Adjusting to fewer washings...

[CaityBear]

I'll just use my situation or else it'd take forever for me to explain properly...

So I started CO washing ... before Christmas? And I'm trying wash my hair less and less, but I'm having problems. I think I've already had an oily scalp, but people say if you keep doing it, your scalp will eventually adjust.

Does that happen for everybody? Or am I just one whose scalp will not adjust to fewer washings?

So far I can barely go two days, on the second day my scalp is looking a bit greasy but I can usually hide it, but I'm trying to only wash every second day.

Will my scalp ever adjust? :(

[praia98]

Yes, it takes awhile. Make sure you are rubbing the scalp well when co'ing and rinsing. Rinse more than you think you need to. Some people feel an ACV rinse helps.
Also, try C-COW-C which I really like. It's wetting the hair, applying co to the length, and washing the scalp with diluted shampoo and co, rinsing and then condition.

[icydove]

You may need to change conditioners or adjust how you CO wash to get better results. However, my scalp took a while to adjust. It took about 6 months for me to go from every other day to every third day, but then it adjusted more quickly after that. I used to have majorly oily hair. I can easily go over a week now without being oily, but my scalp prefers to be washed more often than that.

[ChloeDharma]

To cope with oily days what about brushing with a BBB to distribute the oil down the hair then wearing an updo?

Also have you tried oiling your scalp? Jojoba is apparently good for sebum balancing as is Ylang Ylang EO so adding that might be an idea.....also adding it to your conditioner might help too (plus it smells lovely ;))

[CaityBear]

I make sure to rub it into my scalp really good and I rinse really well. I'm always afraid I haven't done it good enough so I do it extra good. :D

I don't have a BBB yet. We don't have them in my town :( So I have to wait until I get somewhere else. Grr. But I'm looking into it.

So I guess I might just have to be even more patience.

I think I ordered some Ylang Ylang so if I did then I'll have to try that and see what happens.

[Delila]

Well, I tried and tried a ton of different conditioners and methods of CO'ing, and eventually decided that it just wasn't for me.

I just don't think it was cleansing enough for me, plus I had tons of trouble getting it to rinse off my scalp.

I've long since switched away from it, and been happy with other things.

Lately I've just been doing a more ordinary 'shampoo/condition' routine about every three days, and minimizing the amount of conditioner I put on my scalp, but I did a lot of experimenting with dilute shampoo, shampoo bars, herbal washing, other 'gentle' cleansing methods ... .

Have you tried CWC?? Basically you put some conditioner on before you shampoo and kind of dilute the shampoo with conditioner, to protect your length from too much harsh cleansing.

[eaglesflight]

I use shampoo, so I don't know how well this will apply to your situation. I found in order to train my scalp to produce less oil I had to stop over-cleaning it. I apply just enough shampoo to wash away excess oil without stripping my scalp. I used to use a dollop the size of a fifty-cent piece. Now I'm down to a dime-sized dollop. I did this gradually, so the change to my scalp was not sudden.

Like Delila, I found CO simply wasn't for me. I CWC to protect my length, just as she suggested.

[Nat242]

I've always had an oily scalp, and was a daily washer for a long time. CO did not work for me, I CWC. I now wash every second day (though sometimes I need to wash my bangs in between because they get oiler faster), and it was diluting my shampoo that really helped.

[AlleyKitten]

CO just didn't work for me, it didn't get my hair clean enough and I got buildup. I did C-COW-C for a while, which was better. What I've been trying at the moment is somewhere between the two -- I do a CO wash and condition the length with my "light" conditioner, then I apply diluted shampoo to the scalp, scrub again, and rinse out well. It gets my hair a lot cleaner than CO did, but I feel like it's not as harsh (I'm working on using less and less shampoo in my diluted mixture).

[Finoriel]

I think the key is not to expect too much in a short time.
For me it took the entire growing process (7 years) to adjust from every day washing to about 10 days, without looking greasy the whole time. If you go too far too fast it can affect your skin and make it flaky or itchy, just take your time :)
Diluting shampoo and acidic rinses help and you can also stretch out half-day-wise > washing in the evening instead of in the morning, for example.
The skin of the most people needs more time to adjust than 3 months. That´s normal, so don´t worry *hugs*

[tiny_teesha]

if you henna it absorbs all your oil. After my mum hennad she didnt wash her hair for 2 weeks and it STILL wasn't greasy!!! Maybe you can try cassia as that doesn't stain hair (only a pale yellow) this way it might help condition, add shiny and body, and help with the WO.

I have just used tea wrinses (neem) which doesnt wash and the sebum after 2 and a half weeks has reached my sholders.

Just keep BBBing it, also it may help if you don't want it to look oily if you just stop combing it or detangle the ends only and not your scalp, because that is what spreads teh oils and make it look oily. I find not combing it stops the appearance of oil, but once it is already apparent BBB to make it thinner and travel down the hair works, sleeping normally the cotton pillowcase absorbs some, and also ligh CO. Just ignore the oil, and go as long as you can. I do pretty much tea poured on my scalp and just massage, the grittyness absorb a minute amount, but the water probably helps the oil travel down the hair. Just my 2 cents.

[eccentricquirks]

Have you tried clarifying? The culprit might be buildup from old conditioners. From there, go with the lightest conditioner you can find and ACV. You might also want to try an ACV or plain water rinse between washes - I found that this helps in my case, and it can also rinse away some of the excess that might cause that greasiness.

Believe me, I feel your pain. I'm there right now, as well, but for different reasons. I have shoulder length hair, am rotting my lungs daily (not something I suggest!!!), and my hair is on every other day washes, but by the end of day two, I look like a greased up rat. I will be clarifying when I've got time and, from there, will take up the extra rinses, just to keep the greasies down. I'll let you know if this works.

ETA - Also just read something interesting on parsley. It might help keep greasies at bay if prepared as a rinse/tea. Also good for growth and red tones, if you are looking for such. Will look into this further as well.

[Kirin]

I tried CO for about two weeks, and found it wasnt for me. My hair is not oily persea, but it became so, quite readily with a CO routine. I could rinse til the cows came home and it was still an oily flat mess. I was going to try and wait it out to see if i could find some solution, but the hair loss with CO was driving me batty.

I've since returned to a wash/condition routine, and my hair is happier for it.

When i first joined and read all the routines and good advice, i so wanted things to work like a magic bullet. Sadly thats not the case, and i'm still weeding out things to find the best solution for me.

[FrannyG]

I love COing, but no matter what I do, I can't seem to go any longer than two days without washing.

I used to shampoo and condition daily, so to go to every other day was an improvement for me. I've tried so many times to go to every third day, but my hair just becomes too limp. It would be that way when I S&C'd as well.

I've just accepted that I need to CO every other day.

[Robinlyn]

I have to co every other day as well. I've tried since I joined LHC (10/07) to go longer, but on day 3 my scalp is too oily looking. I think everyone is different and you have to do what works for you. I'm hoping one day I'll wake up on day 3 and it won't look greasy (LOL)! Good luck!

[khyricat]

I can't CO.. it looks awful immediately.. and conditioner causes my hair to fall out.

on the other hand, I can stretch washings, and I do have greasy days at times too..

what I do on icky days if I don't want to or have time to wash is braids.. dutch braids or double dutch braids.. or other intricate braid work. it looks like I have gelled it to hold it in place and its really the grease, I do this if I want to oil my hair and go out too..

[maskedrose]

I've also been COing every other day for quite a while now. Some mornings I'll wake up on my wash day with a fairly non-oily scalp (like this morning!), so I'll go another day. I only use a BBB for massaging my scalp, because it only makes my fine hair greasier if I try to distribute sebum down the length.

[eccentricquirks]

I can report that clarifying does help.

So does water only rinsing on between days. My only suggestion is a leave in conditioner on the ends.

[chotee]

Its a real pain to stretch it to another day. I am an oil user and have been oiling the day after my wash as it is quite dry. The end result is i end up washing the following day and again the same thing. A dry scalp and porous hair. So, i decided to do it slowly. First i stopped oiling it and stretching my wash to 2 days later. This was the first week i managed a 5 day gap. I oiled it only on the last day and kept the oil for an entire day to get absorbed as it was a weekend. I plan not to oil more than once a week. In between my washes, i sometimes rinse with a hibiscus flower+tea leaves+basil leaves tea. It not only enhances my henna color but also removes the sweaty smell after a heavy workout.

chotee