The Archives: The Merged NW/SO/WO Thread

[DoubleCrowned]

So I'm thinking of trying a mostly WO method, with some dry shampoo for sebum buildup (I'm thinking cocoa powder) and olive oil for the dry ends. WDYT?

When I've done WO (and NW) in the past, I couldn't keep up with the amount of brushing. Though I don't think the transition period will be so bad this time around, now that I've reduced my wash frequency (I usually wash about once every 1-2 weeks, sometimes 4).

Welcome! Keep up posted.

I've been strict WO since Jan 1, with some time prior to that interrupted with only one diluted shampoo on the roots avoiding the scalp. Yet my hair has still not transitioned. My hair looks like it was styled with hair wax that was never washed off! I'm not so sure what to do. The smell isn't very pleasant I must say. I really want this to work for me but I don't think it will. My scalp produces lots of oil and my hair looks dull at all times. I can hang in a bit longer with the use of hats but I'm very self conscious about my hair not smelling pleasant. I preen, scritch, do the whole thing. Do any of you have some tips to cover the smell without using products that could build up? Thank you.

Lemongrass is deodorizing.

[piratejenny]

That's okay, Piratejenny (What's it like being called a pirate? hmm). Read the entire page 137 and you'll find the answer you're really looking for, and will probably have a good laugh while your at it.

Unghhm, I'm afraid I'm obviously too brain dead at the moment to find the funny bit on page 137 (I survived not one but two birthday parties today with a merciless gang of 5 year old boys). I want a good laugh...aarrrrghh

My hair is still in pretty good shape today (even by non-LHC standards as I like to believe ) but my scalp is suffering. The acne is sprouting left, right and center and the first naughty pimples have made their way to visible spots on my neck. It has NEVER been THAT bad. I didn't want to use the cinnamon again as I'm not sure it isn't irritating and I also didn't get around to looking for rose water (as I got pulled into dinosaur themed parties instead).

I'm sitting here massaging right now but if things don't ease up a bit by Monday I'll have to wash. I have a pretty important presentation to give on Tuesday and I simply have to look "normal" and groomed. On the upside, I'll be going on a vacation the week after which will be perfect for another extended bit of stretching.

[PrairieRose]

Still going well!
I seem to be able to bring the sebum down my hair a little easier,so it does not appear so stringy! YAY!
So overall I'm happy! I really do love WO!

[JillieRose]

So...rinsed my hair, left it bunned and wet, it smelled weird.

Left it overnight.

DH stuck his nose in it this morning and said, "Your hair smells nice"

Me: ???? *sniff sniff*

Hair now dry, and smells...of not much at all.

HOORAY! IT WORKED!

Right, back to washing my hair twice a week if it's lucky.

I love WO, it's a pain getting it started but then, for me at least, it's so low maintenance.

[Bedhead]

Unghhm, I'm afraid I'm obviously too brain dead at the moment to find the funny bit on page 137 (I survived not one but two birthday parties today with a merciless gang of 5 year old boys). I want a good laugh...aarrrrghh

Well, my inspirational video was in German, but I don't know German, just a smattering of words. Anyway, I had thought the girl had gone for 14 weeks, and had lovely hair after, but in fact, as kamir0 pointed out, she had translated her blog, only to find out she had only gone for 14 days, and the lovely hair I thought was after 14 weeks of NW/SO was washed hair after she gave up! And I never knew, but thinking this and having her hair in my mind, kept me going for another 6 weeks, just enough time to transition. Had I known back then it was days, I don't know if I would have made it, as I was quite ready to give up. LOL!

I hope you scalp calms down. Let us know what happens!

[piratejenny]

Well, my inspirational video was in German, but I don't know German, just a smattering of words. Anyway, I had thought the girl had gone for 14 weeks, and had lovely hair after, but in fact, as kamir0 pointed out, she had translated her blog, only to find out she had only gone for 14 days, and the lovely hair I thought was after 14 weeks of NW/SO was washed hair after she gave up! And I never knew, but thinking this and having her hair in my mind, kept me going for another 6 weeks, just enough time to transition. Had I known back then it was days, I don't know if I would have made it, as I was quite ready to give up. LOL!

I hope you scalp calms down. Let us know what happens!

LOL!! Yeah, sometimes it comes in handy if you can make up your own story by not speaking the language Funny that you have the patience to watch videos in a language you don't understand ...

As for the events on my head - I washed (with rhassoul) today, and it feels as though the pimples are already receeding... As I'm not particularly dogmatic about my hair routine I'm still quite happy about the fact that I went 9 days without washing and with my hair looking quite ok. All I need to figure out is what's plugging up my scalp...

That's okay, Piratejenny (What's it like being called a pirate? hmm).

As a little girl I always dreamt of being a pirate. I associated it with utter freedom and lots of travelling and adventures. Later in life I came to love the music of Kurt Weill (The three penny opera) and so piratejenny seemed a fitting screen name.
</hijack>

[soniqui]

I'm new to TLHC and I joined because of this thread which I've been lurking for the past 6 weeks. I've been WO for 3 weeks (as of 1Apr12) when I used to S&C every 2 days.
The first week was not great, but WO washing more often and making an effort to massage my scalp made a huge difference. I'm finding it a bit strange that every time I wash I get a different result as my hair is changing. I'm BBBing in sections before washing and using a little jojoba oil on the ends/length to beat the dryness...the other day my hair was (literally)squeaky clean when I detangled post-shower.
Overall I'm liking the WO experience...It's a bit liberating not using products. The things I don't enjoy so far are...
1. I have a side fringe (or bangs whatever you'd like to call them/it) which I used to straighten with blowdrying and straightening iron and I'm struggling to get used to it being curly and sticking out all over the place, so I'm pinning it back more often.
2. It doesn't seem like the sebum is moving down the shaft very fast with BBBing. I'm beginning to get into more preening and using fingers/water in the shower to help it along, but I'm scared about breakage doing this. Or maybe I'm just pulling my hair too hard.
3. I was also hoping/still am hoping that frizz would be less of an issue, but it doesn't seem to go away. Although, today is a fairly good day. Any ideas for frizz tackling other than jojoba which I'm already using? Too much jojoba makes it all oily and limp as expected.
But it's awesome to be here and not alone on my WO journey.

[earthnut]

Any ideas for frizz tackling other than jojoba which I'm already using? Too much jojoba makes it all oily and limp as expected.
But it's awesome to be here and not alone on my WO journey.

Jojoba oil is quite waxy and doesn't penetrate the hair shaft well. You could try a more penetrating oil and your hair might like it better. I'd try coconut oil for a while and see if that helps. Then I'd try olive oil for a while and see. Then maybe sunflower and mineral oil. Whichever works best will give you an idea of the kind of oil your hair likes best.

Coconut oil is one of the most penetrating oils and is excellent at reducing hair loss and damage (from UV or hair treatments). Shea and cocoa butters are also high in saturated fats making them pretty penetrating, though less so than coconut oil. Olive, almond, hazelnut, avocado, and canola oils are high in monounsaturated fats and are pretty good at penetrating. Flax seed, safflower, and sunflower oils are high in polyunsaturated fats making them not very penetrating. Jojoba oil, lanolin, (and sebum) are waxy and not very penetrating. Mineral oil is made from hydrocarbons and is not penetrating at all.

I've been researching oils recently! I put more info here.

[PrairieRose]

2. It doesn't seem like the sebum is moving down the shaft very fast with BBBing. I'm beginning to get into more preening and using fingers/water in the shower to help it along, but I'm scared about breakage doing this. Or maybe I'm just pulling my hair too hard.
ey.

I find finger preening before I shower works well for me. I also use my BBB, but I don't think it's enough by itself, at least not in the beginning.

[Kinkycurlygurl]

I've been strict WO since Jan 1, with some time prior to that interrupted with only one diluted shampoo on the roots avoiding the scalp. Yet my hair has still not transitioned. My hair looks like it was styled with hair wax that was never washed off! I'm not so sure what to do. The smell isn't very pleasant I must say. I really want this to work for me but I don't think it will. My scalp produces lots of oil and my hair looks dull at all times. I can hang in a bit longer with the use of hats but I'm very self conscious about my hair not smelling pleasant. I preen, scritch, do the whole thing. Do any of you have some tips to cover the smell without using products that could build up? Thank you.

@mcfearless Sometimes I wash my hair with clay, you can give that a try. It removes the excess oil and waxy sebum and leaves my hair feeling soft and clean. There's an expensive mud wash you can get from terra essentials, but what I normally use is cheapie Queen Helen clay facial masque it's made primarily of kaolin and bentonite clay and works like a charm for a fraction of the cost of terra essentials mud wash.

I usually divide my hair into 4 sections then squeeze out a quarter sized dollop of clay masque for each section. Then dilute with water in my plam to loosen it up a little then I smooth it on to one section at a time.

I wash the rest of me while the clay sits on my hair then I rinse. I find that I don't need conditioner and my hair detangles like a dream. I hope this helps.