The CO (conditioner only) washing thread

[afu]

For some reason my crown hair is getting greasy really fast lately, this is odd for me as CO has always kept me clean for about 3 days (i could go longer but my hair doesn't suit the sleek look, it likes to look a bit poofy!). I havn't changed anything about my routine, CO followed by a lemon juice rince and conditoner leave in and coconut oil on lengths. Im so confused! My daily activity and the temperature/humidity hasn't changed either, really baffling! I've been COing for about 4 months now and don't usually need to clarify - looks like some baking soda will be going in my CO tomorrow

[Dovetail]

Afu, it sounds kinda weird for it to just change like that, unfortunately I don't have any idea, but I'm interested to hear if you figure it out.

I just got done with my shower :3 I conditioned, shampooed (clairifiying) then conditioned twice after that and rinsed really super well.

Now my hair literally squeaks. Should I help it out with something, or just leave it be and let it do its thing?

[Dragon Faery]

I'm so happy! This worked BEAUTIFULLY! I oiled my hair last night and braided it before bed. This morning I put conditioner on my roots for about 5 minutes before I got in the shower. I then got my hair wet (warm water) and soaked my hair in conditioner.

side note: I now know why we use cheap conditioner. I used SO MUCH.

I left all that in for about 3 minutes and rinsed with cold water.

I air dried and then combed it out. My hair feels fantastic and looks SUPER clean.

I think I'm going to pick up some clarifying shampoo as well as some cheap conditioner. I plan to not wash tomorrow and hit it again on Tues.

My ends felt amazing. Step one to repairing my hair!

Awesome!!!

I have tresseme and dove (people like to give me hair products as gifts apparently) I'm going to try to run through them both before getting anything new, but I'm kind of happy to see that people on lhc don't care about using cheap products. Everywhere else I've been is all about the most expensive blah blah lol I'll let you all know how my first CO treatment goes!

Eta: also, how do you know if you should clarify your hair first? Mine has been getting really tangled lately. Should I just wait and see if CO helps this?

Any time you do a major routine change, clarifying is a good idea, as it's kind of like hitting the "reset" button on your hair. Same with any time your hair stops behaving with no apparent change in routine. If it's still weird after clarifying (other than being a bit dry, which is normal), then assess from there and figure out what else is needed.

Afu, it sounds kinda weird for it to just change like that, unfortunately I don't have any idea, but I'm interested to hear if you figure it out.

I just got done with my shower :3 I conditioned, shampooed (clairifiying) then conditioned twice after that and rinsed really super well.

Now my hair literally squeaks. Should I help it out with something, or just leave it be and let it do its thing?

If it's super-dry, maybe do a deep treatment and treat it very gently until your next wash. Otherwise it may just need a break from all the washing?

Afu, maybe all you need is to clarify. Has your diet changed? I've heard that some people, especially on sebum-only routines, get greasy if they eat more sugar or fat than usual.
If you clarify and it's still getting greasy frequently, then I have no idea what would make it do that.

Happy washing to all!

[iluvlovelylocks]

I don't mean to bring up anything that has already been brung up, but how does CO Washing work for oily hair? I have very oily hair.

[Linika]

I don't mean to bring up anything that has already been brung up, but how does CO Washing work for oily hair? I have very oily hair.

What I remember for the thread it works for some and not for other, just the way it is for all hair types.
What is your current hair routine?
COing shouldn't cause any problems for your hair even if it's oily. For me COing takes care of even the most heavy oilings I do (like loads and loads of olive oil). Conditioner is very good at removig oils while still being gentle and not at all as drying as shampoo. So even if you have to CO every day to begin with, it will probably be gentler on your hair than shampooing every or every other day.

[Tota]

I don't mean to bring up anything that has already been brung up, but how does CO Washing work for oily hair? I have very oily hair.

I also have very oil hair. I put a light nocone condish on my roots and gently massage my scalp. Then I leave it on for 5-10 minutes. Then I go in the shower, splash a bit of warm water on my scalp and massage again. Then rinse it out with lukewarm water and apply a rich moisturising conditioner from ears down. After 5-10 minutes I rinse it out with cold water.

This way my roots get cleaned, but not dried out. I CO every second day but I don't have to do this everytime - sometimes my hair is not very oily so I just put on a dilluted condish, massage and rinse it out and it's fine. But then I have to do a thorough CO the next time.

It took some time to figure the right way of CO-ing for my greasy, fine hair but I think I got it now

[SakuraGirl]

I finally bit the bullet and bought a large bottle of conditioner (tresseme) to start CO!

Could I have some tips to start me off please?

[fridgee]

I finally bit the bullet and bought a large bottle of conditioner (tresseme) to start CO!

Could I have some tips to start me off please?

Don't be afraid to use LOTS of conditioner! Palmfulls and palmfulls! (you can reduce the amount you use by experimenting with dilution later on)

Massage your scalp really thoroughly.

You can get a bit of a fine lather going after you've left it on your head for a while by adding a couple of handfuls of water and massaging again before rinsing.

When I first started my scalp got itchy and spotty, an acidic rinse afterwards really helped with that.

GOOD LUCK!

[Linika]

I finally bit the bullet and bought a large bottle of conditioner (tresseme) to start CO!

Could I have some tips to start me off please?

As fridgee said, use enough conditioner. It sounds like a lot when one says lots and lots of palmfuls, but make sure you get the conditioner all over your hair. You want it to be completely covered in conditioner so that the conditioner can do its work without probelms. When I used the conditioner straight from the bottle I had to use 4-5 palmfuls. Now I dilute my conditioner so that I have 1/4 of condish and the rest water. I use about 75ml of this for one wash. Diluting makes it much easier to get the conditioner where it's supposed to be.

Also, rinse! It is one of the most important steps in CO. You need to rinse your hair throughly so that you leave no trace of the conditioner you wash with on your hair. Your hair will probably look greasy right out of the shower if you dont. If you want to use leave in or the such you can apply that after you have rinse throughly.
A good thing to keep in mind in the begining is that when you think you have rinsed enough, rinse some more!

[GRU]

And if you've used any products with 'cones, start with a shampoo to strip off any build-up before starting with CO-washing.....