The CO (conditioner only) washing thread

**rapunzhell13** · July 17th, 2008, 10:52 PM

I'm using Pears Clarifying to wash and Herbal Essences' Hello Hydration to condition. So far it's working beautifully!

**bgarrison** · July 19th, 2008, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by brixxgirl16

Sometimes when I CO I get kind of a waxy/gunky feel on my scalp. Is that your problem? Usually when this happens, I

a) was in a rush and didn't rinse long enough. You have to rinse for at least two minutes to get it all out, and I usually scritch my scalp while I'm rinsing, because conditioner has a tendency to stick.

b) used the wrong conditioner. It must be a clarifying or extra body conditioner. While hair CO'd with a smoothing or moisturizing conditioner might feel cleaner than before, you might get buildup from unremoved sebum and/or leftover conditioner.

c) didn't leave it on long enough. While CO does get your hair clean, the absence of detergents means (at least for me) it has to be left on for about 20 minutes.

Hope this helps!

thank you for your help. i'm still not 100% great-- scalp itchy, some invisible to the eye, but present to the touch goo

i think this is sebum related because after a good scalp massage/ scritching it's back the next day, so i must be exuding it, rather than it's something left behind

but it seems to be lessening, so i'm sticking with co for now. i checked my AVO5 and they were clarifying and deep body.

i tried the brown sugar scrub, but am confused. my sugar seemed pretty well dissolved by the time it went on my head. am i looking for the granular nature to exfoliate or is it more of a chemical reaction? maybe i need to mix it later in the process to avoid dissolving.

also, do you wet the hair before the bs scrub?

thank you!!

**NurseMama** · July 19th, 2008, 10:14 AM

Originally Posted by NurseMama

Does anyone use Monistat and CO? If so, what condish are you using to get the MN out and are you having greasy problems?

Anyone?

*bump*

**Nizhoni** · July 19th, 2008, 12:00 PM

Originally Posted by bgarrison

i tried the brown sugar scrub, but am confused. my sugar seemed pretty well dissolved by the time it went on my head. am i looking for the granular nature to exfoliate or is it more of a chemical reaction? maybe i need to mix it later in the process to avoid dissolving.

also, do you wet the hair before the bs scrub?

thank you!!

I have tried both brown and white sugar and I found that the white one dissolves less fast. The sugar also takes longer time to dissolve if applied onto dry hair/scalp.

How long have you been CO-ing? For some people it may take a week or two for the sebum production to decrease.

**bgarrison** · July 19th, 2008, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by Nizhoni

I have tried both brown and white sugar and I found that the white one dissolves less fast. The sugar also takes longer time to dissolve if applied onto dry hair/scalp.

How long have you been CO-ing? For some people it may take a week or two for the sebum production to decrease.

thank you! i did a wet scalp so will try dry next time.

i've been doing it for several weeks at least, but trying different cream rinses. i'm wondering if that's the problem? i do seem to be getting slightly less itchy and gunky, so maybe it's getting better. the length definitely is prettier.

**bgarrison** · July 21st, 2008, 10:29 AM

well i think i may have solved my problem. weeks ago i used organix shampoo which has cocamidopropyl betaine which i guess can be an allergen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocamidopropyl_betaine

my problems started then and i think my scalp is still trying to recover. whew! glad to have figured that out.

now, where to go from here?!??!?

my scalp needs to heal and calm.....

**Fencai** · July 25th, 2008, 07:13 PM

well, I took the bite and started CO'ing while I was working in Miami! Today is day 5 of COing... and whilst both Myself and DH were home sick today, we did have to go out grocery shopping. He stopped and looked at me and said, "wow, your hair looks really nice! Are you doing something new to it?"

So, yeah I'd say its working so far!

**FrannyG** · July 25th, 2008, 07:25 PM

I'm happy to hear that the CO is working for you, Fencai. It's over two years now that I've been COing, and I've never looked back.

I've been off cones for two years, but I received a slightly coney conditioner as a gift, and I thought I'd give it a try. It's been two weeks now, and I'm happy to say that it's working fine. I haven't needed to clarify as yet.

**JessTheMess** · July 25th, 2008, 07:39 PM

I just recently started to use a cone free CO. It is absolutely lovely! Since finding LHC, my hair has been at its best! Thank you all for your hair wisdom

**Fencai** · July 29th, 2008, 01:45 PM

ok, well Im into my second week, and noticing that my hair looks a little greasy/stringy. my routine has been as follows:
I get in, and wet the hair down, put in the conditioner (White Rain Coconut) and then do the massaging it in. then I clip it up and out of the way while i do the rest of my routine, and then rinse at the end.
Ive also done one ACV rinse a few days ago.

should I start by switching to another conditioner? or should I clarify?

also, how often/frequently do you all CO- daily/every other/once/twice per week?

when I was doing CWC i had it down to about every 4th day, and it seems like I need to CO more frequently.