The Water-Mostly/Hybrid WO Washing Thread

**vpatt** · June 29th, 2017, 07:25 AM

Originally Posted by vpatt

I did another wash today with diluted shampoo. I'm wondering if it stripped oil this time cause it didn't last time. But it feels "cleaner" or less sebumy this time. I used a bit of leave in conditioner on the ends that seems to really help the dryness. I will be trying ACV for this, too.
I'm leaving in about ten days to visit family and I'm not going to worry about shampoo because I know I can use WO for the couple weeks I'm away. That is so freeing, lol. I know at least one person I'm staying with has well water so I'm really curious how that will work. If it's a big mess I'm sure they will have a half teaspoon of shampoo they can spare. And I will be able to ask my aunt how she cared for her hair when she was growing up. I know I'm a weirdo, lol.

The next day:
Well, my hair feels softer, cleaner, less scalp smell and I can comb through it easier. But....it seems a bit limp or lank and I wonder if it is going to get oily. Odd, because I diluted so much that in the bottle I only got a few suds and I didn't see any suds on my scalp. So I will see how long I can go without washing.

Friday:
So it seemed ok until I took my braid out and brushed it. It got oily quickly. But I braided it again and I'll just see how I feel in the morning. If it is more oily than I can stand before my knit and spin meeting then I may wash it. But I hope to braid it a few more days. How can my scalp just suddenly spurt oil while I am brushing it? So the first diluted shampoo did not do this so maybe I will try that once a month and see how it goes. I like the conditioner because it keeps the ends nicer. Every time I use oil it is hard to rinse out with water only...maybe I can add a couple drops to my conditioner.

**Ophidian** · June 30th, 2017, 04:38 PM

Post CWC, my hair felt soooo weirrrrrd. It was extremely floaty and the ends ended up a bit dry. For my weekend wash a few days later I just used a rinse I made with hibiscus and honey, steeped for a while so the hibiscus released some mucilage for more moisture and slip. I applied it to dry hair and let it sit for a while before rinsing. This made my hair very soft and shiny.

For my mid-week wash this week, I soaked 3 Tbsp rye flour in 1/2 cup hot water for about an hour, then strained it into an applicator bottle and whisked in 1/4 tsp slippery elm powder. Once this had thickened, I added some honey plus a drop each of rosemary, lavender, and cedarwood essential oils and shook it up well. I also mixed more slippery elm powder with some water in a small bowl until it thickened to a gel-like consistency. I added a few drops of oil and some honey to this and experimented by using it like I would a store-bought conditioner after washing with the rye. I finished with a very dilute ACV rinse and a final rinse in cool water. Results: This really brought out the texture of my hair and it dried into nice clumped waves. My hair felt soft and strong. It rinsed out fairly well, but I might strain the gel next time to see if that smooths it out even more.

Next time I do a rye wash I think I'll follow it with a marshmallow conditioning rinse and see if this has a similar effect. Might even try it as a leave in. I've heard the best way to extract the mucilage from marshmallow root is to soak it in cold water so I will try to plan ahead.

**melikai** · July 2nd, 2017, 05:29 PM

Moving over here from the WO thread - although I think what I'm doing now is some sort of WO/SO/hybrid random thingies mix.

I was doing WO for about 6 months.

I did a honey and ACV rinse at the end of my water rinse yesterday, and it really helped my ends. They seemed like no moisture could penetrate. Actually, my husband suggested it lol! It's much softer now, and I put a tiny bit of coconut oil in and it seems to have soaked in just fine.

I might do a more diluted honey and ACV rinse or soak (on my length only) every time I wash. If it ends up being too much, I'll just do it whenever I feel like the mineral buildup from our water is getting to be too much.
As it is, I'm not going to wash my hair very often. Hoping to get by with SO with a very seldom rinse, since my scalp and hair are very dry and our water seems to damage it.

**vpatt** · July 3rd, 2017, 06:12 PM

And I spilled part of my hemp oil.....sigh.

**Nymphe** · July 5th, 2017, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by vpatt

And I spilled part of my hemp oil.....sigh.

Do you transfer yours into smaller containers? I use 2 oz, flip-top nozzle ones, so spills are no longer an issue for my clumsy self.

**vpatt** · July 5th, 2017, 09:08 AM

Originally Posted by Nymphe

Do you transfer yours into smaller containers? I use 2 oz, flip-top nozzle ones, so spills are no longer an issue for my clumsy self.

I need to do that. Thnx for reminding me. At least it is a fairly small bottle. And I really do like the hemp oil. It's nice for my face, too.

**melikai** · July 5th, 2017, 11:38 PM

Wanted to show a couple photos of my hair from the last couple of months. It's growing really slowly.

Probably because for a while it was so dry it was likely breaking on the tips.

**Ophidian** · July 3rd, 2017, 07:58 PM

After doing mostly rye washes for the past month I've noticed some differences between that and my herbs. Mainly, that while rye seems to really bring out my wavy texture and makes my hair feel strong and shiny, my hair started feeling dry and somewhat coarse. This is what led to the CWC, but that didn't resolve it. After the post-shampoo poofiness went down, it was back to feeling kinda dry. However, I'm wondering if this is the result of the rye itself, or if it might have something to do with differences in pre-oiling. I always oil the ends with coconut throughout the week, but I'm trying to figure out whether I am more likely to pre-wash oil the length before an herb wash than I am with rye... Arg... I've lapsed in my note-taking lately and now I am paying for it

.

Anyway, I did a light overnight length and scalp oiling with coconut on Saturday and then did an herb wash yesterday evening (slight variation on Pink Slime--1 Tbsp amla instead of 1 tsp and the addition of 1 tsp neem powder). Followed with a few drops of jojoba/sandalwood oil smoothed on the length and Nightblooming salve on the ends. My hair feels so good now--soft and silky and moisturized.

I'll likely keep mixing it up because that's what I do, but I think if I had to pick one best all-around wash method for my hair it would be the Indian herbs.

Upcoming experiments:
-Fresh aloe scalp treatment a la Nymphe (exfoliation and moisture for persistent hairline flakiness--this is under control with comb scritching and 2x/week washes, but I'd like to see if the aloe helps)
-I'm thinking of infusing my Sukesh Ayurveda powder in coconut oil and using it as a pre-wash treatment on my scalp. I currently use plain coconut oil.

Originally Posted by melikai

Moving over here from the WO thread - although I think what I'm doing now is some sort of WO/SO/hybrid random thingies mix.

I was doing WO for about 6 months.

I did a honey and ACV rinse at the end of my water rinse yesterday, and it really helped my ends. They seemed like no moisture could penetrate. Actually, my husband suggested it lol! It's much softer now, and I put a tiny bit of coconut oil in and it seems to have soaked in just fine.

I might do a more diluted honey and ACV rinse or soak (on my length only) every time I wash. If it ends up being too much, I'll just do it whenever I feel like the mineral buildup from our water is getting to be too much.
As it is, I'm not going to wash my hair very often. Hoping to get by with SO with a very seldom rinse, since my scalp and hair are very dry and our water seems to damage it.

**vpatt** · July 3rd, 2017, 05:32 PM

I washed today....water only for my scalp. For the ends....first I wet them and then put hemp oil on them and then conditioner. I washed my scalp and rinsed the ends. Scrubbed my scalp again and put more conditioner on the ends and rinsed with cold water. Now it's drying. I won't really know what I think until morning, but I'm sure it will be fine...famous last words, lol. It seems WO is the only thing that keeps my scalp from being so oily. Maybe a diluted shampoo wash once in a blue moon. Not sure exactly how often that is....... So far I do some scritching and use my wooden hairbrush and comb and finger combing. Maybe the BBB before washing as it causes so much oiliness. If all is well tomorrow this is what I will stick with for a while at least. I need to pamper these dry ends until I begin regular micro trimming.

**melikai** · July 3rd, 2017, 10:43 PM

vpatt, you and I sound like we're going through a somewhat similar thing, except your hair is oily (I think?) and mine is dry! My ends are doing a bit better, but still dry out sooo much. This might sound odd, gross, or old-fashioned to some, depending on your take, but lately I've been using a bit of lard scented with lavender on my ends, and it works better than most oils. Interesting....

Does it help oils to soak in better if the hair is damp first? Does that add more moisture? I wonder if I should try the LOC method.