possible out of the water. Hey, come to think of it, it's probably good for my flexiblity, hmmm, hair yoga! I should start a thread for all the extra postures and gyrations we do to accommodate our long hair.

I do it every wash. Then I follow it with a rinse of distilled water, sometimes I put stuff in the distilled. Orange blossom water/citric acid/jojoba oil.

I sort of do ... I have hard water here with iron deposits which means the limescale on bathroom fittings is visibly pinky-orange. My hair was getting an orangey cast too.

So I do my final rinse with a pint of Brita-filtered water which is at room temperature. As others have said I decrease the temperature of the shower water from very hot to slightly above body temperature, then hold my hair to one sideaway from me, dunk it in the beaker of Brita water and finish by pouring the whole lot over my head. I incline my head so as little as possible of the cool water goes over my body.

Having said all that, I don't remember if it has made any difference to shininess :rolleyes: so I didn't vote in the poll.

Tabitha - your hair is to die for. :bigeyes:

I voted yes, but really I do either an ACV or a cold water rinse. I used to do just cold water and that worked fine, but I then found that I got similar results with the ACV. So now I do ACV and save myself the cold. But if I'm traveling, I don't lug ACV around and so do cold water rinses instead.

Add me to the cheese category because I'd rather rub cheese on my head that have to deal with icy water!!! Brrrrrr!!!! I hate being cold!

I do it pretty regularly and it makes it shinier, I think.

Tabitha - your hair is to die for. :bigeyes:

Thank you Stephanie! :flower: any credit should go entirely to TLHC :flowers:

I do a cold water rinse every time. It makes my hair a LOT shinier and softer. How cold the rinse is sort of varies based on what I can tolerate that day.

I do a cold water rinse every time, but I voted 'not sure' because I started doing it at the same time I took up CWC, so I don't know what it is that makes my hair shiny :shrug: