The Official "Stretching Washes" Thread

**Knifegill** · October 11th, 2014, 10:40 PM

Alright, only made it three days. Today was my long day between different shift times and I took the time to slather my hair with my coffee, cocoa and conditioner slurry and left it in for an hour while I made dinner. Went back the the mirror to find brown streaks running down my body all over! Not enough cocoa this time to thicken it, apparently. But I'm glad I washed.

Let the clock be reset! This wash was about 5:00pm sat on 10-11-14. Goal - 5 days! so 10-16-14 thurs. I can do it!

**Alien Girl** · October 12th, 2014, 12:59 AM

I'm on day 5, now doing a castor oil treatment

Gonna try to wash less to lessen sebum production so I can go a whole week between washing. That'd be awesome!

**urs** · October 12th, 2014, 02:35 AM

Today is 9 days that haven't washed my hair. Gonna try for the entire week and only wash on friday 17-10-2014. So let see if I can manage it.

**Knifegill** · October 12th, 2014, 03:15 AM

My scalp always starts to get itchy by day 3.

**tiny_teesha** · October 12th, 2014, 04:31 AM

I'll contribute here because i have some progress. I was starting to just get really annoyed with washing my hair, i would wash rinse repeat and it took too long so i wanted out of that! I started only washing with non shampoo (herbs, or just chickpea dustings) in about August..and the last 2 weeks i've only washed once a week still with no oily look but the shedding making me wash. Granted my hair sheds when it's oily so through this process i have lost quite a bit of hair, but i'd say my oil production has declined and my secret weapon is my creation: "dampoo"
These are rough estimates but 1 part tea + tisane for scent and staining, 2 part aloe juice, 2 parts corn starch, 1 part or less of dutch cocoa, 5 drops EO optional. Spritz on roots, dry, comb. It ends up a third or less of powder and the rest with tea and aloe juice. This makes it mostly pH balanced so i can still rake my fingers through my hair, dark enough so my hair wont look grey so long as i don't over do it. It is not drying, and it works a treat, but as there is no alcohol i do need to wait for it to dry or blow dry it carefully on a cool setting before combing.
My most successful washings is to heavily dry shampoo with chickpea flour and to apply a neem, aritha & shiakakai tea on my scalp massaged in for about 30 minutes to an hour and rinse with an acv rinse. My roots feel much stronger after and springy. My ends love a cocoabutter and coconut oil leave in after wash (maybe there is vitamin e and wax in it too i can't really remember i made it ages ago as a lip balm). And when i remember i apply alchemy conditioner as a leave in to my ends as herbs can be quite drying to them. I have to be wary from letting my scalp get too oily, and my biggest challenge has been making a hair wash concoction that smells GOOD, i'm mostly sick of smelling like vinegar or vomit lol... I don't think i should stretch to 8 days anymore, though this is the most i've done in history, my bf even said i looked like i washed it the day before when it was at day 7. I could have went longer but when my hair is not clean it does decide to shed, unfortunately. I don't even mind it being greasy, if it weren't for the shedding i just can't put up with with what little hair i have.

**~~GetMeToWaist~~** · October 12th, 2014, 05:29 AM

I've been cowashing for 17 days now. I LOVE IT. My hair is so much silkier, lighter, bouncier, curlier... Only trouble is, my greasy scalp is still here. It's imperative I wash every 3 days now

**lapushka** · October 12th, 2014, 08:29 AM

Originally Posted by tiny_teesha

I'll contribute here because i have some progress. I was starting to just get really annoyed with washing my hair, i would wash rinse repeat and it took too long so i wanted out of that! I started only washing with non shampoo (herbs, or just chickpea dustings) in about August..and the last 2 weeks i've only washed once a week still with no oily look but the shedding making me wash. Granted my hair sheds when it's oily so through this process i have lost quite a bit of hair, but i'd say my oil production has declined and my secret weapon is my creation: "dampoo"
These are rough estimates but 1 part tea + tisane for scent and staining, 2 part aloe juice, 2 parts corn starch, 1 part or less of dutch cocoa, 5 drops EO optional. Spritz on roots, dry, comb. It ends up a third or less of powder and the rest with tea and aloe juice. This makes it mostly pH balanced so i can still rake my fingers through my hair, dark enough so my hair wont look grey so long as i don't over do it. It is not drying, and it works a treat, but as there is no alcohol i do need to wait for it to dry or blow dry it carefully on a cool setting before combing.
My most successful washings is to heavily dry shampoo with chickpea flour and to apply a neem, aritha & shiakakai tea on my scalp massaged in for about 30 minutes to an hour and rinse with an acv rinse. My roots feel much stronger after and springy. My ends love a cocoabutter and coconut oil leave in after wash (maybe there is vitamin e and wax in it too i can't really remember i made it ages ago as a lip balm). And when i remember i apply alchemy conditioner as a leave in to my ends as herbs can be quite drying to them. I have to be wary from letting my scalp get too oily, and my biggest challenge has been making a hair wash concoction that smells GOOD, i'm mostly sick of smelling like vinegar or vomit lol... I don't think i should stretch to 8 days anymore, though this is the most i've done in history, my bf even said i looked like i washed it the day before when it was at day 7. I could have went longer but when my hair is not clean it does decide to shed, unfortunately. I don't even mind it being greasy, if it weren't for the shedding i just can't put up with with what little hair i have.

That to me seems like quite the ordeal! Isn't this hard to manage?

**TheBlondieDream** · October 12th, 2014, 08:39 AM

Fact: pulling my hair back allowed me to go straight 5 days without washing, but wearing them down makes them dirty like hell in 2 days. I hate living in a high smog-ged city.

**Sparklylady82** · October 12th, 2014, 09:32 AM

Originally Posted by TheBlondieDream

Fact: pulling my hair back allowed me to go straight 5 days without washing, but wearing them down makes them dirty like hell in 2 days. I hate living in a high smog-ged city.

I totally agree! If I put up right away I can go 6 days but when I leave down it the next say that it starts to get greasies.