Desperate for answers from the WOers

[whimsicalfaerie]

Hey everyone. I decided to try WO a couple of weeks ago. Today marks exactly two weeks since my last shampoo (Yes to Carrots). I previously shampooed/conditioned approximately every 3-4 days. I have been brushing with my boar bristle hair brush and washing with water, but my hair is starting to drive me bonkers. It's especially bad and greasy at the crown. I wear my hair up most of the time, so I've been able to look reasonably okay by changing my part around, but I have some Christmas banquets coming up, and I'm starting to get scared.

What do you guys recommend? Tough it out and maybe use some dry shampoo on the days of my banquets? Or should I use the baking soda and vinegar wash every so often. I figured going cold turkey would be the fastest way to normalize my scalp, but I don't want it to get so bad that I break down and start using shampoo again.

Oh...forgot to mention. My hair is very fine, mostly straight with a bit of a wave sometimes, and reaches my lower back.

[sisi33]

Pkwy-dokey, you're at that stage where most people quit- after 2 weeks, most of the things that you're experiencing will start calming down. That being said, how often are you WOing? Try going longer or shorter periods between washings, and see if that helps any. I got great results washing everyother day in the beginning of my WO experience, which lasted ~5 months. But if it comes down to you S&Cing for Christmas, don't sweat it- it'll get back to where you were quicker than you would think!

[Ramille]

Hi, Have you tried WO with distilled water and a little vinegar? I have been WO since last Feb and the feeling has been wonderful. We live in an area with very hard water, and the distilled DOES seem to make a difference. Good luck, and like Sissi 33 said, don't panic. Your hair will still be there after the holidays and the stress are over! Best Wishes.

[whimsicalfaerie]

Thank you! You've calmed me down a little. :) I have done a WO "wash" about three or four times in the two weeks that I've been doing this, so maybe I'll try doing it more often. I did read up a little more and I think part of my problem is not massaging and really working my scalp, so the oil tends to just sit there.

We installed a whole-house water filter when we moved in...one of those three-stage, reverse osmosis things that costs a bundle, so thankfully I don't have to deal with water problems. I will try rinsing with a bit of vinegar water though.

[Loveisaverb]

The first two or so weeks are the worst and then around the six week mark is when your hair starts to chill out and get used to it.
Vinegar, your BBB brush, Preening/scritching, dry shampoo are your new best friends
As for when it really depends since it is trial and error sort of thing. I would try at least 2 week for baking soda and even then use a small amount and then maybe a vinegar 4 times a week? Maybe try to figure out what works for you as baking soda when used too much can dry your hair out. While vinegar acts sort of like a conditioner.
And also putting your hair up and out of way helps too as you said since when my hair in the first few weeks all I wanted to do was wash with shampoo from that waxy feeling, but then I got through it and it lessened up.

[whimsicalfaerie]

Good deal. I "washed" it last night and spent a lot longer really getting at the scalp. With long hair, I often have these tiny nanoseconds of wishing I could somehow shave off all my hair, exfoliate my scalp like crazy, and then glue the hair back on. Oh well...

It's still pretty tragic-looking today, but I'm pretty sure it will look all right when it's up. I'm definitely going to try rinsing it more often.

[sisi33]

Good deal. I "washed" it last night and spent a lot longer really getting at the scalp. With long hair, I often have these tiny nanoseconds of wishing I could somehow shave off all my hair, exfoliate my scalp like crazy, and then glue the hair back on. Oh well...

It's still pretty tragic-looking today, but I'm pretty sure it will look all right when it's up. I'm definitely going to try rinsing it more often.

Awesomeness! So glad that you figured out a way that helped your hair look more "presentable"! It's also worth mentioning that if I didn't touch my hair at all while it was drying, it seemed to have less of an oily cast to it. Don't know why, but it helped it look much better in my experience! :shrug:

[piffyanne]

Good deal. I "washed" it last night and spent a lot longer really getting at the scalp. With long hair, I often have these tiny nanoseconds of wishing I could somehow shave off all my hair, exfoliate my scalp like crazy, and then glue the hair back on. Oh well...

It's still pretty tragic-looking today, but I'm pretty sure it will look all right when it's up. I'm definitely going to try rinsing it more often.
(Bold mine)
:spitting: ME TOO! I with this ALLL the time. :rolleyes: