The Archives: The Merged NW/SO/WO Thread

[LaceyNg]

Day 15 WO hair with occasional leave in at the ends/ACV rinse and lots of BBB!

http://i939.photobucket.com/albums/ad238/caslpierce/mar26_afterdry1.jpg

Didn't notice too much pic posting on this thread, hope you all don't mind :) Thought it was looking very good recently!

GORGEOUS hair!!!
i think more of us should post pics of our WO hair! :) i know i'd love to see more!

i'll take an up-to-date one soon and post!

[caadam]

I agree with LaceyNg about some up-to-date pics, and mzBANGBANG, your hair looks so soft! And it has a nice shimmer. Very pretty! :flower:

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

If food gets held in your porous hair, giving bacteria food, how about a very light dusting of some sort of clay instead of cornflour? (I hear it is very drying, though, so find some people who have experience!) Also, many oils will get rancid...
Here's wishing you luck!
Thanks DoubleCrowned- for the suggestion and the wish of luck! It was the coconut oil, turned rancid smelling in my hair, that was the original source of the smell. Hence, very hesitant to use any oils. Which makes it difficult to trial something that may make my ends dry, such as a clay.... Life (and WO I think :p) wasn't meant to be easy was it!

My hair looks pretty dirty right now (not reallllly oily like last transition, just "unwashed") so I won't be posting for a bit, but I would love to see some recent WO photos for inspiration!

[Bedhead]

Okay, I've used a minimal amount of jojoba oil (2-3 drops) on my hair 3 times. The hair itself looks nice, there's a little extra sebum than a little while ago, but nothing a little more preening won't help. Interestingly enough, though, guess what came back...? That's right, my hair cleavage! A big factor in why I decided to go SO in the first place. I'm left wondering if this will subside if I choose to continue using it?

I've decided too to clarify my hair. I think it will help in the long run, since I never did do this and the part of my hair I struggle with is the only part left that has actually been touched by more than water or jojoba oil. I don't know when I'm going to do it, maybe on my 10 weekiversary? But too, this means I would need to make a decision about the oil before then, so the oil has more moisture to hold.... Hmmm....

[KaasKnot]

[B]Bedhead[/], what do you mean by cleavage? I went back to your first post and read, and you mentioned it but you didn't elaborate. What I think you mean is that the hair gets piecey and gapes apart, showing under-layers/scalp. Is this right?

Clarifying does sound like it could help.

As for me, I am officially one week in. I've figured out that I am transitioning, it's just harder to tell with my short hair. There's one spot in particular that's giving me problems--above my left ear. It's producing a lot more sebum than the rest of my head (excepting the crown, that's runner-up), and has even sprung a zit. I'm tending to that spot more carefully, now.

Otherwise, things are going well.

[DoubleCrowned]

Thanks DoubleCrowned- for the suggestion and the wish of luck! It was the coconut oil, turned rancid smelling in my hair, that was the original source of the smell. Hence, very hesitant to use any oils. Which makes it difficult to trial something that may make my ends dry, such as a clay.... Life (and WO I think :p) wasn't meant to be easy was it!

Coconut, jojoba, and olive oils are the only ones I know that do not need to be refrigerated. ...and coconut oil turned rancid in your hair...
Have you learned anything that would reduce the porosity of your hair?
Have you tried using only very cold water?

[PrairieRose]

Coconut, jojoba, and olive oils are the only ones I know that do not need to be refrigerated. ...and coconut oil turned rancid in your hair...
Have you learned anything that would reduce the porosity of your hair?
Have you tried using only very cold water?
Should Camilla oil be kept refrigerated? I am a big fan of it but so far I have not refrigerated it.

[trolleypup]

Coconut oil will go bad eventually. Olive oil will get gummy. I just checked a small (non original) container of camellia oil that has been sitting around for five years or so and it has developed a faint nutty odor...not spoiled nuts though. Oh, interesting, (the original containers of) the cosmetic grade camellia oil is still odorless, but the tool grade one is nutty smelling (it was odorless when new)! I guess different refinement processes? Neither one is getting gummy like olive oil does.

I guess it only makes sense to keep (possible) food products properly sealed and stored (minimize exposure to oxygen and heat/light) when you are keeping them for long periods. Probably any of these refined plant oils would be fine not refrigerated for a year or so, or when kept in a large sealed container for longer, but small decanted amounts probably should be used or refrigerated if kept a long time.

[ktani]

True about the oils going bad in time. For coconut oil it also depends on the processing and even virgin coconut oil is processed, as to whether it can go bad sooner than later, in spite of what is recommended on the label. The shelf life on a label is for unopened oil.

If for example, you buy an oil that says the shelf life expiry date is 1 year from todays's date, and you open it today, subract 6 months for the shelf life and refrigerate the bulk of it. That is how Spectrum Organics, explained it to me, years ago. It you put some into smaller containers, use that oil up fairly quickly, if you do not refrigerate it.

[Bedhead]

Yes, KaasKnot, it's that wide spread extension from the part that gapes open and creates what looks like a bald spot, that I don't normally have (some peoples' parts do extend to the rear naturally). The rest of my hair isn't piecey anymore though. I thought it was because if the WO, but now I think it's the jojoba oil that's promoting it, which is making me wonder if I should even be using it, or maybe I'm just using too much.

It sounds like you might be needing more scritching and massage throughout the day. That removes quite a lot of sebum that won't then end up on your hair - don't forget the edge of your hair line too (I learnt a lesson with this). We have a lot more hair to spread it over, whereas you just have that bit and your scalp, and with your scalp just adjusting, that's a lot of sebum with no where to go. Maybe even wipe it with a cloth to try and absorb some too?

[PrairieRose]

Thanks for the helpful information Trollyepup and Ktani!:D

[ktani]

Thanks for the helpful information Trollyepup and Ktani!:D

For my part you are very welcome.

[weddy]

I've been CoWashing about a year, about every 4-5'ish days or so at first, now I'm guessing I CoWash every 5-7'ish days, because my root hairs get so flat by that time. So after reading about scritching and preening, I'm wondering if I could use those to extend my times between CoWashing.

I searched YouTube for scritching preening, but only got pet bird results ROFLMBO! I wonder if I could accomplish S&P'ing with a BBB instead?

[KaasKnot]

Bedhead, you raise a good point. I've been wiping off my fingers when I scritch/preen because I don't need all the sebum I produce--but I've not been really dedicated about it. I took your advice and wiped down my hair after grooming with a clean washcloth. Haven't noticed any differences yet, but I'll keep it up.

weddy, where do you think we got the idea from? ;) We, like birds, are attempting to care for our plumage by moving the oils we naturally produce down the shaft of our "feathers." Birds sometimes take a dip in the birdbath; some of us do WO when we feel we need to. Most often, however, we push the oils down mechanically.

BBBs are one way we do this. Preening (pulling the oil down with our fingers) is another. When it comes to cleaning the scalp, however, I don't think a bbb is the way to go. It's difficult to get the bristles close enough to the scalp to lift the dead skin effectively. Instead, we scritch. Some use their fingers, some use fine-toothed combs, but the effect of both is to loosen up the excess sebum and dead skin and lift it to where we can brush/preen it away.

[KaasKnot]

To answer your first question, I definitely think NW/SO could extend your wash times. That's how a lot of us got here, by extending our washes to the point we started wondering if we needed to wash at all.

[Lipbalmbabe]

What is this like for the first phase

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

Coconut, jojoba, and olive oils are the only ones I know that do not need to be refrigerated. ...and coconut oil turned rancid in your hair...
Have you learned anything that would reduce the porosity of your hair?
Have you tried using only very cold water?

Yeah, the coconut oil that I was using had been opened for a few months. I also tried small amounts of evoo. I find this to have a strong smell, which definitely lingered too long for comfort in my hair- but I don't think turned rancid. I didn't use it as regularly as CO, it was too heavy as well as smellly.

Hair porosity- probably made worse due to bleached ends that I'm growing out. I've tried straight cold water from the tap- that was fairly cold, but I live in a fairly tropical location, so it's not as crisp as some locations would be. It is said that vinegar will also make the cuticles of you hair lie flat- hence the success some people have with vinegar rinses- but for me it seemed to dry my hair, especially after using it several times.

I was using both of these techniques last WO attempt. This time around, I haven't regularly done cold water rinses, but will introduce this in a week or so after I see how my hair is going with just warm water washing.

So far my hair is going OK. I definitely have enough sebum to coat all the way to the ends, but it doesn't feel like it is dripping with it, like it did the first time around. DH comes home today- he'll be my smellometer!

[KaasKnot]

Lipbalmbabe, what I understand from reading through this thread, the archived thread, and the monster WO thread is that the transition doesn't really break down into neat phases.

At first your hair will seem greasy, especially your scalp, as your body adjusts to the sudden lack of oil-stripping cleansers. Your ends, particularly if they are already prone to being dry, will become very, very dry once you stop using moisturizers and before the sebum travels down to coat them.

How long this lasts varies from person to person, and depends on a whole bunch of factors: diet, age, how oily one's skin is, routine before going NW/SO, length of hair, etc. For some, it's as little as six weeks. For others it can last up to three months.

Further, there is no clear demarcation between when one's hair is adjusting to when it fully adjusts. It's more a matter of "good" hair days gradually outweighing the "bad" hair days.

Hope that helps. :)

[Lipbalmbabe]

Thank you for your lengthy response! Can you use dry shampoo?


Lipbalmbabe, what I understand from reading through this thread, the archived thread, and the monster WO thread is that the transition doesn't really break down into neat phases.

At first your hair will seem greasy, especially your scalp, as your body adjusts to the sudden lack of oil-stripping cleansers. Your ends, particularly if they are already prone to being dry, will become very, very dry once you stop using moisturizers and before the sebum travels down to coat them.

How long this lasts varies from person to person, and depends on a whole bunch of factors: diet, age, how oily one's skin is, routine before going NW/SO, length of hair, etc. For some, it's as little as six weeks. For others it can last up to three months.

Further, there is no clear demarcation between when one's hair is adjusting to when it fully adjusts. It's more a matter of "good" hair days gradually outweighing the "bad" hair days.

Hope that helps. :)

[KaasKnot]

I don't see why not, that's what the "no water" part of NW/SO is about.

However, another aspect of wanting to go this route is the desire to leave behind man-made chemicals and anything that disrupts the hair's natural cleaning mechanism. Dry shampoo would do this. That's what the SO is about.

Don't let that stop you from experimenting, though. Very few of us are absolute SOers.

[proo]

It's been 3 weeks since my last rinse & the state of my hair is great -
lots of body, very clean looking and feeling.
Mind you, I'm 53 so no excess sebum as in days of yore,
but likely wouldn't have then either if I hadn't been blasting my hair with harsh shampoo.

I spritzed my ends last night and applied a tiny amount of MO -
much softer and smoother.

[caadam]

So, I'm going to take some recent pics of my WO hair tomorrow, but I wanna warn you guys: The oily phase has really started to kick in for me. lol I'm not that embarrassed about it because I was expecting it, and let's be honest... it's just a part of going from products to none for most people. It's bound to happen, and oily hair does not equal dirty hair. Most of us learned that when we came to LHC. :D So I'm not very embarrassed.

Other than that, my Tangle Teezer has been doing a pretty good job still of helping to coat my length and ends with sebum, but I think the canopy of my hair is just now figuring out my plans. Like, "Ah, no product now for almost three weeks? Well, missy... EAT THIS *OIL HADOKEN*"

I did an oiling of jojoba oil last night because I didn't wash my hair yesterday, so my length and ends were a wee bit dry despite a brushing session. My hair was kinda stringy in the morning, but shiny and soft. :)

And tonight, I decided to do an ACV/honey rinse. I just did a cap full of ACV in a cup, then a small squirt of honey. I mixed it up with some warm water to dissolve the honey, and then poured the mixture into a condiment bottle. It was very diluted, and I left the rinse on my scalp and length for about ten minutes while I did the rest of my shower routine. I did this rinse because skipping a wash yesterday did cause some mild burning and itching on my scalp today near the nape of my neck, and the ACV/honey rinse helped to soothe that.

[KaasKnot]

I tried scritching with my fingers this morning, I don't think it was a good idea. I have this tendency to scratch--as in, roughly--with my fingers, the way I don't with a comb. It's mostly involuntary. I thought I'd be able to target the problem spots a little easier using my fingers, and I targeted them all right. Now my scalp is super-sensitive and tender.

Lesson learned. Scritch with a comb, not my fingers.

[Bedhead]

Proo, that's very exciting! I'm glad this is working out for you!

KaasKnot, I have a lot of bumps a comb just doesn't get around, but it's good you're learning what's right for you.

I did a nice long scritching last night. It lasted a good 20 minutes or more and was done super gently and slowly, and my scalp feels wonderful today.

My hair is slowly getting thicker too, with all the baby hairs getting longer. I just noticed you can see the difference in my mirror shots - my head looks bigger.

Too, I think I hit the plateau. Regardless of what I've been going through over the last few weeks, my sebum production has maintained an average. Sure it's gone a bit up (never as high as a month ago, but it's also gone down, and neither of these ups or downs are severe, in fact, if anyone saw me they wouldn't notice a difference.

I also started a dietary cleanse today that will lead to a detox cleanse within the week. I'm curious how it will affect everything.

And, tomorrow / Friday is my 10 week mark. I believe I'll be clarifying, which means I'll have pics of curly hair for a change. Anyway, I think this is a good decision and don't feel it'll set me back, given the plateau my sebum production is on. I'm suspecting a few days max of getting everything back to order. ETA: I've also decided not to add the oil just yet. I want to see how clarifying alone affects things. ETA2: Mineral Oil will be put just on the damaged area though.

[Bedhead]

I have wet hair. For the first time in almost 21/2 months (other than a misting here and there). And my hair smells funny i.e. not like sebum.

I poured filtered water over it to wet it, but over a bowl, so I could reuse it, and there were suds in the water! I clarified (first time in my entire life) and rinsed again with filtered water.

Waiting.

[caadam]

Ok, I forgot to take a picture yesterday. lol My bad, but I took one today!

http://i40.tinypic.com/2ui9cau.jpg

So yeah... I'm going through an oily stage. Warned ya. lol HOWEVER... my hair is shiny, as you can see, and it FEELS different! Like, my hair was usually soft, a little shiny, and nothing else special when I was CO washing all the time.

But now... my hair feels soft, looks noticeably shiny, and it feels strong. Not coarse, but strong. It's so cool! I LOVE WO. :cheese: I can also feel the coating of sebum on my length, but it doesn't bother me. It actually feels soft and like it's protecting each shaft. It's a positive!

[proo]

Ooooooo this is my idea of a Thursday night!
Waiting for your results with you bedhead - how did you clarify?

[Bedhead]

My hair is dry i.e. not wet. Well, with a slight dampness at the roots. This is the fastest my hair has ever air dried. Only 3.5 hours!

Proo, I clarified with Nutrogena Anti Residue. It smells like aftershave. I used only a dime sized amount, and followed by another since I've never clarified before, and after trying to rinse it with only my filtered water, jug after jug, I realised I needed more force, and rinsed with tap water and only when saw there were no suds and my hair squeaked did I do a final rinse with the cold filtered water. I followed it with half a drop of mineral oil on my damaged spot.

I chose Nutrogena over baking soda because I had read the Nutrogena was more gentle, , but I can't really verify that, and I had a few bad experiences with using vinegar on my hair, so I don't want nor need a repeat performance. Between the two smells - aftershave and baby powder - my senses are on overkill - haven't used any perfume type scents in 20 years. I don't like SLS, but I thought, I haven't used it in two and a half years, so given I'm not planning on using it again for a while it's certainly has less effect on my health and the environment than if I had continued using sls products all these years.

Anyway, my hair, that's what you want to know about....

Well, it's soft and light, and, I think, stripped without being dry. The strange thing is, although the hair framing my face is spiraling, the rest is only slightly wavy, not curly. This makes me wonder if the shampoo did indeed clarify, or if it took some off and left it's own - it does have perfume, after all.

I will take pictures and post them in the morning, when the light is better.

[serin blackwood]

You should get some plain light mineral oil. It's cheap and has no odor. I would gag at the scent of baby oil!

[Bedhead]

They say the scent fades fairly quickly, I don't think i can say the same of the shampoo. In any case, I've been snooping around for weeks while I made my decision and couldn't find a light version anywhere that wasn't baby oil. It's okay, I'll survive.

[proo]

Yep, that Neutrogena scent is promenant

[Bedhead]

That's it?!?! That's all you have to say after this?

Ooooooo this is my idea of a Thursday night!


LOL! I was somehow expecting something a little, I don't know... more. LOL~! ;)

[proo]

Bedhead, I'm proud of you!! You've gone where few have ventured in your SO journey, eschewing conventional wisdom, nay, laughing in CW's face, preening-scritching- spreadingsebum in ways we can only imagine. . . And now this - a ritual clarifying
you're my hero
btw I love bigbangtheory

[Bedhead]

Bedhead, I'm proud of you!! You've gone where few have ventured in your SO journey, eschewing conventional wisdom, nay, laughing in CW's face, preening-scritching- spreadingsebum in ways we can only imagine. . . And now this - a ritual clarifying
you're my hero
btw I love bigbangtheory

LOL! Okay, okay.... I think it's just that after a while, I got so used to SO, that washing my hair became a big deal for me as opposed to not washing, as strange as it might sound.

[christiner]

Ok, I forgot to take a picture yesterday. lol My bad, but I took one today!

http://i40.tinypic.com/2ui9cau.jpg

So yeah... I'm going through an oily stage. Warned ya. lol HOWEVER... my hair is shiny, as you can see, and it FEELS different! Like, my hair was usually soft, a little shiny, and nothing else special when I was CO washing all the time.

But now... my hair feels soft, looks noticeably shiny, and it feels strong. Not coarse, but strong. It's so cool! I LOVE WO. :cheese: I can also feel the coating of sebum on my length, but it doesn't bother me. It actually feels soft and like it's protecting each shaft. It's a positive!
looks beautiful!

[KaasKnot]

LOL! Okay, okay.... I think it's just that after a while, I got so used to SO, that washing my hair became a big deal for me as opposed to not washing, as strange as it might sound.

Oh, yeah. S'like, "I put *that* much effort into getting the sebum down my hair, and worrying *so* much about what the people around me smelled/saw/thought, and now I'm going just just wash that effort down the drain?! Whaaat?!"

[caadam]

Just wanted to say hello. :D

I totally think ya'll are the cool crowd. v__v Maybe one day I can be just as cool. </3

[caadam]

So I think I might've had my first successful preening session!

I just haven't been able to get a technique down, because I've got a lot of hair and at its length, it's kinda hard to preen, ya know?

So that's why I've been letting my TT do the work, even though it wasn't doing as well as I wish it would...

anyway, so before my shower tonight, I sat down and preened my little heart out. I just took a good amount of hair between my palms and steadily pulled down. I did this everywhere I could for about 30 minutes. After I felt like I did all I could, I could SEE the sebum coating my hair. lol I was pretty proud of myself. o 3o Another success under my belt!

Also, it made my palms SUPER soft and shiny. lol

[proo]

How is it this morning Bedhead?
Have you combed or preened yet?
I bet it isn't all washed down the drain

[Bedhead]

Oh, yeah. S'like, "I put *that* much effort into getting the sebum down my hair, and worrying *so* much about what the people around me smelled/saw/thought, and now I'm going just just wash that effort down the drain?! Whaaat?!"


Strangely... no? :confused: You would think that, but it was more like SO hair became my normal, even in this short time, and honestly a bit of a my "safe zone". So, since my water and my hair aren't on such good terms, and I was never 100% sure of what exactly was hurting my hair at this point (except from my own deductions, I was worried that if I washed my hair, something bad would happen - like more damage or it would start falling out again. On top of that I clarified, which I've never ever done before (keep in mind, I've had short hair 2/3 of my life), so I felt like there was a 50/50 chance for either improvement (build-up being the final nemesis) or massive increase in hair problems.


Just wanted to say hello. :D

I totally think ya'll are the cool crowd. v__v Maybe one day I can be just as cool. </3

Oh! Hello! :flasher:

You know..., they say you already are what you admire in others.


How is it this morning Bedhead?
Have you combed or preened yet?
I bet it isn't all washed down the drain

It just feels weird. I know this used to be normal for me, and still is for a great majority of people, but I can't explain it. It's like something feels greasy or dirty, but that's just a feeling, not the reality. I think this is because my scalp is still adjusting; there's a huge amount of warmth emanating from it in a way it doesn't normally.

The damaged spot doesn't seem half as damaged, so it's more evident part of the problem must be that particular spot had lots of build-up.

It's still very soft. The one thing that's changed is the colour seems more pure(?). I mean it actually looks red in my bathroom lighting instead of brown. As far as styling goes, I have the urge to throw in a little product to get my curls going again and because it's not sitting quite right.

I've taken pictures. I don't think any hair came out. The smell has reduced dramatically, thank goodness (no babyoil smell, and I have to shove my nose into my hair to smell the aftershave smell).

I haven't scritched or preened - there's nothing on my scalp, to do it with. So, I did do a bit of massage, and combed and brushed a bit.

My face reacted pretty quickly - a bit of a break out - I know it wasn't the food!

Pics will be loaded shortly.

[Bedhead]

Pics are up!

[AngryVikingGirl]

Ok, I forgot to take a picture yesterday. lol My bad, but I took one today!

http://i40.tinypic.com/2ui9cau.jpg

So yeah... I'm going through an oily stage. Warned ya. lol HOWEVER... my hair is shiny, as you can see, and it FEELS different! Like, my hair was usually soft, a little shiny, and nothing else special when I was CO washing all the time.

But now... my hair feels soft, looks noticeably shiny, and it feels strong. Not coarse, but strong. It's so cool! I LOVE WO. :cheese: I can also feel the coating of sebum on my length, but it doesn't bother me. It actually feels soft and like it's protecting each shaft. It's a positive!
Oh, your hair actually looks great! If you didn't mention, I wouldn't spot the oil! Good experimenting henceforward! :)

[KaasKnot]

So I think I might've had my first successful preening session!

I just haven't been able to get a technique down, because I've got a lot of hair and at its length, it's kinda hard to preen, ya know?

So that's why I've been letting my TT do the work, even though it wasn't doing as well as I wish it would...

anyway, so before my shower tonight, I sat down and preened my little heart out. I just took a good amount of hair between my palms and steadily pulled down. I did this everywhere I could for about 30 minutes. After I felt like I did all I could, I could SEE the sebum coating my hair. lol I was pretty proud of myself. o 3o Another success under my belt!

Also, it made my palms SUPER soft and shiny. lol

I have a theory about that. I think it's the preening that actually works the oil into the hair, so it can be shiny and strong and protected. We scritch to clean the scalp, and brush it to work the oils down, but the preening polishes it.

[caadam]

I have a theory about that. I think it's the preening that actually works the oil into the hair, so it can be shiny and strong and protected. We scritch to clean the scalp, and brush it to work the oils down, but the preening polishes it.

Well, my hair isn't completely dry right now, but the hair near my scalp isn't nearly as oily as it has been for the past few days. :)

[KaasKnot]

Strangely... no? :confused: You would think that, but it was more like SO hair became my normal, even in this short time, and honestly a bit of a my "safe zone". So, since my water and my hair aren't on such good terms, and I was never 100&#37; sure of what exactly was hurting my hair at this point (except from my own deductions, I was worried that if I washed my hair, something bad would happen - like more damage or it would start falling out again. On top of that I clarified, which I've never ever done before (keep in mind, I've had short hair 2/3 of my life), so I felt like there was a 50/50 chance for either improvement (build-up being the final nemesis) or massive increase in hair problems. *snip*

Actually, that makes perfect sense. If something makes your hair happier than anything else, it's understandable to be reluctant to leave that regimen even if only for the short term.

Well... I hadn't cleaned my hair in a day, so this morning it was pretty funky. When I cleaned it, though, my scalp was a lot happier with me than it had been, and my hair was very much soft. My thinking: perhaps my scalp needed a break from the SMPing? It is rather more intensive handling than it's used to getting.

[Lipbalmbabe]

I'm on day 5 and probably being in my late teens doesn't help but my hair is absolutely horrible it looks like I heavy oiled with crisco, my dandruff is literally stuck to my hair

[KaasKnot]

I'm on day 5 and probably being in my late teens doesn't help but my hair is absolutely horrible it looks like I heavy oiled with crisco, my dandruff is literally stuck to my hair

Yeah, that tends to happen. Best I can say is preen a lot, and then brush. It gets better eventually.

[Bedhead]

My scalp has finally settled down, and my hair is feeling "normal" again, well, normal to me anyway. I finally have sebum again, and this is what made the difference, it added a silkiness to the softness. I've been able to spread it now down about the top 6" of my hair, and I'm sure the rest has a bit too.

I think the combination of clarified hair, a now lower sebum production, and a conscious awareness in needing to keep my hair moisturized is all going to make a huge difference.

As for the moisture, at this point, other than the tiny touch of MO on the damaged ends, I have been misting my ends at night with distilled water. Now that my sebum has been spread a bit, I don't feel the need to condition it; I was contemplating rewetting my hair and using a conditioner on it if need be, but for now, things are falling into place. However, if I see any sort of lack of moisture in my ends, I will probably mist them and put a little oil (maybe jojoba, but only a drop or two, and not repeatedly) on them.

Lipbalmbabe (love your name), don't hesitate to stroke your hair with a micro fiber cloth before and after you've preened. I was lucky in my process, my canopy stayed fairly good (I guess that's the good side to having different types of hair on my head), so I didn't feel the need to try it. Using a bbb, if you don't already, in addition to smp'ing will also be beneficial.

Also you'll have different reactions depending on how you were caring for your hair before trying NW/SO. What I mean by this is if you were using regular S&C, it will indeed be a shock to your scalp and hair, whereas if you've been WO or herbal washing for a while, it'll be less so. You didn't mention what you've been doing, but yes, your age can be a factor too, as can your diet (watch out for this one). And I hope you've learnt from me and clarified before beginning your new adventure?

Anyway, welcome to our little group, and please let us know if you need anything. :)

[Lipbalmbabe]

Thank you, I have been s&c and heavy oiling so this is bad for my ends right now :( just waiting for the good results! :)

My scalp has finally settled down, and my hair is feeling "normal" again, well, normal to me anyway. I finally have sebum again, and this is what made the difference, it added a silkiness to the softness. I've been able to spread it now down about the top 6" of my hair, and I'm sure the rest has a bit too.

I think the combination of clarified hair, a now lower sebum production, and a conscious awareness in needing to keep my hair moisturized is all going to make a huge difference.

As for the moisture, at this point, other than the tiny touch of MO on the damaged ends, I have been misting my ends at night with distilled water. Now that my sebum has been spread a bit, I don't feel the need to condition it; I was contemplating rewetting my hair and using a conditioner on it if need be, but for now, things are falling into place. However, if I see any sort of lack of moisture in my ends, I will probably mist them and put a little oil (maybe jojoba, but only a drop or two, and not repeatedly) on them.

Lipbalmbabe (love your name), don't hesitate to stroke your hair with a micro fiber cloth before and after you've preened. I was lucky in my process, my canopy stayed fairly good (I guess that's the good side to having different types of hair on my head), so I didn't feel the need to try it. Using a bbb, if you don't already, in addition to smp'ing will also be beneficial.

Also you'll have different reactions depending on how you were caring for your hair before trying NW/SO. What I mean by this is if you were using regular S&C, it will indeed be a shock to your scalp and hair, whereas if you've been WO or herbal washing for a while, it'll be less so. You didn't mention what you've been doing, but yes, your age can be a factor too, as can your diet (watch out for this one). And I hope you've learnt from me and clarified before beginning your new adventure?

Anyway, welcome to our little group, and please let us know if you need anything. :)

[Bedhead]

Thank you, I have been s&c and heavy oiling so this is bad for my ends right now :( just waiting for the good results! :)

I see, well then, hats might just be your best friends right now. ;)

If you haven't yet, definitely clarify. It will make a big difference.

[proo]

Lookin great bedhead!
Did you use the shampoo full strength?

[Lipbalmbabe]

I see, well then, hats might just be your best friends right now. ;)

If you haven't yet, definitely clarify. It will make a big difference.

I haven't is there a way I can keep my progress?

[Bedhead]

Lookin great bedhead!
Did you use the shampoo full strength?

Thanks! It didn't say how much to use, so I used a dime size diluted in 2oz of water. I did it twice since my hair has never been clarified before. So, not quite full strength, and not as much as I would think many others would use.


I haven't is there a way I can keep my progress?

Okay, hon, then goooo clarify. It might no let you keep the progress you've made so far, but in the long run, it will save you a tons of time and energy, helping you to progress more smoothly since your scalp won't have to deal with the S&C residue and whatever other products you've used too. Use either a clarifying shampoo, or baking soda with an ACV rinse, and you'll be good to go.

[KaasKnot]

I wonder if I could benefit from clarifying. I used hair gel before I went SO.

[proo]

Greatly diluting my clarifier (3 drops prell to half galllon water) and having hair already soaking wet before dumping slowly over scalp has allowed me to clarify every 3 weeks without stripping my sebum. This prevents dry scalp and alleviates pieciness, plus seems to make MO application more beneficial.

[Bedhead]

I saw you did this, and am keeping it in the back of my mind for the future. :)

[proo]

You inspired me Bedhead - I clarified with a squirt of Hauschka oily hair shampoo in 24 oz water.
I was at my mom's so different shampoo but same routine with MO at the end.
This was 2 days ago; usually I've combed/scritched by now but this time I've just finger massaged my scalp then preened down length & ends
I've got some cool wavey clumpage goin on, gonna see how long it lasts if I don't break it up.

[Bedhead]

The yellow residue I've been hiding from by going NW/SO has returned. I saw it after my wash, but I didn't want to believe it and told myself it was "shine". I don't think clarifying is enough with my water. From another thread, I think I might have to rinse my hair with lemon juice or citric acid to get rid of all the mineral deposits.... A little frustrating, since I just want to not have to think so much about my hair, and this hinders the whole NW thing.

Good luck with the waves proo!

[christiner]

i'm posting in this thread to bookmark it.

[proo]

Did you do the lemon rinse Bedhead?
Big fan of distilled water rinse after clarifying also.

[Bedhead]

Nope. I didn't want to do too much to my hair at once, besides, I didn't have time to let it dry anytime in the past few days. I'll let you know when I do!

[Bedhead]

I'm feeling a resistance to doing the citric acid rinse, not in the "No! Keep that stuff away from me!" way, but more like, the "Egh. I'll do it next time." So if and when I wash again, I'll definitely do the rinse. I don't know if leaving the slight residue on my hair will make a difference, but it surely can't be more than I had after living here for 10 years.\

[proo]

Your water is leaving mineral deposit on your hair?
Is it resistant to preening?

Still not combing, just massaging and preening,
keeping the clumpage, diggin it.
As fabulous as combing feels
I'm thinking it's hard on my canopy.

[KaasKnot]

Okay, had one of those random thoughts. Has anyone here considered going NW/SO on their body? I mean, we figure ditching soap and water is best for our hair--maybe that's best for everything else, too?

Just putting it out there.

[Bedhead]

Proo, Yeah, there's something my filter doesn't filter out, and I don't know what it is. :(
I can preen no problem, I'm just not producing the amount of sebum I did when I first started, so it will take more to fully spread the sebum.

KaasKnot, there are days I SO want a bath, and then there are days I don't feel like getting wet at all. It's on those days I don't want to get wet I use an exfoliating glove to sluff off any dead skin that bacteria could be thriving on. I just stand in the tub so everything just falls in the tub so I can clean it up easily. I don't know if I would want to do it long term though. I like having showers and baths. As it is now, I'm WO with my body, with a splash of a herbal infusion for the pits and other bits.

The difference between your hair and your skin is your skin just happens to be the largest organ of the body and does a lot more than we give it credit for; it's alive. I think it's a matter of finding the best way to respect it and care for it. From everything I've read her on the internet and other people's experience with it, it seems to be important to clean your body everyday, but as with NW/SO, that doesn't necessarily mean with water. However, when people began to realise washing their hands with water was important to ward off sickness, I don't know if they cleaned themselves very often in other ways besides bathing once in a blue moon - it seems not, but that might just be from lack of documentation, who really knows?

[proo]

HUGE fan of body brushing here.
Believe me, I get after it, every day.
It's my shower.
I take baths, probably a couple per week to shave and just chill out.
Although I can shave dry, no prob.
Don't use deodorant.
My SO sez I smell heavenly, sweet angel.
'Course he smells heavenly to me too, especially his mannish sweat.

[proo]

I just have to again sing praises for distilled water as a spray-on conditioner.
I massage the scalp, apply collected sebum to length and ends;
spray with distilled water, especially any parts that feel dry.
Then I put it up with ends tucked in nicely next to the scalp.
If home, cover with silky scarf till dry.
When I take the 'do down, my hair feels very silky - conditioned.
It's the nonconditioner conditioner.

[Bedhead]

HUGE fan of body brushing here.
Believe me, I get after it, every day.
It's my shower.
I take baths, probably a couple per week to shave and just chill out.
Although I can shave dry, no prob.
Don't use deodorant.
My SO sez I smell heavenly, sweet angel.
'Course he smells heavenly to me too, especially his mannish sweat.
I do like how my skin feels after I do it, there's something invigorating I feel that I don't with water, even if I use an exfoliating glove. And it's true, I don't smell, even after a few days, I just didn't know what would happen if I went for longer; I was also focussed on healing my hair. I suspect your diet would have to be pretty clean though, no? since the skin sings all good and bad that you do to your body?

Thanks for letting us know, Sweet Angel. ;)

[Emy Sue]

This is really interesting to me. I have very fine, curly hair, and it is thinning around my forehead. I went paraben free and silicone free 3 years ago, and sulfate free 2 years ago, and I tried conditioner only for 6 months last spring/summer. CO made my hair feel very heavy and greasy. I thought the CO method was making my hair thin, so I went back to shampoo (twice a week).

I was wondering if anyone knows if this method would work on my hair texture. Would it relax my curl? Will this help regrow hair? Does it leave me with a strong odor? How long is the awkward "transition" phase?

I have a shower cap, and am on the verge of trying this.

One more thing - how do I tame the frizzies without putting gunk in it? I use Zum Rub from the Indigo Wild company...

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

Bump-

How's everyone going in their WO journey?

Still oily/waxy here, but so far no funky smell so :cheese:

[caadam]

Bump-

How's everyone going in their WO journey?

Still oily/waxy here, but so far no funky smell so :cheese:

Yay for no smell! :D

My WO journey is still a little bumpy; I'm still in an oily phase, but it's to the point where it doesn't even bother me in public. I keep my hair up that no one notices. I even got a compliment yesterday on my infinity bun. :cheese:

I needed some bigtime clarification because of minerals from my hard water building up on my hair, along with a nasty oiling episode (almond/coconut oil does NOT agree with my hair one bit), but all is well. I did a diluted rinse of Neutrogena anti-residue shampoo with water (like, one small squirt of the 'poo with water in a condiment bottle) two days ago. It helped a lot, then oiled my hair with jojoba, which my hair likes much better. ♥


Then last night, I did an ACV rinse for my scalp (which I've been doing when I feel some itching here and there on my scalp. It helps a lot, and I find myself doing it only once a week), then did a lemon rinse for the rest of my hair (too help remove some minerals. I did one part lemon juice to three parts water in a condiment bottle).

My hair is soft and very shiny! I just needed to refresh my length because my hard water was starting to do a number. And I'm happy now. lol :flower:


ETA: And I'm pleased to announce that I got a BBB from Hair Sense coming in the mail! WHOO! Finally. lol Hopefully it'll help. On another note, the Spring quarter at my college has started and my grant check hasn't come in the mail. Boo. :( I hate our financial aid office.

[Bedhead]

Emy Sue, I think it all depends. Is the thinning enough that you might want to be looking into any health issues? There are a lot of reasons for hair loss other than what we put on our hair.

Saying that, I lost quite a bit of hair due to health reasons in combination with some exterior factors, like my water, and I experienced an abundance of hair regrowth when I started SO. This was after I looked at and made adjustments for the health issues.

As for as starting straight from CO, and washing as often as you do, you might find the transition to be more testing than if you had stretvhed out your washings or had gone WO before NW/SO.

Proo, can you explain more about your experience with your comb please? What changed exactly? What was it that you noticed to come to this conclusion? You seemed so pleased with it.

[PrairieRose]

Hey Everybody!
I've been dabbling in WO for a few weeks, but got serious for the last two weeks. My hair is greasy, not too bad after a wash, but gets greasy again quickly.
Do you all think it's better to wash more often to combat the grease or stretch it out? Previously I would have said wash more often, but not sure now.

[caadam]

I will usually wash every other day or sometimes every day depending on the state of my hair. What would make me wash, like, 2 days in a row is if my scalp was bothering me. My scalp still doesn't like me to stretch washes, after 15 months of trying. lol The good thing is that my scalp is in much better shape now that I'm WO than it was when I was using hair products.

[Kinkycurlygurl]

My hair tends to be dry, so I look forward to feeling the grease. I think my massage technique was faulty. I really got in there and manipulated my scalp last night and the night before and today my hair feels significantly more sebummy.

Does anyone color their hair? The loreal color I use strips my hair beyond belief. What do you use to cover gray?

[proo]

Hmmm where do I begin. .
I'm blessed with a curly/frizzy canopy and straight smooth bottom layer.
If I comb it melds the two textures somewhat, but the canopy always looks blasted out, if ya know what I mean - damaged even though it's not.
When I used to straighten it would smooth out much more.
now that I'm simply massaging and preening it just looks and feels smoother.
I loooved the scritch of that fine toothed comb though.

[lunamummy]

Bump-

How's everyone going in their WO journey?

Still oily/waxy here, but so far no funky smell so :cheese:
Great news about the good smells :) I remember that was your big bugbear :) I'm plodding on - it was going great, then I moved and my weekly washing schedule got disturbed a little and just that minor change has put me back a bit! So back at the pretty waxy with grey goo phase. Sigh.


Hey Everybody!
I've been dabbling in WO for a few weeks, but got serious for the last two weeks. My hair is greasy, not too bad after a wash, but gets greasy again quickly.
Do you all think it's better to wash more often to combat the grease or stretch it out? Previously I would have said wash more often, but not sure now.

Personally stretching has reduced my greasies. It has taken a year to get to washing once a week - and that is with pretty greasy hair for the last couple of days.

[Flittingsis]

In post #2468 caadam mentioned using the built up sebum on the one aide of the comb specifically on the ends. I've been doing this with my new buffalo horn comb (which I LOVE!) And it has been working great! Since I run both morning and evening with my dog, my head gets a bit sweaty. All sweat is is salty water and a few proteins, so in itself is not bad. Salt is drying for the hair so I figure using it to help dislodge the oil from my scalp and roots would be a good thing. I do this by just spritzing my roots, doing a bit of a scritch to dampen all the scalp. Then I take my comb and head up comb it out, flip my head down, use the built up sebum on the ends of my hair, and do a very thorough comb through, using sebum when I can. This has been working great. My ends are nice and coated, very few fly-aways, and my roots are not flat. Every few weeks the length gets a bit frazzled (especially if I get very sweaty) so I add a TINY amount of ACV (to close the cuticles) in my spritz bottle, which lasts for a few days. I also usually add one drop of an essential oil, lavender or jasmine for me, every refill of the bottle. I also use filtered water.
I got my comb on Etsy and it is hand made by a gent in China. It was not terribly expensive ($20) and I use it twice a day. Occasionally I'll use my BBB, but that takes a lot of patients and time for me. The comb is great for my scalp. It's hard enough to scritch with but not pointy like plastic and run smoothly over my two bumps I have on my head.
I'll try and get a pic posted soon, it's a hard thing to do solo!
Happy WOing!

[christiner]

I am one week in to WO. i thought it was going to keep getting greasier every day but the grease peaked at day 2/3 and has not changed/increased. So for now i'm trying to re-distribute it down the length and go from there. My hair doesn't look good, but not awful either.

[LaceyNg]

Bump-

How's everyone going in their WO journey?

Still oily/waxy here, but so far no funky smell so :cheese:

i FINALLY happened upon a way to comfortably stretch my washes! yay! i had been washing daily b/c every time i tried to skip a wash my scalp got all cruddy and itchy. less so than with shampoo, but i was still uncomfortable. so i tried a honey rinse/treatment, and it worked wonders! i didnt wash my hair again till day 9! and even then i only washed it b/c i had sweated a lot, not because my hair felt greasy. i did a 2nd honey treatment, this time mixing it with cinnamon, as i'm trying to lighten my hair a bit, and it worked great again. "the plan" is to do a honey treatment once a week, with no washes in between. maybe even every 8 or 9 days. so i guess taht woudl make me not really WO? my scalp is soooo much more relieved though. i just make sure i scritch at least once a day with both a fine-toothed comb and my nails, and voila! my flakes now are more powdery, as opposed to being bigger and... wetter....? i know, gross....

congrats on the no smell!!!!


Hey Everybody!
I've been dabbling in WO for a few weeks, but got serious for the last two weeks. My hair is greasy, not too bad after a wash, but gets greasy again quickly.
Do you all think it's better to wash more often to combat the grease or stretch it out? Previously I would have said wash more often, but not sure now.

as i mentioned above, i was washing daily-- i assumed that it would keep my scalp happier, as well as help me spread the oil down my length quicker/easier. NOW, my thinking is that my scalp was just dry before, and thats why it was flakey and irritated.... and the water washes were maybe drying it out even more?

as far as the greasies go, i never got the greasiness, but i almost wish i had, b/c i think that would mean MORE to spread down the length, right? and it seems like it's taken me FOREVER to feel like my whole length is coated, and its not even that long!


My hair tends to be dry, so I look forward to feeling the grease. I think my massage technique was faulty. I really got in there and manipulated my scalp last night and the night before and today my hair feels significantly more sebummy.

Does anyone color their hair? The loreal color I use strips my hair beyond belief. What do you use to cover gray?

have you considered a henna/indigo mix? or even coffee and tea has been known to tint hair. i think just tinting it a little could make the gray look like highlights possibly. that said, i think gray hair is beautiful! although i know not everyone is ready to embrace it :)


you know how not too long ago we were talking about how the people close to us react to us being WO? DH doesnt precisely know that i've been WO since november. i keep shampoo and conditioner in the shower and just use it for a body wash instead. i know, sneaky :) but he HAS noticed that i've been stretching my washes, since i get in the shower with my hair up in a bun, and me, him, and the little one all shower together. and he's not happy about it. of course, he showers TWICE a day! god forbid we ever move to france where less showering is more common! he said "i dont know what you've been doing with your hair, but it is NOT looking good. it's more dull now. and there are.... pieces.... that go POOF! all over.... i dont know who told you to wash your hair less often, but they were not right!". between LHC and makeupalley, he thinks i just listen to whatever EVERYBODY online says, and he thinks beauty/hair forums are the devil. lol

he's a very blunt, honest guy, which i appreciate. and if you can, imagine him saying that with a chinese accent and english that isnt 100% perfect, and it was kind of funny, not so hurtful. he's right though, i DO have tiny hairs that go POOF!-- but thats b/c since joining LHC, i've had SO MUCH new growth! and it isnt exactly wanting to lay down like the longer parts :/ but i was disappointed to hear that he thought my hair looks DULL :( b/c personally i think since going WO my hair looks much better! it's softer, feels thicker, lays better, and has more volume. and i dont think it looks dull at all, but maybe just not as shiny as before?

so my thinking was to wait till my hair was looking AWESOME, and THEN mention that i'd been WO... but now that i know he thinks it looks WORSE, i might just not mentioned it till he actualy compliments it, not just when *I* think it looks great.....

at least i have YOU guys to support my WO efforts! :D

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

Hi LaceyNg- I'm really interested in your honey treatment. I not set on WO- if I could find an alternative hair washing technique that didn't involve shampoo or condish, was affordable, environmentally friendly AND doesn't dry my hair terribly like baking soda/vinegar or soapnuts do, then I'd try it! However, no other washing method meets these criteria, and with WO, I have so much less shedding, increased baby hairs (presumably growth) and my hair is much thicker! So a hybrid WO/honey type wash method may be my answer?

I noticed that you and I could be hair twins! I think I have a/b for wave, but since going WO, I'm definitely b/c. I couldn't even conceive of going 8 or 9 days between washes, I feel the oil would be dripping off me! I certainly had no drama getting my sebum coating my hair- since cutting it to APL, it was coated within a week of WO- possibly sooner!

My DH doesn't mind me going WO- as long as I don't smell. He hasn't sniffed my head directly- I've asked him not to this time- I just ask that if he can smell any bad hair smells, let me know. I've reminded him a couple of times to let me know, and he reassures me there is no bad hair odours that he has smelt. Need another cheese!:cheese:

My hair is definitely not awesome- sometimes it is oily, sometimes it is just dull looking. I don't know if it is my sebum or mineral build up, but I still get a fair bit of whitish powdery stuff on my BBB. Does anyone know if there is anyway to distinguish what it is? I'll give it another couple weeks, and if there is no improvement, I might start playing with filtered water or even rain water...(My DH the plumber FINALLY plumbed in my rainwater tank!!! However, I think he's done it right at the end of the wet season, and we may not see rain for another 6 months!!!:()

PrairieRose- great to see you back here too!

Lunamummy- stretching washes has reduced your greasies... I try to stretch washes when DH is away, but feel compelled to minimise any smells when he is home with daily WO washing. I also find the strangest of things seem to help/hinder my greasiness. For example, I put my hair up when fairly wet this morning, did not touch it until it was dry, and when I let it down, it was hardly greasy at all. :confused: Yet when it dries and I "fluff" it or play with it in any way, it is consistently oily/greasy. Preening when damp is a surefire way to guarrantee greasiness. Strange.

If you are still reading this now, then you need a life... as do I!

[PrairieRose]

I have to go out tonight. I was worried about my hair, not usually one to worry, but this time I was.:rolleyes: So I washed WO but did a lemon and honey rinse. My hair looks good. So I'm happy about it and that I didn't have to stray from WO too much. :)

[caadam]

My hair is definitely not awesome- sometimes it is oily, sometimes it is just dull looking. I don't know if it is my sebum or mineral build up, but I still get a fair bit of whitish powdery stuff on my BBB. Does anyone know if there is anyway to distinguish what it is? I'll give it another couple weeks, and if there is no improvement, I might start playing with filtered water or even rain water...(My DH the plumber FINALLY plumbed in my rainwater tank!!! However, I think he's done it right at the end of the wet season, and we may not see rain for another 6 months!!!:()


Usually a white powder is some kind of build up. You might want to try a lemon rinse on your scalp and hair. See how that works out. The citric acid in the lemon will help to remove any minerals on the hair and scalp. Of course, this might leave your hair feeling dry, so you can follow it up with whatever helps to moisturize your hair. :D

[BusyBeeMommy]

Hi all :)

I've been WO for about 5 days now. Its surprisingly going really great. My hair is heavy, but not greasy per se. My scalp has nearly completely stopped itching. Before, I couldn't go more than 24 hours without washing my hair because if I did I'd be itching up a storm. The last 5 days have been completely itch free :)

I do have some flakes, but that's nothing new and nothing I've ever tried has managed to get rid of them.

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi :)

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

Hi all :)

I've been WO for about 5 days now. Its surprisingly going really great. My hair is heavy, but not greasy per se. My scalp has nearly completely stopped itching. Before, I couldn't go more than 24 hours without washing my hair because if I did I'd be itching up a storm. The last 5 days have been completely itch free :)

I do have some flakes, but that's nothing new and nothing I've ever tried has managed to get rid of them.

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi :)

Welcome BusyBeeMommy! I've heard of a couple of people who have tried everything for itchies and flakes and have success with WO for both! Good luck on your WO journey!


Usually a white powder is some kind of build up. You might want to try a lemon rinse on your scalp and hair. See how that works out. The citric acid in the lemon will help to remove any minerals on the hair and scalp. Of course, this might leave your hair feeling dry, so you can follow it up with whatever helps to moisturize your hair. :D

Hmmm, that's what I thought... Unfortunately, I haven't found anything that moisturises my hair apart from commercial conditioner! Oils just seem to coat my hair, and not sink in like others experience.:(
Are there any longtermers who still browse this thread that find that water quality becomes less important the longer your WO? Can your hair acclimatise to harder water? I WO wash my girls hair, and they have lovely hair! So maybe this powdery stuff in my hair isn't from our water source?

On a side note... it rained a little bit last night!! So maybe I'll get some water in my tank in the coming days/weeks instead of months!

[PrairieRose]

Hmmm, that's what I thought... Unfortunately, I haven't found anything that moisturises my hair apart from commercial conditioner! Oils just seem to coat my hair, and not sink in like others experience.:(
Are there any longtermers who still browse this thread that find that water quality becomes less important the longer your WO? Can your hair acclimatise to harder water? I WO wash my girls hair, and they have lovely hair! So maybe this powdery stuff in my hair isn't from our water source?

On a side note... it rained a little bit last night!! So maybe I'll get some water in my tank in the coming days/weeks instead of months!
Same here! Oil coats my hair but does not soak in. I was wondering about my water, but I also do my son's hair WO and his if great. So I guess it just my hair that is the problem.:rolleyes:

[Bedhead]

Ah, gotcha! Yeah that different hair thing can be a bit of a pain. I'm glad the no-comb thing is working for you. :)

-----------------------------------------

Okay, so I'm on my 11th week (can I say this since I clarified last week?), one week since clarification. It's been a hit and miss kind of week as my hair adapted to not having build-up, and trying to find the right amount of moisture. Dispite misting, MO didn't do it for me, and I think jojoba might be a bit too heavy. I kept thinking I needed something that penetrated. So, after listening to my instincts and reading about penetrative oils for the hair, I tried a bit of olive oil - not too much; don't need the greasies - and I think I like my hair again.

The scalp is still working things out, and looks a bit like the fourth week, but doing well otherwise. And despite the olive oil, I just did this yesterday, so I feel like it will take time to fully do it's magic.

All in all, I don't feel so panicky about my gig next week. And besides, if it REALLY cam down to it, I could always simply wash my hair with:eek:sls and cones. ;)

[proo]

What is your gig Bedhead? Are you a musician?
How do you usually wear your hair when gigging?

[Bedhead]

What is your gig Bedhead? Are you a musician?
How do you usually wear your hair when gigging?

Yeah, I'm a singer/ songwriter.

Well, it's been a while since I've had a gig, so my usual was... spiky? lol! I had severely short hair. ;)

However, I've been exploring options in utilizing this NW/SO hair, and I'm thinking maybe doing a Rapunzel Braid (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=61440), with something fun going on in the front. My hair's not that long, but I think it's doable, and will look nice with my hair. I'll just have to practice a lot, or go really slow to make it nice. At least it's not a 5 strand braid!

[Flittingsis]

I, too find that oil on my length just sits there, or worse yet, dries out the ends. Have you tried just oiling your scalp, doing a good massage, then a WO wash? I find that the oil on the scalp helps move the sebum down and away from the roots but after a wash doesn't stick around.

Oh, and here's a pic from today :-)/mnt/sdcard/edited/img_20120406_105436.jpg

[Flittingsis]

Rats, the pic didn't work. I'll try again later

[PolarCathy]

I don't really follow this thread anymore but sometimes I do check back. Just chiming in to mention that my recent discovery, the red palm oil seems to penetrate the hair particularly well. Well it penetrates mine and almost no other oil does. Maybe you guys could give it a try.

PS. It stains (not permanently).

[lunamummy]

Hey Moor_tu_lyfe and PrairieRose - I WO my children's hair too - and in fact my son's gorgeous hair is what originally inspired me! And I *also* have the same problem of oil coating my hair and not soaking in.

However, the other day I braided my hair, wet the tassle and then rubbed a very little coconut oil into it. Then pinned the tassle up for 2 days! When I finally took it down to wash it, it had gone and the tassle was softer. So maybe water helps nonporous hair absorb oil?

WRT to the white powder/grey goo problem. Since my children don't have it I'm convinced it is sebum related. You know how the wax of a cold candle can flake white? Kinda like that. Lovely thought. ATM I only have it for one brushing after it is first dry. I do brush super-thoroughly though - tiny sections with a BBB.

[lunamummy]

Hi all :)

I've been WO for about 5 days now. Its surprisingly going really great. My hair is heavy, but not greasy per se. My scalp has nearly completely stopped itching. Before, I couldn't go more than 24 hours without washing my hair because if I did I'd be itching up a storm. The last 5 days have been completely itch free :)

I do have some flakes, but that's nothing new and nothing I've ever tried has managed to get rid of them.

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi :)

Welcome BusyBeeMommy! I wish you a smooth transition :)

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

Yeah, my sebum is going through a very waxy stage at the moment, so I agree, the white "dust" is probably sebum related. On a plus, my hair doesn't look so oily, but it does look dull. It also has very little shedding, and feels reallllly thick, so... ngh.

Thanks for the suggestion of red palm oil Polar Cathy. Does it stain hair red? My hair is a fairly cool tone of brown, and I'm growing in my sparklies, so I couldn't really use a "tinted" oil. :( However, my hair absolutely doesn't need extra product at the moment. It doesn't feel really moisturised, but doesn't feel at all dry, just thoroughly coated in sebum.:p

lunamommy- I use to use coconut oil, and I would always put it on straight after a shower, onto wet hair (hoping to seal in the moisture) but it still just tended to sit on top. Mind you, this was after vinegar rinses, and my hair was particularly dry.

I'm just gonna sit 'round in my wax helmet for a few weeks- WO washing whenever I feel like it- and see how I go. At least with the waxy stage, it actually looks pretty good when it is up! Only, when it is down, it doesn't move like silky clean hair should... And preening requires some pretty serious hand washing afterwards!

[DoubleCrowned]

Are there any longtermers who still browse this thread that find that water quality becomes less important the longer your WO? Can your hair acclimatise to harder water? I WO wash my girls hair, and they have lovely hair! So maybe this powdery stuff in my hair isn't from our water source?

On a side note... it rained a little bit last night!! So maybe I'll get some water in my tank in the coming days/weeks instead of months!

Water quality was critical at first for me (as was temperature!). Once my hair transitioned, I could wash with tap water without trouble. Rainwater, however, still leaves the hair with the nicest shine.

[caadam]

I find that hard water doesn't make too much of a difference for my scalp as long as I stay diligent in my scalp massages and scritching. I think my scalp is just happy and relieved that it doesn't have product piling up on it anymore. lol If that makes any sense. :D

However, my length starts to feel heavy from the minerals in my water after a while.

[caadam]

On another note, I finally got my grant check in! Whoo! I went to Fred Meyer and got myself a gallon of distilled water and some mineral oil! I figured I'd use the distilled water as a spritz to "refresh" my hair when it needs it in between washes, and I want to see how my hair handles the mineral oil. :D Wish my luck!

ETA: I met this lady in my communications class who has hair down to her waist. She was talking to me earlier in the week about how she's dealing with lots of shedding and how she's very sensitive to hair products (she uses BS, but I kind of think she might be using it too often).

So I referred her to LHC! I was like, "Are you on this forum by chance?"

She said, "Uhm, you know... I looked up sites for long hair a couple years ago, and they all were perverted. LOLOL So like, I might've run into it." And she was a little hesitant in taking the piece of paper with LHC's web address I wrote up for her.

I was like, "... You're not suggesting that I'm encouraging you to go on some hair ****** site, are you?"

She turned so red. lol I laughed and said, "It's a site for people who have long hair, yeah, but there's people on there who have short or medium hair styles, too. They come on the site to chat, exchange hair styles, hair care ideas, and just hang out. It's not perverted at all."

I think that calmed her down a bit, but really? It might've been uncomfortable for her to have a long hair site suggested to her because she had a bad experience in the past, but to obviously suggest that I was giving her a perverted site to go on without asking me exactly what the site was? That made me feel probably just as uncomfortable! lol Ah well.

[PrairieRose]

Very cool caadam!:D

[Rosa]

Hi everyone. I’m going to try SO. I’ve been WO for several weeks, so SO looks like the next thing to try. I’ve gone totally natural with my hair – trying to grow it to at least BSL, and letting it do its thing. I’ve never had long hair in my entire life! Now it’s almost APL.
My hair has been dyed for years, but I quit colouring last October (henndigo). I’ve been wearing my hair up quite a lot (and kind finally use a hair fork!). But my hair has been greasy, then frizzy by turns. The greasiness may be partly due to years of henna. I loved the smoothness and conditioning of the henna, but not the brassiness on my silvers. My goal is to have healthy, lush hair and great scalp condition.
I went WO about three weeks ago, using mineral oil on my ends (trying to go without trims as long as I can). And read through most of this thread, and found SO an intriguing method. It seems logical that the body can clean itself, with a bit of help from scritching and preening. So I’m going to give it a try and see how long I last. So far I don’t have much oiliness, although my lengths look a bit dull. My hair has never looked particularly great at any point since I started growing it – maybe the second day after washing. So I’m curious about how it will respond to SO.
I’m curious about the odour issue. Can I spritz with diluted lavender or other EO to counteract any smell?

[LaceyNg]

Hi LaceyNg- I'm really interested in your honey treatment. I not set on WO- if I could find an alternative hair washing technique that didn't involve shampoo or condish, was affordable, environmentally friendly AND doesn't dry my hair terribly like baking soda/vinegar or soapnuts do, then I'd try it! However, no other washing method meets these criteria, and with WO, I have so much less shedding, increased baby hairs (presumably growth) and my hair is much thicker! So a hybrid WO/honey type wash method may be my answer?

I noticed that you and I could be hair twins! I think I have a/b for wave, but since going WO, I'm definitely b/c. I couldn't even conceive of going 8 or 9 days between washes, I feel the oil would be dripping off me! I certainly had no drama getting my sebum coating my hair- since cutting it to APL, it was coated within a week of WO- possibly sooner!

My DH doesn't mind me going WO- as long as I don't smell. He hasn't sniffed my head directly- I've asked him not to this time- I just ask that if he can smell any bad hair smells, let me know. I've reminded him a couple of times to let me know, and he reassures me there is no bad hair odours that he has smelt. Need another cheese!:cheese:

My hair is definitely not awesome- sometimes it is oily, sometimes it is just dull looking. I don't know if it is my sebum or mineral build up, but I still get a fair bit of whitish powdery stuff on my BBB. Does anyone know if there is anyway to distinguish what it is? I'll give it another couple weeks, and if there is no improvement, I might start playing with filtered water or even rain water...(My DH the plumber FINALLY plumbed in my rainwater tank!!! However, I think he's done it right at the end of the wet season, and we may not see rain for another 6 months!!!)

PrairieRose- great to see you back here too!

Lunamummy- stretching washes has reduced your greasies... I try to stretch washes when DH is away, but feel compelled to minimise any smells when he is home with daily WO washing. I also find the strangest of things seem to help/hinder my greasiness. For example, I put my hair up when fairly wet this morning, did not touch it until it was dry, and when I let it down, it was hardly greasy at all. :confused: Yet when it dries and I "fluff" it or play with it in any way, it is consistently oily/greasy. Preening when damp is a surefire way to guarrantee greasiness. Strange.

If you are still reading this now, then you need a life... as do I!

sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you, Moor_tu_lyfe! wow, we ARE hair twins! :)
i DO think you should give the honey a try! it was actually rec'd to me as a lightening process, but it's been keeping my scalp super happy. after reading up on the honey thread some, the dryness to my hair-- which isnt really dry, but its just my hair NOT getting greasy after a week of no washing-- could be honey residue. but my hair doesnt LOOK like it has buildup on it, and it doenst FEEL like it either. either way, even if it IS residue, another WO rinse should take it right out.

as far as what my honey treatment process IS.... here goes :)
i comb and scritch really well, and then mix up 1 tbsp honey to 6 tbsp distilled water. if you're not interested in the lightening part, you could just use tap, and warm up the mixture a bit in the microwave to get rid of the peroxide in they honey. if you DO want lightening, use distilled, and i added a tbsp of ground cinnamon to help give the peroxide in the honey a kick. i mixed it all up in a hair dye applicator bottle, and then just put most of it on the roots. i was left with a little bit extra that i put over the length, although the length didnt really get thoroughly coated. for containing drips it's reccommended that you use saran wrap and then a swim cap over it, but i just used saran wrap and a towel over that, and i didnt get much dripping. when i used only saran wrap the 1st time i got TONS of drippage, but i think then i also use a different honey t water ratio..... anyways, i let it sit for 6 hours the 1st time, and only 2 hours the 2nd time. in the honey thread if a person wants lightening it's reccomended that you let the mixture sit for and hour and then apply it and leave it on for another hour. and then i just rinse. it's not hard to get out at all. i DO use VERY hot water though, alwys have for my WO washes. AND my water's quite hard, but so far that hasnt seemed to affect anything. unless you count my husband saying my hair looks dull.....

so i might add in a little lemin juice to the next honey treatment, although the acid will make it not lighten as well. and maybe the lemon will get rid of the bad smell my husband complains of as well.


speaking of which, he complained AGAIN abot me not washing my hair and that it smelled, and i told him about being WO and that even if HE thinks my hair looks bad, *I* think it looks better, and my scalp i a million times more comfortable. but i do want to try something to combat thie smell he complains of.


Usually a white powder is some kind of build up. You might want to try a lemon rinse on your scalp and hair. See how that works out. The citric acid in the lemon will help to remove any minerals on the hair and scalp. Of course, this might leave your hair feeling dry, so you can follow it up with whatever helps to moisturize your hair.

what ratio of lemon to water do you use, caadam? shoudl be ok to use with honey mixed in too, right...?


Hi all :)

I've been WO for about 5 days now. Its surprisingly going really great. My hair is heavy, but not greasy per se. My scalp has nearly completely stopped itching. Before, I couldn't go more than 24 hours without washing my hair because if I did I'd be itching up a storm. The last 5 days have been completely itch free :)

I do have some flakes, but that's nothing new and nothing I've ever tried has managed to get rid of them.

Just thought I'd pop in and say hi :)

Hi, BusyBeeMommy! welcome to WO! i'm glad to hear your scalp's feeling better! i can 100% empathize with scalp issues!


I don't really follow this thread anymore but sometimes I do check back. Just chiming in to mention that my recent discovery, the red palm oil seems to penetrate the hair particularly well. Well it penetrates mine and almost no other oil does. Maybe you guys could give it a try.

PS. It stains (not permanently).

what color does it stain/ yellow..? red....? and thanks for the suggestion!



On another note, I finally got my grant check in! Whoo! I went to Fred Meyer and got myself a gallon of distilled water and some mineral oil! I figured I'd use the distilled water as a spritz to "refresh" my hair when it needs it in between washes, and I want to see how my hair handles the mineral oil. :D Wish my luck!

ETA: I met this lady in my communications class who has hair down to her waist. She was talking to me earlier in the week about how she's dealing with lots of shedding and how she's very sensitive to hair products (she uses BS, but I kind of think she might be using it too often).

So I referred her to LHC! I was like, "Are you on this forum by chance?"

She said, "Uhm, you know... I looked up sites for long hair a couple years ago, and they all were perverted. LOLOL So like, I might've run into it." And she was a little hesitant in taking the piece of paper with LHC's web address I wrote up for her.

I was like, "... You're not suggesting that I'm encouraging you to go on some hair ****** site, are you?"

She turned so red. lol I laughed and said, "It's a site for people who have long hair, yeah, but there's people on there who have short or medium hair styles, too. They come on the site to chat, exchange hair styles, hair care ideas, and just hang out. It's not perverted at all."

I think that calmed her down a bit, but really? It might've been uncomfortable for her to have a long hair site suggested to her because she had a bad experience in the past, but to obviously suggest that I was giving her a perverted site to go on without asking me exactly what the site was? That made me feel probably just as uncomfortable! lol Ah well.

LOL! you must just look the sort to encourage people to go to f*tish sites! ;) i've turned a couple people towards LHC, myself. in my head i'm all like "they'll thank me later...." lol

[caadam]

LaceyNg I honestly don't think I do look like one to suggest a site like that. lol I wear loose clothing, long skirts that come down to my feet, and it's still cold here in Washington so I always wear my long, loose sweater and my coat. I've had people assume I'm a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon because I dress very conservatively (in which case I'm neither. I just like that kind of dress).

As far as my lemon rinse... I've done one part lemon juice to 5 parts tepid water. I think adding honey would be nice. :) Never tried it, but it sounds like a pleasant mixture.

On another note, my hair LOVES mineral oil. It's made my hair soft and glossy. It really does help to seal in moisture which is my biggest problem with WO. My hard water dries out my hair a lot, so mineral oil is kind of my best friend. lol :D

[caadam]

I also want to put a question out there for anyone:

Since I got my BBB in the mail, I used it today. I brushed my hair and scalp for about 15 minutes (I had to do it in sections because my hair is thick), and I found that it didn't really make any difference. :( I still got a good amount of sebum on my scalp hair, and not very much on my length. However, I can't say it didn't work at all. I do feel like my scalp hair isn't as oily as it was, but it's still pretty oily nonetheless.

Because of the amount of oil that has accumulated on my scalp hair, will it take a few days for me to work it down my length? Do I just need to be diligent in using my BBB every day, maybe twice a day?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and/or thoughts! :flower:

[Bedhead]

Hi Rosa! Welcome to NW/SO! :cheese:

Hmmm, EO's? I don't know if you'd need any. Many people don't get a really bad smell. I had a moment, but it was also due to what I put in my body. I'm wondering, and not knowing, if EO's would serve to hide what your hair is telling you rather than just help you with any potential smell? I would sit back and see how your hair responds, then decide if you want to go down that route.

As far as the ends are concerned, that's something a few of us have struggled with. At the moment, I've been experimenting with oils, but am not 100&#37; sure that's the solution either - still working things out here and there. But definitely take the time to make sure you feel and even coverage over all your hair, right down to the ends. You'll feel them smooth magically before you want to move onto the next section.

[caadam]

I have a question for ya'll NW/SOers:

I just got my BBB and did a 15-minute brushing session. I sectioned my hair and brushed each section carefully.

My scalp hair is still pretty oily, though, but it did help to move some oil down my length. I'm a little bummed out, but I figured it'd be good to ask this here: If you're dealing with an oily phase, will it take a few days or so to get all the oil piled up on your scalp hair down your length? I've been WO for about three weeks now and no BBB all that time. lol I've been relying on trying to keep it somewhat under control with combing (unsuccessfully) and washing with water.

So will it take time? Do I just have to stay diligent in using my BBB every day and the oil will eventually go away? Thanks. :D

[PrairieRose]

I also want to put a question out there for anyone:

Since I got my BBB in the mail, I used it today. I brushed my hair and scalp for about 15 minutes (I had to do it in sections because my hair is thick), and I found that it didn't really make any difference. :( I still got a good amount of sebum on my scalp hair, and not very much on my length. However, I can't say it didn't work at all. I do feel like my scalp hair isn't as oily as it was, but it's still pretty oily nonetheless.

Because of the amount of oil that has accumulated on my scalp hair, will it take a few days for me to work it down my length? Do I just need to be diligent in using my BBB every day, maybe twice a day?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and/or thoughts! :flower:
I think it wil probably take a few days. Brushing twice a day should be fine. I would keep preening with it though. :)

[KaasKnot]

caadam: it will take a few days, yes. I don't think sebum was designed for long distance travel, so it takes a bit of effort to get it to move. Those of us with long hair are trying to get sebum down a length that, had we been NW/SO for most of our lives, it wouldn't have had to, because it would have coated the ends as they grew from the scalp.

[serin blackwood]

... ... ... ...

[caadam]

... ... ... ...

Now I'm curious. lol Even if it was potentially or slightly discouraging. :p

[serin blackwood]

Now I'm curious. lol Even if it was potentially or slightly discouraging. :p

Ok, well, I was going to say that no, the oil (sebum) does not go away. The best case scenario is that your scalp will adjust and stop producing as much, but the whole scritching, preening and bbb'ing routine is a lifelong management technique of simply distributing sebum evenly, and removing excess to a small extent.

That is the whole point of NW/SO as I see it - to keep the hair coated in a protective layer of natural oils. It's been stated over and over in this long thread that it takes an attitude adjustment for the method to work - how we see healthy, "clean" and "pretty" hair. SW hair will never look like washed hair, and that is why so many of us have mixed it up a bit with an occasional wash, be it water only, shampoo or rinses.

I think it is misleading to let you think that given time, the oiliness will go away, as you asked... it may lessen, but he goal of SW is for it not to go away ...

[caadam]

Ok, well, I was going to say that no, the oil (sebum) does not go away. The best case scenario is that your scalp will adjust and stop producing as much, but the whole scritching, preening and bbb'ing routine is a lifelong management technique of simply distributing sebum evenly, and removing excess to a small extent.

That is the whole point of NW/SO as I see it - to keep the hair coated in a protective layer of natural oils. It's been stated over and over in this long thread that it takes an attitude adjustment for the method to work - how we see healthy, "clean" and "pretty" hair. SW hair will never look like washed hair, and that is why so many of us have mixed it up a bit with an occasional wash, be it water only, shampoo or rinses.

I think it is misleading to let you think that given time, the oiliness will go away, as you asked... it may lessen, but he goal of SW is for it not to go away ...

I see what you mean. And you know, I think it was more of a mistake on my part. I wasn't wording my thoughts correctly, which I sometimes do in forums. lol I admit this; it's just how my thought process goes. :)

I think what I meant by when I asked if the oil would ever go away was, will I be able to get all that piled up oil down the length of my hair. You know what I mean? So it's not as oily looking on my scalp hair, and so the rest of my length gets all that extra oil, too, and my ends!

That's all, and I was just curious as to how long it will take before I start seeing better results.

I realize that my hair will never look the same by going WO, and I know that's something I am getting used to. It's not as fluffy anymore like it was when I using S&C or CO. It looks soft, shiny, and certainly feels and smells nice, but it's textured and definitely looks like it has a layer of sebum on it, especially a day after it's been washed.

So I totally agree with you. Again, it was just me not wording my thoughts correctly, but I do understand what you mean. And thank you for sharing! I appreciate it. :flower:

My only problem with my WO routine is that I have to sometimes chelate in order to remove mineral deposits, because my water is pretty hard. If I don't, my hair doesn't even shine, it becomes so lifeless, and my ends start to look like straw. I do a chelating session with a citric acid rinse (for now with lemon juice, but I have citric acid powder coming in the mail) and it helps immensely.

[LaceyNg]

LaceyNg I honestly don't think I do look like one to suggest a site like that. lol I wear loose clothing, long skirts that come down to my feet, and it's still cold here in Washington so I always wear my long, loose sweater and my coat. I've had people assume I'm a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon because I dress very conservatively (in which case I'm neither. I just like that kind of dress).

As far as my lemon rinse... I've done one part lemon juice to 5 parts tepid water. I think adding honey would be nice. :) Never tried it, but it sounds like a pleasant mixture.

On another note, my hair LOVES mineral oil. It's made my hair soft and glossy. It really does help to seal in moisture which is my biggest problem with WO. My hard water dries out my hair a lot, so mineral oil is kind of my best friend. lol :D

oh my gosh, that makes it even funnier to me then, that you 100% dont look the type to be suggesting such sites, but she STILL was worried you might be! poor woman must have really been traunatized!

thanks for your formula, i'll give it a try and let everybody know how it goes! i'm also considering switching out the lemon with tea though, as a gentler option, so i may try that one first.



I also want to put a question out there for anyone:

Since I got my BBB in the mail, I used it today. I brushed my hair and scalp for about 15 minutes (I had to do it in sections because my hair is thick), and I found that it didn't really make any difference. :( I still got a good amount of sebum on my scalp hair, and not very much on my length. However, I can't say it didn't work at all. I do feel like my scalp hair isn't as oily as it was, but it's still pretty oily nonetheless.

Because of the amount of oil that has accumulated on my scalp hair, will it take a few days for me to work it down my length? Do I just need to be diligent in using my BBB every day, maybe twice a day?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and/or thoughts! :flower:

YOUR question give ME a question: when SHOULD we be BBB'ing? only when our roota are noticeably oily/sebumy?
the reason i ask is b/c i too recently got a BBB, for the purpose of moving along sebum. but since i've started dong the honey treatments, my hair isnt getting oily anymore. like, not at ALL. so should i still BBB? or would it be pointless? the only reason i'm even washing now isnt b/c of oil, but b/c after a bit my hair gets a sweaty smell.

and NAOTHER question: how to you guys combat sweaty smells in your hair without having to wash? what if i get all sweaty the ady after a wash?! i dont want to wash again so soon and upset my cycle, but i dont want to have sweaty smelling hair for a week either. i've tried rose water, but the smell doesnt last all that long. and i *would* try some essential oils, but i'd be worried about getting them back out, even if iused it with something like jojoba oil as a carrier oil.

....? HEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!

:) thanks

[caadam]

I honestly hope I didn't traumatize her. lol I would feel badly.

But as far as the sweaty hair smell... have you tried something like baby powder or corn starch? Those kind of powders will absorb oil but also absorb smell. You can give them a try and use your BBB to brush it through your hair when it's dry. :)

I use my BBB twice a day so I can start pulling down all the excess oil on my scalp hair that's accumulated for the past three weeks. lol It's slowly working, but surely.

I had brought the question onto the NW/SO thread and this one girl said that if I'm doing WO, then my hair will not look the same as it did when I was using conventional products like CO or S&C. She said that the oil will truly never actually go away, but will be worked down my hair. If I keep using my BBB, though, my scalp won't look as oily as it is right now, but will most likely not stop being somewhat oily.

And I agree. I mean, I've been without any hair product on my scalp for a month now, and my hair does have a good amount of sebum on it. I have used a VERY diluted conditioner rinse on the length of my hair in order to help remove certain minerals (and by diluted, I mean a quarter-sized squirt of conditioner in a condiment bottle and the rest filled with water, even letting the water spill over a bit to dilute it even more!), but that's IT as far as anything beyond lemon juice, ACV, mineral oil, distilled water on my ends, and my good ol' hard water. lol

So while that might bum some people out, I honestly would have it this way than going back to S&C or even CO washing. My hair has been getting stronger; it's glossy, soft, and textured; also, I've been shedding WAY less. And I know I've been gushing over this a lot, but my scalp is much better without S&C. lol I just can't get over how better it is.

I also think that what will help subside the extra oil is by me slowly lessening the amount of massaging and scritching I do. Not take it away totally because it's what helps my scalp not starting itching and building up dandruff, but do it less than I have been.

[Rosa]

Thanks for the welcome Bedhead :) I suppose I just assumed my hair (scalp) might smell, especially if I'm not washing after sweaty workouts.Re. ends, baby oil works better than coconut oil for me. But I don't use it regularly and have no experience using it long term.

I know what you mean by an attitude change, Serin. Most of us are so conditioned to expecting hair to look a certain way, and it can be hard to make the attitude change. I've recently decided to let my silvers come in. And that's a whole other paradigm shift! I'm prepared to make changes and learn to scritch and preen. My biggest challenge at the moment is my lengths, which look fairly dull (to me).

[Bedhead]

Caadam, the third week was the scariest week as far as slickness was concerned in both WO and SO, for me anyway. And it calmed down for both. I think now that you're using the lemon/citric acid this will help your transition go more smoothly, as far as WO s concerned, but you still have to go through this. Whether you're looking at this thread or the WO thread, you'll see this, and know that the transition period for WO is anywhere from 6 weeks to a year and a half (a rare few I'm a bit sad for). With NW/SO, at some point, I'd say what we view as the "transition period" never ends completely, to the point WO does, although it does gets better over time, as the sebum slows.

Can it spread to the ends? With diligent smping it can. It looks like frizzinator has fully coated her hair evenly all the way down to the ends and is able to maintain it, but I can't speak for her. However, I don't recall her mentioning dry ends.

Sebum can coat, but it doesn't add moisture. This is why proo talks about spritzing with distilled water. I think this is what I'm struggling with. When I was WO my ends weren't a problem (I was using a bit of jojoba oil). Too, my hair has a lot more curl in it than in any of my pictures in my SO album, and because of my hair type, my hair tends to get dryer easier than let's say a 1a. Anyway, I don't have very long hair, according to LHC, yet I have struggled with my ends getting dry with NW/SO, despite having a time when everything was evenly coated, hence my use of oils.

Hope that helps?

[caadam]

Bedhead Yes, that does help. I really appreciate all the thoughts, encouragement, and reminders from everyone in both this thread and my home WO thread.

I've actually been spritzing my ends with distilled water and then lightly coating them with MO. It's been helping A LOT. MO and my hair are soulmates—my length is like SILK, you guys. lol It's awesome. :) And I haven't had to deal with any buildup now that I've gotten down my washing techniques!

And I've been smping faithfully every day. And even though I sometimes get bummed out when I look in the mirror and nothing seems to have made any progress, it actually has. I put up my hair this morning and I could a big difference with my scalp hair since I've been brushing with BBB for only two days now! And even though my scalp hair is still pretty oily, it's all getting worked down slowly, so I have to keep persisting. :D

[LaceyNg]

I honestly hope I didn't traumatize her. lol I would feel badly.

But as far as the sweaty hair smell... have you tried something like baby powder or corn starch? Those kind of powders will absorb oil but also absorb smell. You can give them a try and use your BBB to brush it through your hair when it's dry. :)

I use my BBB twice a day so I can start pulling down all the excess oil on my scalp hair that's accumulated for the past three weeks. lol It's slowly working, but surely.

I had brought the question onto the NW/SO thread and this one girl said that if I'm doing WO, then my hair will not look the same as it did when I was using conventional products like CO or S&C. She said that the oil will truly never actually go away, but will be worked down my hair. If I keep using my BBB, though, my scalp won't look as oily as it is right now, but will most likely not stop being somewhat oily.

And I agree. I mean, I've been without any hair product on my scalp for a month now, and my hair does have a good amount of sebum on it. I have used a VERY diluted conditioner rinse on the length of my hair in order to help remove certain minerals (and by diluted, I mean a quarter-sized squirt of conditioner in a condiment bottle and the rest filled with water, even letting the water spill over a bit to dilute it even more!), but that's IT as far as anything beyond lemon juice, ACV, mineral oil, distilled water on my ends, and my good ol' hard water. lol

So while that might bum some people out, I honestly would have it this way than going back to S&C or even CO washing. My hair has been getting stronger; it's glossy, soft, and textured; also, I've been shedding WAY less. And I know I've been gushing over this a lot, but my scalp is much better without S&C. lol I just can't get over how better it is.

I also think that what will help subside the extra oil is by me slowly lessening the amount of massaging and scritching I do. Not take it away totally because it's what helps my scalp not starting itching and building up dandruff, but do it less than I have been.

your post made me think "hmmm, as hard as my water is, it might as well qualify as an additional product!" lol!

you know, as a little more time goes on, you may find that you produce less oil than you are now, so you might not have to cut back on scritching at all! and i know how much you must love scritching, b/c i sure do! it's funny though, b/c its similar to scratching, and as a person who's had flakes for a LONG time, i cant tell you how many times i've heard "stop scratching!" so now it's almost like i'm getting away with something :D

thats a good idea about the baby powder or corn starch. i have both, and i think i'll try the corn starch forst, since i dont think it has any smell by itself. i think if i use baby power my husband might smell it and know what i'm up to. and i'd rather he just think my hair's clean, as opposed to it having something else added to it. i know i've heard that idea before, about adding a powder to help with greasiness, but till you said it just now it never crossed my mind that it would help with smell too! thanks again!

now that i have a couple new things to try, i'm ready for my hair to be day 5 or 6 hair again! :)

and i wil second what you said about WO hair having more texture, being softer, etc! i think what's surprised me the most about how my hair behaves now is that it doesnt keep elastic "dents" like it did w/ other washing methods. you know, how if you wear your hair in a ponytail for a while and then take it down you've got that dent in your hair? not now! it amazes me so much taht i can wear my hair up all day and then take it down and it's like it was never up at all! you have no idea how happy this makes me!

[caadam]

Scritching and massaging are the bomb. My scalp loves both.

Anyway, since I'm having a "good" hair day, I took some pictures to show my progress.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2rc1hdz.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/15ib2nt.jpg
You can see my big ear. lol And my ear plug. :p

[Words]

Scritching and massaging are the bomb. My scalp loves both.

Anyway, since I'm having a "good" hair day, I took some pictures to show my progress.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2rc1hdz.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/15ib2nt.jpg
You can see my big ear. lol And my ear plug. :p



Wow, your hair is so shiny!

[caadam]

Wow, your hair is so shiny!

Thanks! :flower: Mineral oil for the friggin' WIN. lol :cheese:

[lunamummy]

Because of the amount of oil that has accumulated on my scalp hair, will it take a few days for me to work it down my length? Do I just need to be diligent in using my BBB every day, maybe twice a day?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and/or thoughts! :flower:



YOUR question give ME a question: when SHOULD we be BBB'ing? only when our roota are noticeably oily/sebumy?
the reason i ask is b/c i too recently got a BBB, for the purpose of moving along sebum. but since i've started dong the honey treatments, my hair isnt getting oily anymore. like, not at ALL. so should i still BBB? or would it be pointless? the only reason i'm even washing now isnt b/c of oil, but b/c after a bit my hair gets a sweaty smell.

and NAOTHER question: how to you guys combat sweaty smells in your hair without having to wash? what if i get all sweaty the ady after a wash?! i dont want to wash again so soon and upset my cycle, but i dont want to have sweaty smelling hair for a week either. i've tried rose water, but the smell doesnt last all that long. and i *would* try some essential oils, but i'd be worried about getting them back out, even if iused it with something like jojoba oil as a carrier oil.

....? HEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!

:) thanks
Lovely, shiny braid, caadam! I've been BBB my hair for over 6 months and I *still* haven't managed to work the sebum down the full length. It's not so much lingering at the scalp, but sort of hanging around the back and my ends are quite dry still. I use it once a day, brushing my hair back and front over 6 or 8 sections. Someone suggested oiling the scalp before BBBing, to help mobilise the sebum, but I also read that oiling the scalp can increase shedding! So haven't dared try that.

LaceyNg, if BBB makes your hair smooth and shiny then I'd say it makes a nice brush anyway, and will get any dust etc out of your hair, even if it isn't needed for sebum moving. You could try putting a few drops of essential oil in a water spritz to perfume your hair without getting it oily. Hmm, actually, I might try that myself!

[christiner]

Lovely, shiny braid, caadam! I've been BBB my hair for over 6 months and I *still* haven't managed to work the sebum down the full length. It's not so much lingering at the scalp, but sort of hanging around the back and my ends are quite dry still. I use it once a day, brushing my hair back and front over 6 or 8 sections. Someone suggested oiling the scalp before BBBing, to help mobilise the sebum, but I also read that oiling the scalp can increase shedding! So haven't dared try that.



i'm having the same issue. i feel like i have a bit too much sebum up top (top 8 inches or so), and i don't want to totally strip it out, but i need it to move down somehow. i don't know what to do!

[lunamummy]

i'm having the same issue. i feel like i have a bit too much sebum up top (top 8 inches or so), and i don't want to totally strip it out, but i need it to move down somehow. i don't know what to do!

I know, right?! I guess I could try preening more regularly. Oh, and I'm going to try LaceyNg's honey treatment. Have you tried honey?

[caadam]

i'm having the same issue. i feel like i have a bit too much sebum up top (top 8 inches or so), and i don't want to totally strip it out, but i need it to move down somehow. i don't know what to do!

It just takes time. Getting sebum to move down the length of your hair from your scalp is going to take days, weeks, maybe months. BUT... just know that even if it does take a while, stay diligent in working it down as gently but surely as possible. :)

Preening, brushing, and/or combing will help to pull sebum down.

[proo]

I regularly swab my scalp with my ends -
really helps get sebum there immediately
as opposed to waiting for it to work it's way down.

[proo]

Microdust them ends, gals - reeeeallly helps.

Also swab the scalp with your ends - rope braid each side, then have at it.

After this I usually put it in an easy wrap (no combing, just a big perimeter rope covered by silky scarf)
for about an hour.

[lidapida]

I don't know if this has already been covered here, but there is one thing about this method that I wouldn't know how to deal with!

I go in periods without washing my hair. I always try to stretch it for as long as I possibly can but at the end of one week I always have to wash it. I can live with the greasy-ness, really, it doesn't bother me very much. It's the smell!
I do not like walking around smelling bad.

Any ways to avoid this part? (That doesn't involve spraying unnatural products and chemicals in your hair!)

[caadam]

I was talking about the smell factor with a girl in the WO thread because she was having an issue with smell herself. I recommended she try using a powder of some kind, like corn starch or baby powder. It helps with oil, but it can also help to absorb smell. Just sprinkle it on and brush it down with a BBB. It's worth a try.

I'm sure everyone in this thread, however, will have more strategies towards getting rid of smells. Hopefully you figure out what'll work best. :)

[proo]

I'm a big fan of airing the hair for freshness -
take it outside for your preen/scritch/comb ritual,
shake it out well, let the breeze blow through.
This gives my hair super freshness.
But I'm 53, not much sebum, no smell.

[Bedhead]

lidapida, The type of smell you're talking about I have a vague memory of from when I started WO (it's been a year). It's different than what I experience with NW/SO. With NW/SO the only smell I've experienced is either from something I ate, for which I've made adaptations, or once in a while my sebum is just a little stronger than usual, for which I'm suspecting hormones. I just thought I should differentiate between my experiences.

For the smell with WO, I chopped up some garlic and let it sit in olive oil before rubbing it onto my scalp. Garlic has a natural antibacterial and antifungal properties, so I thought it would be a good idea. You have to wash it out when you start to feel the burning. The smell of garlic does not linger, and it's definitely effective. I think I did it 3 times before the smell went away. It never came back.

You might want to try a simple Rosemary infusion as a rinse before you go burning your scalp. Had I known about rosemary at the time, I would have definitely tried it, so try it. But if that doesn't work, the garlic will.

[caadam]

Microdust them ends, gals - reeeeallly helps.

Also swab the scalp with your ends - rope braid each side, then have at it.

After this I usually put it in an easy wrap (no combing, just a big perimeter rope covered by silky scarf)
for about an hour.

I did this and it did make some difference! I put my hair in two rope brads and swabbed my scalp hair with the ends of the braids. My ends feel COVERED in sebum now, and there is a little less sebum on my scalp hair. :) That's a pretty neat trick! Thanks, proo. :flower:

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

ugh... my hair is a waxy mess! My DH (who does work a way a fair bit) hasn't told me that it smells (yay!) but it is very waxy, particularly at the back of my head! Doesn't look too bad when it's up, and even if I were to take photos, it wouldn't show up too badly in photos, but it doesn't move normally. It's like I used a tonne of product!

But, it is definitely coated all the way to the ends! It's not as long as it was (now only just past APL, when it use to be past BSL, nearly waist!) but with my copious sebum production, I could possibly share some around if anyone is interest? Anyone?

I took my DDs to the playground today, and there was a little girl there with greasy looking, stringy hair. I haven't used shampoo or condish on my daughters hair in months, and their looks shiny and soft and clean with WO (although sometimes it does smell a bit musty, EO's on my eldest's head is great for keeping away headlice AND musty smells!:D). The contrast between this other girl and my DDs was reassuring that WO can work (but definitely had me questioning her parents hygiene as she was only 2-ish).

So my excess sebum production must just be my fault, not a water quality issue. :confused: Wonder what I can do? I'll give it a few more weeks and see if it improves...

I

[caadam]

It sounds like your scalp is somehow still producing excess oil. It'll eventually stop, but it'll take time.

You could help to work it down with a BBB or fine tooth comb (wood or horn). And remember preening helps, too. :D

[Bedhead]

I think micro-dusting was what made my hair freak a few weeks back and dry up. Before that, I was just struggling with my damage a bit. My lesson learnt was that I cut it dry but did not replenish any moisture right away.... I'm learning.

Anyway, I've found between the olive oil and distilled water, my hair is quite happy. I've been doing half-up 'do's for a couple days now, without incidence. :)

[KaasKnot]

I'm setting off on week three of NW/SO. Things are... Oily. Yep. The sebumy patch over my left ear has spread to my crown. I've started to give my hair a swipe with a cloth after grooming to try and sop up extra sebum. I've kind of also eased up on the grooming to once a day rather than twice, under the theory it will minimize damage by handling. My scalp feels less tetchy, at least.

I have been experiencing a strong sebumy smell, though. Bedhead, you mentioned using garlic to minimize smell when you went WO. If I were to try that, and follow it with a WO before returning to SO, do you think it might help, or is that best for when you regularly rinse it to remove lingering traces?

[Bedhead]

Try the rosemary infusion first KaasKnot, then make a decision. At least with the infusion, you can just mist a bit on your scalp, without having to wash. It can set you back a few days, but it's not too bad. When I clarified it took me 10 days to get back on track. But since you're at the three week stage, you might find it will relieve you a bit of the abundance of sebum you've been wiping off. I think the garlic should be the last resort if you're trying to do NW/SO, since you'd need to do a very thorough WO to get the oil out.

[Bopoluchi]

woohoo! first post! I've been stalking LHC for ages and have finally joined. I'm about a month into nw/so after playing with indian hair care and WO for 2 years.

About smell, I'm really into rosewater on my lengths for moisture and i used to massage a tiny bit into my scalp to make it smell pretty but i havent done that for a while. i've also tried a dry shampoo of cinnamon powder which was fantastic for my scalp and made me smell pretty. just pour 1 tbsp into a small dish, dip your fingers in, massage it into your scalp and comb/brush it all out after you've left it for a bit. while it was awesome for my scalp and i liked the smell, i don't like the feeling of having grit in my hair and it took a couple of days for my hair to be cinnamon-free. But i reckon that if you just get the sebum moving (smp, combing/brushing, whatever it is you do) the smell will gradually go away. that's what happened to me anyway. a good diet with lots of vegies and water cant hurt either. hope that helps :)

[Bedhead]

Welcome Bopoluchi! And what a first post it is! - Stacked with helpful information! :D

It's true, diet is key in the WO/NW/SO world. I eat very healthily to begin with, but at the moment I'm doing a detox and I've noticed a very nice improvement.

---------------------------

I have a question about the end tucking technique. This morning and last night, when I took my hair down, I'm finding my ends are moisturized and doing fine, but they're all scrunched and kinky-like. If that was my normal hair that would be fine, but it 's not. It also seems to happen more if I spritz my hair with water before I bun or braid, but I'm not sure if that's just because I'm not as careful to tuck nicely because I've spritzed. Any suggestions?

[Kinkycurlygurl]

Welcome Bopoluchi! And what a first post it is! - Stacked with helpful information! :D

It's true, diet is key in the WO/NW/SO world. I eat very healthily to begin with, but at the moment I'm doing a detox and I've noticed a very nice improvement.

---------------------------

I have a question about the end tucking technique. This morning and last night, when I took my hair down, I'm finding my ends are moisturized and doing fine, but they're all scrunched and kinky-like. If that was my normal hair that would be fine, but it 's not. It also seems to happen more if I spritz my hair with water before I bun or braid, but I'm not sure if that's just because I'm not as careful to tuck nicely because I've spritzed. Any suggestions?

May be a doughnut bun would work for you. Get one of those mesh hair doughnuts and put your pony tail through the hole, then carefully roll your end s over and over the doughnut until the bun meets your scalp. That should keep your ends smooth although they will have a slight bend.

[DoubleCrowned]

ugh... my hair is a waxy mess! My DH (who does work a way a fair bit) hasn't told me that it smells (yay!) but it is very waxy, particularly at the back of my head! Doesn't look too bad when it's up, and even if I were to take photos, it wouldn't show up too badly in photos, but it doesn't move normally. It's like I used a tonne of product!
....

So my excess sebum production must just be my fault, not a water quality issue. :confused: Wonder what I can do? I'll give it a few more weeks and see if it improves...


Sounds like a normal transition to me. You might try some mopping with an absorbent cloth or other methods mentioned in this thread to remove excess sebum, but your scalp will gradually be convinced that it can relax. It may take more than a few weeks, though. It was about 5 months before my hair would have been okay down.

Sebum quality is linked to health, so you might find dietary improvements or other health-enhancing measures that help speed the process.

[Bedhead]

May be a doughnut bun would work for you. Get one of those mesh hair doughnuts and put your pony tail through the hole, then carefully roll your end s over and over the doughnut until the bun meets your scalp. That should keep your ends smooth although they will have a slight bend.
I don't know what that is Kinkycurlygirl, but I'll definitely poke around and find out. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

Doublecrowned, thanks for the reassurance that this is just normal transition. I am aware that sebum quality is related to health in general, and have been eating whole foods only for about 7 months now, and have recently introduced lots of fermented foods to boot. I am also very conscious of my chemical load around my house etc.

I've been doing a WO wash about every second day- is there any benefit to trying to stretch these washes at this stage? As I said, my hair is very waxy, and I preen, BBB and scritch about twice a day. After each session, the waxiness seems to change from waxy, dusty and "matte" looking to more oily. After about 2 days, it doesn't look so good (oily and stringy), even when up, so I WO.

I don't want to extend transition any longer then is necessary, so just wondering if there is anything that I could be doing to help it along. Thanks for any advice.

[DoubleCrowned]

Doublecrowned, thanks for the reassurance that this is just normal transition. I am aware that sebum quality is related to health in general, and have been eating whole foods only for about 7 months now, and have recently introduced lots of fermented foods to boot. I am also very conscious of my chemical load around my house etc.

I've been doing a WO wash about every second day- is there any benefit to trying to stretch these washes at this stage? As I said, my hair is very waxy, and I preen, BBB and scritch about twice a day. After each session, the waxiness seems to change from waxy, dusty and "matte" looking to more oily. After about 2 days, it doesn't look so good (oily and stringy), even when up, so I WO.

I don't want to extend transition any longer then is necessary, so just wondering if there is anything that I could be doing to help it along. Thanks for any advice.

The hardest thing about WO, in my opinion, is that you have to learn to read your hair and scalp conditions. It sounds like you have made wonderful progress in that area already.

What happened me was that I had to quit brushing my hair during the transition because it made such an oily mess. Even washing in the shower could be too much stimulation for my scalp. For several weeks, therefore, I finger-combed only.

The trick at the stage it sounds like you are in, is to convince the scalp that it can do less work at the same time you find a way to remove the excess sebum and oil. One method you might try, very carefully in the shower, is to use a wet or dry cloth to remove some of the sebum. We discuss it on page 179.

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

Thanks for the advice DoubleCrowned. I'll try less BBB and preening, and I'll go reread page 179 for that technique.

Edit: Tee hee hee, that was me back in October last year that you were explaining the terry towling method to! (The last time that I tried to go WO!) I knew that I had read it previously!

[DoubleCrowned]

Thanks for the advice DoubleCrowned. I'll try less BBB and preening, and I'll go reread page 179 for that technique.

Edit: Tee hee hee, that was me back in October last year that you were explaining the terry towling method to! (The last time that I tried to go WO!) I knew that I had read it previously!
How funny, I didn't notice! We have already established that foodstuffs on you hair are not a good idea, right? How about spritz-washing? It is basically just dampening the oily parts with distilled water, in sections, and wiping dry with an absorbent cloth.

[PrairieRose]

I have been WO for about 3 weeks now! YAY! This time around it seems to going better.:)
I have been lightly oiling my scalp and using my fine tooth horn comb and BBB before washes. It does seem to help. I did use a lemon rinse once and ACV, but not all the time. My hair does look greasy after a few days, but honestly it was the same before WO, maybe I just can't stretch washes as much as I would like.

caadam How is the mineral oil working for you? Do you have a problems washing it out with WO?

[christiner]

I have been WO for about 3 weeks now! YAY! This time around it seems to going better.:)
I have been lightly oiling my scalp and using my fine tooth horn comb and BBB before washes. It does seem to help. I did use a lemon rinse once and ACV, but not all the time. My hair does look greasy after a few days, but honestly it was the same before WO, maybe I just can't stretch washes as much as I would like.

caadam How is the mineral oil working for you? Do you have a problems washing it out with WO?

what kind of oil do you use? and does it come out with just water? i'm afraid to put any oil on, i don't want to make things worse and then *have* to shampoo it out.

[PrairieRose]

what kind of oil do you use? and does it come out with just water? i'm afraid to put any oil on, i don't want to make things worse and then *have* to shampoo it out.
I use either jojoba oil or camellia oil. I only use a tiny bit, it comes out just fine. My hair actually looks less greasy when I do this! :D

[christiner]

I use either jojoba oil or camellia oil. I only use a tiny bit, it comes out just fine. My hair actually looks less greasy when I do this! :D

where do you find jojoba oil? i've been looking around for some and i think i'm just not looking in the right place. would a natural/organic/fancy food type grocery store have it?

[PrairieRose]

where do you find jojoba oil? i've been looking around for some and i think i'm just not looking in the right place. would a natural/organic/fancy food type grocery store have it?
I ordered mine from the internet...Amazon I think. I do think I have found it in natural health food stores too.

[caadam]

where do you find jojoba oil? i've been looking around for some and i think i'm just not looking in the right place. would a natural/organic/fancy food type grocery store have it?

There's jojoba oil at Fred Meyer in the natural section, and they have jojoba oil at Trader Joe's where all the soaps and bath stuff are. :D

[proo]

About those kinked ends, that happens to me if I spritz before I put it up.
I must put it up first, usually in a crown braid, then spritz & cover with a silky scarf.
Must be the greenhouse effect - this moisturizes ends best so far.

[Rosa]

Just wondering - my hair seems to be getting quite dirty. I use a light coloured wide tooth comb, and am noticing a lot of grey (very dark grey!) oils collecting at the base of the teeth. There's also a lot of greyish residue under my nails after scritching. How do you guys get rid of the dirt? Is preening enough? My hair doesn't smell, but I work out 3 to 4 times a week, and my scalp is dealing with a considerable amount of sweat. I'm probably not scritching and preening properly. I'd appreciate any tips or suggestions though :) thanks!
Bopoluchi, thanks for your post and hi there :)
I like the sound of cinnamon powder as a dry shampoo. What a great tip, thank you.

[Bedhead]

I think that's a passing phase. I went through this about week 4-5??? Something like that. It lasted about a week. I was concerned, but scritched a lot, but very gently, and upped my preening to two an a bit times a day. Are you scritching and preening right after you sweat? Doing it right away, when there's still some dampness makes it seem like you never broke a sweat.

Proo I'll try that, thank you. I bought brand new scissors today and am going to even up my ends then oil with olive oil for my gig tomorrow (I really hope I don't slip!). I think that will help.

Kinkycurlygurl, I think I'm going to opt out of the donut for now, but I'll keep it in mind. It also seems to be for shorter hair, non? Thanks for the suggestion! :)

[Rosa]

Thank you Bedhead. I probably need to scritch and preen more often. Good luck with your gig (although by now, it's probably been and gone... if so, hope it went well)

[LaceyNg]

Scritching and massaging are the bomb. My scalp loves both.

Anyway, since I'm having a "good" hair day, I took some pictures to show my progress.

http://i39.tinypic.com/2rc1hdz.jpg

http://i41.tinypic.com/15ib2nt.jpg
You can see my big ear. lol And my ear plug. :p

gorgeous, caadam!
thanks for sharing! i need to stop being lazy and take some new hair pics for you guys. i'm going to do another honey treatment soon, within the next few days or so, and i'll take some "after" pics, since it'll be my 3rd treatment and i want to see if lightening is obvious at all.



LaceyNg, if BBB makes your hair smooth and shiny then I'd say it makes a nice brush anyway, and will get any dust etc out of your hair, even if it isn't needed for sebum moving. You could try putting a few drops of essential oil in a water spritz to perfume your hair without getting it oily. Hmm, actually, I might try that myself!

you're probably right-- and i'll bet it does a better job of removing dust than my fine tooth comb does, for sure!

have any of you here tried the EO's in water before? just pick a scent i like? and since oil and water dont really mix, just shake like crazy right before spraying it on? i think i might give it a go.... more for DH's sake than my own though.


I know, right?! I guess I could try preening more regularly. Oh, and I'm going to try LaceyNg's honey treatment. Have you tried honey?

let me know how the honey treatment goes for you, lunamummy! :)


where do you find jojoba oil? i've been looking around for some and i think i'm just not looking in the right place. would a natural/organic/fancy food type grocery store have it?

i dont know if you all have Natural Grocer's where you're at, but thats where i get mine. the "Now" brand. for a small bottle it's $4 and some change. but that bottle will last me quite a while! i would think that other natural grocers, like wholefoods would have it, but WF is sooo expensive!


HONEY TREATMENT UPDATE:

sooooo, i WO washed my hair 4 days ago or so, just the WO wash, no honey treatment, b/c my hair was getting smelly, like sweat. that was right before my last post. now it's been a few days and my flakes are coming back. not liek they were before when i would try to stretch washes though, so thats good. i guess the honey residue left on my scalp before is what kept the flakes away for such a long period of time? after i do this next treatment here in a few days (i'm going to see if i can stretch to a whole week b/t washes again) i'm not going to do another WO wash till i'm ready for a honey treatment again. so no WO washing in between. i'm thinking i might get too much honey residue buildup though, so we'll see. in the meantime, i've been using a rooibos tea spray on my roots mostly and a tad bit on my length every other day. my thinking is that it should remove some buildup from honey/ hard water, and hopefully make my hair look less dull. well, that's my HOPE, at least! and i figure it's less acidic and less harsh than ACV or lemon would be.

2 sprayings so far with a day in between, and my hair doesnt feel particularly dry. i do think it helped to sooth my scalp a bit though, so thats nice. and of course there are the rumored growth benefits that rooibos can have. we shall see :)

[Bedhead]

Thanks Rosa! My gig went well! I'm very happy with it, and it just felt good to share again, Thanks for the support. :) And please let us know how you do with the extra scritching an preening.

My hair actually turned out well! NW/SO hair is amazing for braided 'do's! Unfortunately, my hair is a little too short for a full braided effect of all three braids of the Rapunzel braid, so I wrapped them around the central braid instead, and they fell out without my noticing. People still complimented it though.

And I have to say, I think I hit that spot where my scalp isn't going to throw any tantrums anymore and squirt out a massive amount of sebum. I went through another menstrual cycle and didn't get any waxies whatsoever, not even mildly like I did in the past. The combination of the clarification, distilled water, olive oil and sharper scissors has helped my damage dramatically, as in it's hard to see, but I can still feel it when I preen. My ends are enjoying the luxurious olive oil, and it seems this has calmed the scalp down too, like it's saying , "Oh okay, I'll just relax and let someone help me do my chores I've been working so hard to do all these years." kind of thing. So all in all I'm happy! It's been a long haul to get here, but I think I made it. I'm not even scared to go on a date, it's working out so well. ;)

Have a lovely Sunday all!!! May the sun shine into your souls and make them smile!

ETA: P.S. Pics are up!

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

have any of you here tried the EO's in water before? just pick a scent i like? and since oil and water dont really mix, just shake like crazy right before spraying it on? i think i might give it a go.... more for DH's sake than my own though.


I've tried the EO's in water ina spray bottle. I use one for headlice prevention on my DD's hair- it has eucalyptus, tea tree and lavender in it currently. At first it smells like eucalyptus, but by the end of the day, the lavender seems to come to the front, and she smells like subtle perfume.:) I've used it in my hair this round of WO experimenting, and had dramas, but my hair still hasn't transitioned, so can't help from that side. I also haven't used it in a few weeks... might try it again soon!

Apart from that, I've used nothing on my hair except water- too scared to try food stuff after the stinky head episode I had last WO experiment!:scared:

However, DH confirmed for me just yesterday that my hair doesn't smell bad at all! (Although he said it doesn't look particularly good though...:() I told him that should get better, as long as I don't smell!

[piratejenny]

Hi dear NW/SO experts, here's a question from a regular lurker to your thread...

I'm not really trying to get to a NW routine at this point as I need to look groomed for work and a 5 month WO experiment last year was already pushing the limit of what I was willing to endure look-wise :cool:. I am only washing with rhassoul or eggs, though, and I am trying to stretch my washes. And here's my question. If I stretch my washes beyond 4 or 5 days I start getting bad scalp acne which disappears quickly when I wash again. Has anybody here ever experienced something similar and what do you do?

Between washes I scritch and preen and I generally think that my scalp is in pretty good shape. I've never had problems with dandruff or flakes of any kind and so I'm a little confused as to where this is now coming from. I did occasionally have outbreaks during my WO experiment but my hair was in way worse shape then. It's not getting that greasy any more at all. I can actually combat occasional oil outbreaks quite well with a bit of dry shampoo (I'm also convinced this depends mainly on hormones and diet by the way). So if it wasn't for painful pimples I could actually go much longer than 5 days between washes (or so I think :D).

Any ideas? Thanks :flower:

[JillieRose]

Hi all! Gosh, it's been ages since I was last here. Been WO for a few years now, with occasional CO, but a couple of weeks ago I went to the hairdresser who gave me a great trim (man my ends were scraggly) but whose S&C did a number on my hair.

Flaky scalp and weird smelling hair aside, I have been getting weird grey sticky stuff in my comb. So back to the LHC for me, where I was given the advice I needed (oil your comb and hang in there) by....

errr...

Myself from three and a bit years ago.

How's that for odd?

[Bedhead]

Hi Pirate Jenny,

Three things come to mind. The first two are diet and hormones. The other is you didn't mention massaging your scalp. This isn't talked as much about I know, but it is an important part of the process, and besides it feels good.

If you are massaging, great, but if you aren't please start, both the general moving of your scalp skin and then the pressing a little more and massaging the sebum in, in a way to every spot on your head.

After that, keep track of what you're eating and see if there's a common factor.

But do each thing one at a time, so you know what's doing what.

I hope that helps! :flower:

[proo]

Hey sebumpeeps, just checking in -
I'm experimenting today with spritzing dry hair with distilled water
combing through with a MO oiled comb
then putting it up in a silk wrap (hair wrapped smooth around the whole head covered by saran, then a silky scarf)
It's up now; shootin for smooth shine.
Obsessed with silk wrapping.

[LaceyNg]

I've tried the EO's in water ina spray bottle. I use one for headlice prevention on my DD's hair- it has eucalyptus, tea tree and lavender in it currently. At first it smells like eucalyptus, but by the end of the day, the lavender seems to come to the front, and she smells like subtle perfume.:) I've used it in my hair this round of WO experimenting, and had dramas, but my hair still hasn't transitioned, so can't help from that side. I also haven't used it in a few weeks... might try it again soon!

Apart from that, I've used nothing on my hair except water- too scared to try food stuff after the stinky head episode I had last WO experiment!:scared:

However, DH confirmed for me just yesterday that my hair doesn't smell bad at all! (Although he said it doesn't look particularly good though...:() I told him that should get better, as long as I don't smell!

thanks, Moor_tu_lyfe! do you spray your DD's hair daily? and just a few drops of the oils in a spray bottle?


Hi all! Gosh, it's been ages since I was last here. Been WO for a few years now, with occasional CO, but a couple of weeks ago I went to the hairdresser who gave me a great trim (man my ends were scraggly) but whose S&C did a number on my hair.

Flaky scalp and weird smelling hair aside, I have been getting weird grey sticky stuff in my comb. So back to the LHC for me, where I was given the advice I needed (oil your comb and hang in there) by....

errr...

Myself from three and a bit years ago.

How's that for odd?

:lol: ! well, it IS great advice! that's funny though :p
i'm curious-- why'd you have the stylist S&C? couldnt they just skip that part and wet the hair? i'd HATE to have my hair stripped of sebum, since it takes soooo long to get the length coated again!

[piratejenny]

Hi Pirate Jenny,

Three things come to mind. The first two are diet and hormones. The other is you didn't mention massaging your scalp. This isn't talked as much about I know, but it is an important part of the process, and besides it feels good.

If you are massaging, great, but if you aren't please start, both the general moving of your scalp skin and then the pressing a little more and massaging the sebum in, in a way to every spot on your head.

After that, keep track of what you're eating and see if there's a common factor.

But do each thing one at a time, so you know what's doing what.

I hope that helps! :flower:

Thanks Bedhead!! (love your user name :D) I'm sitting here massaging my head, we'll see if that'll change anything. Your other two points, well, I think my diet is not so bad - I will sin regularly but my basic diet is whole grain, veggies and fruit - hormones, well, there is only so much I can do here... I'm 40 years old, though, and after two pregnancies pretty tuned into my cycle and the crazy things hormones will do to you (essentially I blame them for pretty much anything :taz:).

Back to the thread, I do have to say that NW is definitely better for my hair than WO. I think the rhassoul clay I use for my washes doesn't remove all the sebum because even after a clay wash my hair doesn't feel stripped at all. I hope I can just keep stretching my washes once I get this scalp issue under control, and so eventually I just might end up naturally with NW. Might take me a few years, though...
:popcorn:

Cheers to all of you NW/SO ers. I'm following your adventures with a lot of interest and fascination :toast:

[earthnut]

I've done WO at times in the past, I find massage, soaking the serum and moving it down, and combing a lot to be key.

[JillieRose]

Basically I thought "why not?" I've had the odd s&c for haircuts before, it's never done this before. Different hair dresser, different results. Next time i'll just CO it before I go. Forewarned etc!

but, since my hair is back above bsl now, shouldn't take too long to fix. Plus I'm on holiday this week so it doesn't matter how weird my hair is! :)

[earthnut]

I did NW once on a long camping trip. My hair was in serious shampoo withdrawl but I did learn that brushing was critical, and that I'd rather wash than brush. I've slowly reduced my shampoo use and now can go for short NW periods without much problem. I'd like to use as little products as possible.

[Bedhead]

Thanks Bedhead!! (love your user name :D) I'm sitting here massaging my head, we'll see if that'll change anything. Your other two points, well, I think my diet is not so bad - I will sin regularly but my basic diet is whole grain, veggies and fruit - hormones, well, there is only so much I can do here... I'm 40 years old, though, and after two pregnancies pretty tuned into my cycle and the crazy things hormones will do to you (essentially I blame them for pretty much anything :taz:).

Back to the thread, I do have to say that NW is definitely better for my hair than WO. I think the rhassoul clay I use for my washes doesn't remove all the sebum because even after a clay wash my hair doesn't feel stripped at all. I hope I can just keep stretching my washes once I get this scalp issue under control, and so eventually I just might end up naturally with NW. Might take me a few years, though...
:popcorn:

Cheers to all of you NW/SO ers. I'm following your adventures with a lot of interest and fascination :toast:

Hey there!

It sounds as though your eat quite healthily, and in a similar fashion that I do, but don't discount diet because if this. There may be something that you eat regularly that is contributing to what's going on. I found out only a year ago I'm allergic to the Nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes, tobacco), and one of the major symptom is boil-like acne on my neck lymph nodes and my cheekbones - not fun. Anyway, all I'm saying is something that might seem innocent because it's so normal, might not be so great for you, so keep your eye open.

I hope the massaging helps - it's the 'M' in "smp'ing", so scritch, massage and preen! :)

[Bedhead]

I did NW once on a long camping trip. My hair was in serious shampoo withdrawl but I did learn that brushing was critical, and that I'd rather wash than brush. I've slowly reduced my shampoo use and now can go for short NW periods without much problem. I'd like to use as little products as possible.
That's certainly one of the factors in my doing it too. It's nice not having to worry about all the different products people use on a day to day basis.

[Bopoluchi]

Hi Pirate Jenny, rosewater is awesome for acne (plus it smells fab). maybe you could try massaging a little into your scalp.

[piratejenny]

Hi Pirate Jenny, rosewater is awesome for acne (plus it smells fab). maybe you could try massaging a little into your scalp.

That's a good idea! I will add this to my "test plan" :). I'll also try the cinnamon dry shampoo you mentioned earlier. I'm occasionally using commercial dry shampoo right now (mainly because it's so easy to apply :o) but cinnamon sounds good!!

[Kamir0]

Hello NW/SO peeps! :D

I found this thread by accident while I was experimenting with oil shampoo back in January, and starting stretching my washes while reading this entire thread and the entire archived NW progress thread.

Although I liked the effect of "shampooiling" :p my scalp and hair smelt rancid after about a week, which I thought was the coconut oil "turning" so I decided to switch to WO, but I hate how my hair feels and how my combs/brushes are covered in grey gunk for days afterwards... Yuck!

My last oil shampoo was either on January 21st or 28th(?), and after that I rinsed once about 5 1/2 weeks ago (March 10th?).
I rarely mist (I haven't in weeks) and I didn't oil my ends for ages, so I ended up trimming because my ends felt like hay. :(
I have since decided to be more flexible about it, and have oiled my ends and damaged hair with cocoa butter (which doesn't seem to turn rancid as opposed to coconut oil).

I have read several people mentioned pimples and I occasionally have some, but then again, I get blemishes on my face, chest and back too, and I did also while on shampoo, etc.
It was interesting to read that BedHead had pimples due to food allergy, and I wonder if mine could be food-related or hormone-related (I'm vegan and my diet is pretty good).

Speaking of diet, I recently started taking a DHA (omega 3) supplement again, and my scalp scritching yielded yellow gunk for a few days, rather than the usual white gunk.

As of now, my hair is pretty decent up (I rarely wear it down anymore because I'm shooting for classic length this year), the crown area is oiliest (dare I say, waxiest) and most of my ends are moisturized, save the damaged ends around my face (heat damage I think), which I trimmed again last night (much shorter than the back, because I'm also growing out bangs/fringe).
I am wearing my hair down at the moment (I work from home so it's convenient), because I think the waxiness in my crown area could be as a result of wearing my hair in this spot exclusively. I like high buns, and they help contain my bangs without pins...
I thought tucking my ends would help moisturize them, but I think my scalp is suffocated as I wear my hair up in a bun even to sleep...
I may go "air it" out in the garden later on... :)

I have DBF check my scalp for funky smell every day (hello paranoia) but he only says it smells stronger than before, although not in a bad way (whatever that means)... He can only smell it really close, so nobody else would be able to tell.

On another note, I follow a pretty intense workout routine at the moment (BeachBody Insanity), which makes me sweat a lot, and if anything, my scalp is happier for it, like the sweat is "cleaning" it?
I have been having baths more than showers also (due to the shower head not working) and rinsing with a jug, and I actually like it better.
My hair gets steamed up (except the hair under my bun, where it is waxiest) and it feels fluffy afterwards (as described by other NW/SOers).

I scritch and fingercomb (preen unprecisely) every day (ideally twice a day) and try to massage and preen (more thoroughly) too, but it takes ages so I sometimes feel lazy about it. My ends feel much better when I preen, and I am not sure whether massaging makes a difference, but it sure feels good. :)
I have trouble massaging the back of my head though, because I have neck problems, so I have to rest my forehead on the bed (I smp upside down).

I am not sure I will stay NW forever, but I definitely have decided to never use S/C ever again (my back acne has reduced tremendously).
I may experiment with herbs/clay if/when I decide to henna, but in the meantime, I won't WO (I'd much rather have greasy hair than sticky hair).
If my scalp starts smelling or if I feel like smelling pretty, I may mist with EO, or a coffee ground infusion (steeping used coffee grounds in filtered water and straining) but that's it.

I'm sure no [soap-based] product has touched my hair in ages BTW, because I am WO on the face and body (save the occasional coffee ground scrub, and aloe gel on face/coconut oil on body). I also dry brush my body (I haven't found a face/complexion brush made of plant fiber bristles so I scritch in the shower...).

Well, that's a long post. :o
Thanks for reading. :flower:

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

thanks, Moor_tu_lyfe! do you spray your DD's hair daily? and just a few drops of the oils in a spray bottle?

Yeah, I spray her hair daily. We just finished 2 weeks of school holidays without any spray in her hair, and occassionally, while it was still wet, it smelled a bit musty- not strong at all, and it's difficult to find a good word to describe it. I never have this problem when I spray her hair daily- it really smells a bit like perfume after the eucalyptus has worn off in the afternoon. :shrug:

Because I am trying to deter the blighted little buggers (head lice) I have quite a bit of EO in the spray bottle- in a 500mL (1/2 quart) bottle, you can see about 1cm (bit less then half inch) of oil floating on top. I always shake it thoroughly before spraying, and I have to be careful not to get it in her eyes (she opens them after I have finished spraying, sometimes it must be still in the air...). I will spray until most of her hair is wet (I really don't like head lice :mad:) but by the time she gets to school, the smell isn't very strong at all.

I'm still getting the grey sticky stuff on my brush (less noticable on comb) but am hesitant to take up JillieRose's advice- adding oil to comb. After the smell fiasco last time, I'll probably keep any additional oil off my head unless absolutely necessary. However, I might start more regular brushing/combing for a while since the oilies aren't so bad, just the waxies... maybe they need to be balanced out, and some sebum stimulation might help remove the sticky, waxy feeling that is covering my hair!

I'll keep you posted.

[LaceyNg]

Yeah, I spray her hair daily. We just finished 2 weeks of school holidays without any spray in her hair, and occassionally, while it was still wet, it smelled a bit musty- not strong at all, and it's difficult to find a good word to describe it. I never have this problem when I spray her hair daily- it really smells a bit like perfume after the eucalyptus has worn off in the afternoon. :shrug:

Because I am trying to deter the blighted little buggers (head lice) I have quite a bit of EO in the spray bottle- in a 500mL (1/2 quart) bottle, you can see about 1cm (bit less then half inch) of oil floating on top. I always shake it thoroughly before spraying, and I have to be careful not to get it in her eyes (she opens them after I have finished spraying, sometimes it must be still in the air...). I will spray until most of her hair is wet (I really don't like head lice :mad:) but by the time she gets to school, the smell isn't very strong at all.

I'm still getting the grey sticky stuff on my brush (less noticable on comb) but am hesitant to take up JillieRose's advice- adding oil to comb. After the smell fiasco last time, I'll probably keep any additional oil off my head unless absolutely necessary. However, I might start more regular brushing/combing for a while since the oilies aren't so bad, just the waxies... maybe they need to be balanced out, and some sebum stimulation might help remove the sticky, waxy feeling that is covering my hair!

I'll keep you posted.

thanks so much for explaining how you do it! :)

and yes, please keep us updated! it helps so much to see what coping mechanisms others are using!

[Bedhead]

It looks like I'm going to need to look into this rose water stuff, hmmm.....

Kamir0, first of all, welcome to the NW/SO thread!! :cheese:
It seems a lot of what you went through correlates with what I did, and at the same time too! I also had some basic chin acne that never went away no matter what I did, and going off S&C did it. And yes, move that bun around, up down, all around, change it to a braid, whatever, I think it helps a lot. Also an extra deep massage on those waxies should alleviate the problem while you're moving things around and giving it a break.

Thanks for sharing! :flower:

---------------------------------------

On my end, the smell of my hair changed suddenly, like to a pretty smell, and since I don't use any scented things I think it just might be my hair. Also I have had 6 good hair days in a row now, and I haven't experienced any sebuminess in almost two weeks now. In fact, as the days pass my hair gets better and better. I have even worn my hair down a few times too, have received compliments on my hair, and there's a richness to the colour, a shine that brings out my coppers and an even softness throughout the length from root to tip. I really didn't think this was possible, but here I am, and I think I could very well do this for the rest of my life.

Delighted is the word of the day today. :inlove:

[Kinkycurlygurl]

It looks like I'm going to need to look into this rose water stuff, hmmm.....

Kamir0, first of all, welcome to the NW/SO thread!! :cheese:
It seems a lot of what you went through correlates with what I did, and at the same time too! I also had some basic chin acne that never went away no matter what I did, and going off S&C did it. And yes, move that bun around, up down, all around, change it to a braid, whatever, I think it helps a lot. Also an extra deep massage on those waxies should alleviate the problem while you're moving things around and giving it a break.



Thanks for sharing! :flower:

---------------------------------------

On my end, the smell of my hair changed suddenly, like to a pretty smell, and since I don't use any scented things I think it just might be my hair. Also I have had 6 good hair days in a row now, and I haven't experienced any sebuminess in almost two weeks now. In fact, as the days pass my hair gets better and better. I have even worn my hair down a few times too, have received compliments on my hair, and there's a richness to the colour, a shine that brings out my coppers and an even softness throughout the length from root to tip. I really didn't think this was possible, but here I am, and I think I could very well do this for the rest of my life.

Delighted is the word of the day today. :inlove:

Sounds like your scalp has found its balance point. Congraulations :cheese:

[Kamir0]

Thanks for the warm welcome, Bedhead! :cheese:

Yesterday, I gave my scalp a deeper massage than usual and then went through a super thorough preening session, starting from the back so as not to miss any scalp hair on the crown. Then I French braided it, and put the braid up at the base of my neck with a single stick (no pins). It was better by evening, and I slept with the French braid.

Then, this morning, I bunned my hair up after lightly scritching my scalp, did my workout, and went to the shower. I sweated A LOT this time (Pure Cardio followed by Cardio Abs for those who know the program).

I waited for the sweat in my hair to dry before taking the bun down, while bent at the waist. My hair felt "heavy", but nice and moisturized, and not waxy, even at the crown.
While upside down, I scritched and massaged a bit, then finger-combed, then scritched again with my fine-tooth wooden comb (from esptone on etsy, bought off the swap board).
I then held my length with both hands (as in a ponytail, but at the top and bottom of it) before rising up to avoid tangling. Then I tilted my head back and moved my hair over my head and back in one piece, before releasing it starting with the hair at the nape. Hope that makes sense. :)
As I prefer SMPing while bent at the waist, this really helps preventing tangles. :D

After finger-combing in the upright position, I French-braided my hair again, quite loosely, and I started the braid at the crown rather than at the top of my head. Finally, I put cocoa butter on the tassel as I prefer an over-oiled tassel to a dry one, prone to breakage...

***
BedHead, great news about the scent AND the shine/colour! This is an inspiration for all of us! :cheese:

I may carry on this experiment for at least as long as you have so far, just to see if my smell turns "pretty" too.

My hair doesn't smell so pretty at the moment... Not funky, but definitely not pretty. :(
At least, I think it looks nice up, and it feels fabulous (and DBF agrees). :D

[piratejenny]

I'm kind of tempted to see how far I can get with NW. I last washed my hair a week ago (with rhassoul). On Monday and today I used a dry shampoo concoction of two parts corn starch and one part cinnamon of which I applied just a little bit to the front and crown (whatever is most visible if the hair is up). I applied it with a make-up brush and I am quite blown away as to how well that worked. My hair looks perfectly normal today - I'd even wear it down if I wasn't so much in love with my new hair fork :D. I also didn't rinse after working out/sauna during this last week and similar to Kamir0 I think this somehow cleaned my scalp (??).

That said I still have two big nasty scalp pimples... I am doing a lot of intense scritching and massaging in those areas and I kind of want to see if that helps clearing it up or if this is actually more irritating... I haven't had an opportunity to get my hands on rose water yet, but plan on doing that in the weekend.

So, we'll see how far I can go with this. As I stated earlier it's not necessarily my ambition to be strictly NW/SO, but I can clearly state that my hair and scalp are doing quite well without the water. My water is on the hard side and on WO my hair was just a mess. I doubt I'll want to do the any time soon, though, as I love the effect of my bi-monthly (or so) henna sessions and I also like the effect a bit of coconut oil has for my wave definition.

Very inspirational thread :toast:

[earthnut]

I am not sure I will stay NW forever, but I definitely have decided to never use S/C ever again (my back acne has reduced tremendously).

My mom had acne and itchy skin after washing. It turned out she was allergic to SLS. She's not willing to give up the soap and shampoo, but she switched to baby shampoo which doesn't have SLS and doesn't have skin problems now too. You may have been allergic to something in your shampoo.

[Bedhead]

Sounds like your scalp has found its balance point. Congraulations :cheese:
Thank you Kinkycurlygurl! I think so, although, there is a part of me that hopes I'm not deluding myself. lol! :)



BedHead, great news about the scent AND the shine/colour! This is an inspiration for all of us! :cheese:

I may carry on this experiment for at least as long as you have so far, just to see if my smell turns "pretty" too.

My hair doesn't smell so pretty at the moment... Not funky, but definitely not pretty. :(
At least, I think it looks nice up, and it feels fabulous (and DBF agrees). :D

At 7 weeks I almost gave up. My hair had regressed and well, I was kind of freaking out, so I ended up doing searches on NW/SO in other languages. If you look back 6 weeks from now, you'll see I was inspired by a German girl who took a video every week, and at the end of 14 weeks, her hair was gorgeous and lifting from her scalp, the colour was beautiful, vibrant even, and her hair looked healthier than ever, so I told myself, "Okay, 14 weeks, if I'm still struggling, I'll totally quit NW/SO." I'm so glad I didn't quit back then.

I'd be curious to see if your hair turns pretty smelling too. I don't recall anyone else in the thread or the archived one mentioning this happening. And no, my hair didn't smell funky either, but there was a light sebumy smell.


I'm kind of tempted to see how far I can get with NW. I last washed my hair a week ago (with rhassoul). On Monday and today I used a dry shampoo concoction of two parts corn starch and one part cinnamon of which I applied just a little bit to the front and crown (whatever is most visible if the hair is up). I applied it with a make-up brush and I am quite blown away as to how well that worked. My hair looks perfectly normal today - I'd even wear it down if I wasn't so much in love with my new hair fork :D. I also didn't rinse after working out/sauna during this last week and similar to Kamir0 I think this somehow cleaned my scalp (??).

That said I still have two big nasty scalp pimples... I am doing a lot of intense scritching and massaging in those areas and I kind of want to see if that helps clearing it up or if this is actually more irritating... I haven't had an opportunity to get my hands on rose water yet, but plan on doing that in the weekend.

So, we'll see how far I can go with this. As I stated earlier it's not necessarily my ambition to be strictly NW/SO, but I can clearly state that my hair and scalp are doing quite well without the water. My water is on the hard side and on WO my hair was just a mess. I doubt I'll want to do the any time soon, though, as I love the effect of my bi-monthly (or so) henna sessions and I also like the effect a bit of coconut oil has for my wave definition.

Very inspirational thread :toast:

I'm glad to hear the cinnamon has worked for you!

Back when I was stretching out my washes I would continually decide to go that one extra day beyond the day I thought my hair needed a wash. I found out if I smp'd that night, my hair was fine for another few days. Eventually,I forgot that I had already smp'd and continued even further, finally realising I could keep going and going like that. It wasn't my intention either, but once I got to that point, the idea of NW/SO became more and more inviting. But that's me.... :)

[Kamir0]

I'm kind of tempted to see how far I can get with NW. I last washed my hair a week ago (with rhassoul). On Monday and today I used a dry shampoo concoction of two parts corn starch and one part cinnamon of which I applied just a little bit to the front and crown (whatever is most visible if the hair is up). I applied it with a make-up brush and I am quite blown away as to how well that worked. My hair looks perfectly normal today - I'd even wear it down if I wasn't so much in love with my new hair fork :D. I also didn't rinse after working out/sauna during this last week and similar to Kamir0 I think this somehow cleaned my scalp (??).

I have to keep this dry shampoo recipe for when/if I ever get desperate to wash my hair.
I actually don't have any product I want to use/can use in the house at the moment, so no temptation here. :D


That said I still have two big nasty scalp pimples... I am doing a lot of intense scritching and massaging in those areas and I kind of want to see if that helps clearing it up or if this is actually more irritating... I haven't had an opportunity to get my hands on rose water yet, but plan on doing that in the weekend.

I used to have scalp acne all the time when I used products. It didn't clear straight away, but it improved tremendously with SO, so don't give up. :flower:


So, we'll see how far I can go with this. As I stated earlier it's not necessarily my ambition to be strictly NW/SO, but I can clearly state that my hair and scalp are doing quite well without the water. My water is on the hard side and on WO my hair was just a mess. I doubt I'll want to do the any time soon, though, as I love the effect of my bi-monthly (or so) henna sessions and I also like the effect a bit of coconut oil has for my wave definition.

Even if you don't stay NW/SO, you will definitely rip the benefits from giving a rest to your scalp and hair. Consider this experiment a lengthy deep treatment. :D


My mom had acne and itchy skin after washing. It turned out she was allergic to SLS. She's not willing to give up the soap and shampoo, but she switched to baby shampoo which doesn't have SLS and doesn't have skin problems now too. You may have been allergic to something in your shampoo.

Thank you for this, earthnut. :flower:
I haven't used SLS for years, but I could have indeed been allergic to something in my shampoo or condish...


At 7 weeks I almost gave up. My hair had regressed and well, I was kind of freaking out, so I ended up doing searches on NW/SO in other languages. If you look back 6 weeks from now, you'll see I was inspired by a German girl who took a video every week, and at the end of 14 weeks, her hair was gorgeous and lifting from her scalp, the colour was beautiful, vibrant even, and her hair looked healthier than ever, so I told myself, "Okay, 14 weeks, if I'm still struggling, I'll totally quit NW/SO." I'm so glad I didn't quit back then.

I remember this post, and I actually went and watched the videos. I don't speak German, so I went on her blog and GoogleTranslated it. As it turns out, if I recall correctly, she only did the experiment for 14 days, and she had washed her hair in the last video. But I am glad she inspired you to carry on, as it seems it was well worth it. :flower: :D


I'd be curious to see if your hair turns pretty smelling too. I don't recall anyone else in the thread or the archived one mentioning this happening. And no, my hair didn't smell funky either, but there was a light sebumy smell.

I do. :D

http://longhaircommunity.com/archive/showpost.php?p=1364250&postcount=248

This is why I haven't given up on this yet, and since your scent has changed for the better too, I am going to stick with it until mine does! :)

[Bedhead]

I remember this post, and I actually went and watched the videos. I don't speak German, so I went on her blog and GoogleTranslated it. As it turns out, if I recall correctly, she only did the experiment for 14 days, and she had washed her hair in the last video. But I am glad she inspired you to carry on, as it seems it was well worth it. :flower: :D


LOL! Oh my goodness! This made me laugh so hard! I never knew! LOL! Obviously I don't know German either. :p




I do. :D

http://longhaircommunity.com/archive/showpost.php?p=1364250&postcount=248

This is why I haven't given up on this yet, and since your scent has changed for the better too, I am going to stick with it until mine does! :)

Ah ha! Yes! That's it! there's a fruitiness to it! At first it was almost like a lotion kind of smell, and it was so sudden, but with in a few days it calmed down to exactly what Rosa was saying (It's been a while since I read the entire thread). This makes me believe I'm not deluding myself now. Thanks Kamir0! :D

ETA: I'm going to write "Fully Transitioned" on this weeks pictures. :)

[piratejenny]

Thanks girls for the encouragement :toast:


Back when I was stretching out my washes I would continually decide to go that one extra day beyond the day I thought my hair needed a wash. I found out if I smp'd that night, my hair was fine for another few days. Eventually,I forgot that I had already smp'd and continued even further, finally realising I could keep going and going like that. It wasn't my intention either, but once I got to that point, the idea of NW/SO became more and more inviting. But that's me.... :)

This describes my situation pretty precisely. I look at my hair in the morning and if it doesn't look worse than the day before I'll just go another day. If it looks slightly worse, I'll use a bit of "dry shampoo" and go from there... Scritching with a fine toothed comb seems to work really well for me. When I start I pull out all kinds of fuzzies and greasies and the occasional flake. I keep cleening the comb and after a few minutes it's all cleared. Quite amazing actually :)


I used to have scalp acne all the time when I used products. It didn't clear straight away, but it improved tremendously with SO, so don't give up. :flower:

This has me a bit worried actually. Except for a few months WO I have NEVER had any sort of scalp problems before, even when I did almost daily S/C and my hair was a frizzy grease ball. In spite of diligent SMP sessions over the last few days this hasn't really improved, but since it's invisible I'll give it some more time... I'll try to get rose water tomorrow.

I can also confirm, though, that the condition of my skin improved tremendously when I stopped using shampoo and shower gels. I only do WO and rhassoul on my body as well.
I always used to think that I am just "blessed"with oily skin and scalp and I am now seriously wondering if that was just abuse by product and my skin and scalp are fairly normal and healthy after all...



....If you look back 6 weeks from now, you'll see I was inspired by a German girl who took a video every week, and at the end of 14 weeks, her hair was gorgeous and lifting from her scalp, the colour was beautiful, vibrant even....

I tried to find these videos in your posts but could't. Do you mind pointing me to them? Thanks :) - and I thought I had read every single one of your posts over the past few weeks :o :cool: :shrug:

[earthnut]

I always used to think that I am just "blessed"with oily skin and scalp and I am now seriously wondering if that was just abuse by product and my skin and scalp are fairly normal and healthy after all...

I used to think I had oily skin and scalp too. However, once I saw the dramatic improvement going CO on my head and WO on my skin, it became apparent my body was just over-reacting to all the products I was using! Now that I've been doing mostly CO for a while, I think I may be able to go to the next step of WO or NW. :)

[earthnut]

What's SMP? The only thing Google gives me is "Scalp Micro-Pigmentation". :?

[PrairieRose]

What's SMP? The only thing Google gives me is "Scalp Micro-Pigmentation". :?
Scritch, massage and preen:)

[Bedhead]

I tried to find these videos in your posts but could't. Do you mind pointing me to them? Thanks :) - and I thought I had read every single one of your posts over the past few weeks :o :cool: :shrug:

That's okay, Piratejenny (What's it like being called a pirate? hmm). Read the entire page 137 and you'll find the answer you're really looking for, and will probably have a good laugh while your at it. ;)

[Bedhead]

Scritch, massage and preen:)

This made me think we could make a musical about this.... Scritch, massage and preen. kshhhh Scritch, massage and preen. kshhhh.... or at worst a bad 80's song. :p

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

Well... I caved (a little bit). I did a acid wash/rinse. I just couldn't stand the waxiness any longer!

So, after mixing about 1/2 teaspoon in about 4 L (1 Gallon) of normal tap water, I dunked my head and scrubbed, then rinsed twice, then tipped the rest over my head, scrubbed then rinsed. My hair isn't completely dry yet, but it already feels significantly more like "hair" as opposed to "helmet". :p

It still feels sebum covered, and not dry, but I think if I did this too regularly it would dry it out.

So, anyone know why it seems to remove a lot of sebum build up? I googled it, but can't find what is the chemical reaction between fat and acid. Any chemistry wizzes out there?

[LaceyNg]

Well... I caved (a little bit). I did a acid wash/rinse. I just couldn't stand the waxiness any longer!

So, after mixing about 1/2 teaspoon in about 4 L (1 Gallon) of normal tap water, I dunked my head and scrubbed, then rinsed twice, then tipped the rest over my head, scrubbed then rinsed. My hair isn't completely dry yet, but it already feels significantly more like "hair" as opposed to "helmet". :p

It still feels sebum covered, and not dry, but I think if I did this too regularly it would dry it out.

So, anyone know why it seems to remove a lot of sebum build up? I googled it, but can't find what is the chemical reaction between fat and acid. Any chemistry wizzes out there?

what kind of acid did you use? ACV? i know when i did an ACV rinse on my WO hair a while back it dried it out soooo much! my length wasnt fully coated in sebum yet though, but what WAS there was all stripped away :( now if i want to remove some sebum i use a rooibos tea spray instead. chamomile would be even more mild-- you might consider checking a tea rinse or spray out!



and you know i <3 you fellow WO-ers, right? i totally did not forget to take hair pics... i just forgot to upload them and then that laptop died. i'm waiting on DH to get the pics off that computer and then i have pics for youuuuuuu! not that they're all that awesome or anything, i just didnt want you to think i forgot about you :)

[earthnut]

So I'm thinking of trying a mostly WO method, with some dry shampoo for sebum buildup (I'm thinking cocoa powder) and olive oil for the dry ends. WDYT?

When I've done WO (and NW) in the past, I couldn't keep up with the amount of brushing. Though I don't think the transition period will be so bad this time around, now that I've reduced my wash frequency (I usually wash about once every 1-2 weeks, sometimes 4).

[McFearless]

I've been strict WO since Jan 1, with some time prior to that interrupted with only one diluted shampoo on the roots avoiding the scalp. Yet my hair has still not transitioned. My hair looks like it was styled with hair wax that was never washed off! I'm not so sure what to do. The smell isn't very pleasant I must say. I really want this to work for me but I don't think it will. My scalp produces lots of oil and my hair looks dull at all times. I can hang in a bit longer with the use of hats but I'm very self conscious about my hair not smelling pleasant. I preen, scritch, do the whole thing. Do any of you have some tips to cover the smell without using products that could build up? Thank you.

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

what kind of acid did you use? ACV? i know when i did an ACV rinse on my WO hair a while back it dried it out soooo much! my length wasnt fully coated in sebum yet though, but what WAS there was all stripped away :( now if i want to remove some sebum i use a rooibos tea spray instead. chamomile would be even more mild-- you might consider checking a tea rinse or spray out!

Oops- forgot to add that bit in... I used citric acid. I had major smell issues last time around, so am avoiding almost anything that may leave a scent (the occasional EO in water excepted). I like the citric acid rinse- my hair feels much better, but now that is has dried, it is still too waxy to be considered good but it is better. I might do another rinse in a couple of days and see how it feels. I concentrated on scrubbing scalp with the citric acid in, and my ends now feel worse then my scalp! I BBB'd and my BBB still got gummy, but not as much.

I do know from past experience that I could get my hair almost "shampoo clean" with acid rinses (I was using vinegar then) but it is drying. After WO didn't work for me, and I went on a whirlwind adventure trying to find natural products that moisturised. Like some others have mentioned, oils don't seem to absorb into my hair, just sit on top. LOTS of things are cleansing (acid rinses, BS, eggs if you don't have hair that clings onto smells for dear life :rolleyes:) but I am yet to find a natural moituriser that works as effectively as conditioner.


I've been strict WO since Jan 1, with some time prior to that interrupted with only one diluted shampoo on the roots avoiding the scalp. Yet my hair has still not transitioned. My hair looks like it was styled with hair wax that was never washed off! I'm not so sure what to do. The smell isn't very pleasant I must say. I really want this to work for me but I don't think it will. My scalp produces lots of oil and my hair looks dull at all times. I can hang in a bit longer with the use of hats but I'm very self conscious about my hair not smelling pleasant. I preen, scritch, do the whole thing. Do any of you have some tips to cover the smell without using products that could build up? Thank you.

McFearless- you have my sympathy. Smell hasn't been an issue this time around, but I have avoided ANY products that may trigger smells (no cornflour or other food products, no ACV, and especially no COCONUT OIL!! This made my hair quite unbearable, leading to several deep shampoos!!) I wish I had some advice- my hair also feels like it is styled with too much hair wax, and looks dull before I comb and BBB, and oily after. But I keep getting DH to comfirm that there is no/very little smell. That was, and would be again, a dealbreaker for me. :( From experience, once my hair had too much of an odour, it invaded any EO's that I used, and nothing would smell good.

Sorry for not being able to help, but am keen to follow your progress- including successes and failures!

[McFearless]

Thanks so much Moor tu lyfe. I agree that when the smell is too strong nothing will mask it but instead the scents will mix and be even more yucky. You've brought up a really good point about eo's too. Do you find any of them in particular to help with scent? I currently have bottles of the following ones: basil, birch, eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, grapefruit and cedarwood. Thank you.

[Moor_tu_lyfe]

When my hair was smelling a bit, I liked the smell of lemon EO the most. So of the ones that you listed, I would probably choose the grapefruit. But it didn't work long term for me.

Do you use anything other then water on your hair? Lots of people use oils etc, which I found not at all helpful, and oils, as well as cornflour, made my hair smell worse. :o My hair still hasn't transitioned, but DoubleCrowned said it took her about 5 months before she could wear her hair down. Are there any longtimers with advice?

[McFearless]

When my hair was smelling a bit, I liked the smell of lemon EO the most. So of the ones that you listed, I would probably choose the grapefruit. But it didn't work long term for me.

Do you use anything other then water on your hair? Lots of people use oils etc, which I found not at all helpful, and oils, as well as cornflour, made my hair smell worse. :o My hair still hasn't transitioned, but DoubleCrowned said it took her about 5 months before she could wear her hair down. Are there any longtimers with advice?Okay I will try the grapefruit and report back.
I don't use anything but water myself.

[proo]

What completely solved the wax/sebum problem for me was an extremely dilute wash (3 drops prell in a half gallon water). I soaked the hair first in warm water then worked the rinse through followed by a long cold water rinse. I applied 3 drops of MO to length and ends while damp.
I do this every 2 - 3 weeks; no wax, no smell, no fuss.
I realize sls shampoos and reactions to them are why you're here in the first place, but it's very different when diluted this much, it cleanses without stripping.
Most importantly my sebum production has gone way down;
Not much manipulation required anymore. It gets better all the time.

[Bedhead]

I've been strict WO since Jan 1, with some time prior to that interrupted with only one diluted shampoo on the roots avoiding the scalp. Yet my hair has still not transitioned. My hair looks like it was styled with hair wax that was never washed off! I'm not so sure what to do. The smell isn't very pleasant I must say. I really want this to work for me but I don't think it will. My scalp produces lots of oil and my hair looks dull at all times. I can hang in a bit longer with the use of hats but I'm very self conscious about my hair not smelling pleasant. I preen, scritch, do the whole thing. Do any of you have some tips to cover the smell without using products that could build up? Thank you.
When I was WO, when I got waxy, I did rub my scalp with coconut oil, 5-15 minutes before I WO washed, and this helped dramatically, as the oil broke down the sebum.

Do you know how hard your water is? If it's hard you might want to either consider using filtered water or using a lemon juice or citric acid final rinse to deal with the mineral deposits. If it's not hard, then patience will get you a long way. I know it took me almost 6 months to completely, completely transition, as opposed to getting past the waxies stage, which took about 31/2 months. And I have hardish water with some funky minerals in it - a major reason I went NW/SO.

Good luck! :)

[PolarCathy]

what color does it stain/ yellow..? red....? and thanks for the suggestion!



Bright cadmium yellow. Almost scary.

http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/i/105paintedSwatch/cadmiumyellow.jpg

Sorry, I haven't seen your post; wasn't following the thread for a few weeks.

[JillieRose]

Oiling helped with the smell (lemon EO with olive oil, yay!), and I rinsed it again today. Leaving it bunned and wet, and seeing if that makes any difference (as opposed to letting it dry down and curly).

The feel of it is definitely improving though, just the weird smell to contend with now!

[DoubleCrowned]

So I'm thinking of trying a mostly WO method, with some dry shampoo for sebum buildup (I'm thinking cocoa powder) and olive oil for the dry ends. WDYT?

When I've done WO (and NW) in the past, I couldn't keep up with the amount of brushing. Though I don't think the transition period will be so bad this time around, now that I've reduced my wash frequency (I usually wash about once every 1-2 weeks, sometimes 4).
Welcome! Keep up posted.

I've been strict WO since Jan 1, with some time prior to that interrupted with only one diluted shampoo on the roots avoiding the scalp. Yet my hair has still not transitioned. My hair looks like it was styled with hair wax that was never washed off! I'm not so sure what to do. The smell isn't very pleasant I must say. I really want this to work for me but I don't think it will. My scalp produces lots of oil and my hair looks dull at all times. I can hang in a bit longer with the use of hats but I'm very self conscious about my hair not smelling pleasant. I preen, scritch, do the whole thing. Do any of you have some tips to cover the smell without using products that could build up? Thank you.
Lemongrass is deodorizing.

[piratejenny]

That's okay, Piratejenny (What's it like being called a pirate? hmm). Read the entire page 137 and you'll find the answer you're really looking for, and will probably have a good laugh while your at it. ;)

:confused: Unghhm, I'm afraid I'm obviously too brain dead at the moment to find the funny bit on page 137 (I survived not one but two birthday parties today with a merciless gang of 5 year old boys). I want a good laugh...aarrrrghh

My hair is still in pretty good shape today (even by non-LHC standards as I like to believe :cool:) but my scalp is suffering. The acne is sprouting left, right and center and the first naughty pimples have made their way to visible spots on my neck. It has NEVER been THAT bad. I didn't want to use the cinnamon again as I'm not sure it isn't irritating and I also didn't get around to looking for rose water (as I got pulled into dinosaur themed parties instead).

I'm sitting here massaging right now but if things don't ease up a bit by Monday I'll have to wash. I have a pretty important presentation to give on Tuesday and I simply have to look "normal" and groomed. On the upside, I'll be going on a vacation the week after which will be perfect for another extended bit of stretching.
:silly:

[PrairieRose]

Still going well!
I seem to be able to bring the sebum down my hair a little easier,so it does not appear so stringy! YAY!
So overall I'm happy! I really do love WO!:heart:

[JillieRose]

So...rinsed my hair, left it bunned and wet, it smelled weird.

Left it overnight.

DH stuck his nose in it this morning and said, "Your hair smells nice"

Me: ???? *sniff sniff*

Hair now dry, and smells...of not much at all.

HOORAY! IT WORKED!

Right, back to washing my hair twice a week if it's lucky.

I love WO, it's a pain getting it started but then, for me at least, it's so low maintenance. :D

[Bedhead]

:confused: Unghhm, I'm afraid I'm obviously too brain dead at the moment to find the funny bit on page 137 (I survived not one but two birthday parties today with a merciless gang of 5 year old boys). I want a good laugh...aarrrrghh

Well, my inspirational video was in German, but I don't know German, just a smattering of words. Anyway, I had thought the girl had gone for 14 weeks, and had lovely hair after, but in fact, as kamir0 pointed out, she had translated her blog, only to find out she had only gone for 14 days, and the lovely hair I thought was after 14 weeks of NW/SO was washed hair after she gave up! :doh: And I never knew, but thinking this and having her hair in my mind, kept me going for another 6 weeks, just enough time to transition. Had I known back then it was days, I don't know if I would have made it, as I was quite ready to give up. LOL! :silly: :D

I hope you scalp calms down. Let us know what happens!

[piratejenny]

Well, my inspirational video was in German, but I don't know German, just a smattering of words. Anyway, I had thought the girl had gone for 14 weeks, and had lovely hair after, but in fact, as kamir0 pointed out, she had translated her blog, only to find out she had only gone for 14 days, and the lovely hair I thought was after 14 weeks of NW/SO was washed hair after she gave up! :doh: And I never knew, but thinking this and having her hair in my mind, kept me going for another 6 weeks, just enough time to transition. Had I known back then it was days, I don't know if I would have made it, as I was quite ready to give up. LOL! :silly: :D

I hope you scalp calms down. Let us know what happens!

LOL!! Yeah, sometimes it comes in handy if you can make up your own story by not speaking the language :D :D Funny that you have the patience to watch videos in a language you don't understand :p...

As for the events on my head - I washed (with rhassoul) today, and it feels as though the pimples are already receeding... As I'm not particularly dogmatic about my hair routine I'm still quite happy about the fact that I went 9 days without washing and with my hair looking quite ok. All I need to figure out is what's plugging up my scalp...



That's okay, Piratejenny (What's it like being called a pirate? hmm).

As a little girl I always dreamt of being a pirate. I associated it with utter freedom and lots of travelling and adventures. Later in life I came to love the music of Kurt Weill (The three penny opera) and so piratejenny seemed a fitting screen name. :pirate:
</hijack>

[soniqui]

I'm new to TLHC and I joined because of this thread which I've been lurking for the past 6 weeks. I've been WO for 3 weeks (as of 1Apr12) when I used to S&C every 2 days.
The first week was not great, but WO washing more often and making an effort to massage my scalp made a huge difference. I'm finding it a bit strange that every time I wash I get a different result as my hair is changing. I'm BBBing in sections before washing and using a little jojoba oil on the ends/length to beat the dryness...the other day my hair was (literally)squeaky clean when I detangled post-shower.
Overall I'm liking the WO experience...It's a bit liberating not using products. The things I don't enjoy so far are...
1. I have a side fringe (or bangs whatever you'd like to call them/it) which I used to straighten with blowdrying and straightening iron and I'm struggling to get used to it being curly and sticking out all over the place, so I'm pinning it back more often.
2. It doesn't seem like the sebum is moving down the shaft very fast with BBBing. I'm beginning to get into more preening and using fingers/water in the shower to help it along, but I'm scared about breakage doing this. Or maybe I'm just pulling my hair too hard.
3. I was also hoping/still am hoping that frizz would be less of an issue, but it doesn't seem to go away. Although, today is a fairly good day. Any ideas for frizz tackling other than jojoba which I'm already using? Too much jojoba makes it all oily and limp as expected.
But it's awesome to be here and not alone on my WO journey.

[earthnut]

Any ideas for frizz tackling other than jojoba which I'm already using? Too much jojoba makes it all oily and limp as expected.
But it's awesome to be here and not alone on my WO journey.

Jojoba oil is quite waxy and doesn't penetrate the hair shaft well. You could try a more penetrating oil and your hair might like it better. I'd try coconut oil for a while and see if that helps. Then I'd try olive oil for a while and see. Then maybe sunflower and mineral oil. Whichever works best will give you an idea of the kind of oil your hair likes best.

Coconut oil is one of the most penetrating oils and is excellent at reducing hair loss and damage (from UV or hair treatments). Shea and cocoa butters are also high in saturated fats making them pretty penetrating, though less so than coconut oil. Olive, almond, hazelnut, avocado, and canola oils are high in monounsaturated fats and are pretty good at penetrating. Flax seed, safflower, and sunflower oils are high in polyunsaturated fats making them not very penetrating. Jojoba oil, lanolin, (and sebum) are waxy and not very penetrating. Mineral oil is made from hydrocarbons and is not penetrating at all.

I've been researching oils recently! I put more info here. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=2094528&postcount=117)

[PrairieRose]

2. It doesn't seem like the sebum is moving down the shaft very fast with BBBing. I'm beginning to get into more preening and using fingers/water in the shower to help it along, but I'm scared about breakage doing this. Or maybe I'm just pulling my hair too hard.
ey.
I find finger preening before I shower works well for me. I also use my BBB, but I don't think it's enough by itself, at least not in the beginning.:)

[Kinkycurlygurl]

I've been strict WO since Jan 1, with some time prior to that interrupted with only one diluted shampoo on the roots avoiding the scalp. Yet my hair has still not transitioned. My hair looks like it was styled with hair wax that was never washed off! I'm not so sure what to do. The smell isn't very pleasant I must say. I really want this to work for me but I don't think it will. My scalp produces lots of oil and my hair looks dull at all times. I can hang in a bit longer with the use of hats but I'm very self conscious about my hair not smelling pleasant. I preen, scritch, do the whole thing. Do any of you have some tips to cover the smell without using products that could build up? Thank you.

@mcfearless Sometimes I wash my hair with clay, you can give that a try. It removes the excess oil and waxy sebum and leaves my hair feeling soft and clean. There's an expensive mud wash you can get from terra essentials, but what I normally use is cheapie Queen Helen clay facial masque it's made primarily of kaolin and bentonite clay and works like a charm for a fraction of the cost of terra essentials mud wash.

I usually divide my hair into 4 sections then squeeze out a quarter sized dollop of clay masque for each section. Then dilute with water in my plam to loosen it up a little then I smooth it on to one section at a time.

I wash the rest of me while the clay sits on my hair then I rinse. I find that I don't need conditioner and my hair detangles like a dream. I hope this helps.

[LaceyNg]

I've been strict WO since Jan 1, with some time prior to that interrupted with only one diluted shampoo on the roots avoiding the scalp. Yet my hair has still not transitioned. My hair looks like it was styled with hair wax that was never washed off! I'm not so sure what to do. The smell isn't very pleasant I must say. I really want this to work for me but I don't think it will. My scalp produces lots of oil and my hair looks dull at all times. I can hang in a bit longer with the use of hats but I'm very self conscious about my hair not smelling pleasant. I preen, scritch, do the whole thing. Do any of you have some tips to cover the smell without using products that could build up? Thank you.

you may just need some more time, McFearless-- i know for some people it can take months and months for the transition to be fully over :/
i'm having smell issues as well. *I* dont smell anything but the regular sebum-ey smell, but DH says i smell. rose water helps, but the good msell doesnt last more than a few hours. however, it DOES make my hair feel nice, and has given me no buildup :)

my next plan is to try some EO's mixed with water sprayed on my hair-- either lemon, lemongrass, or a rose something-or-other


Oops- forgot to add that bit in... I used citric acid. I had major smell issues last time around, so am avoiding almost anything that may leave a scent (the occasional EO in water excepted). I like the citric acid rinse- my hair feels much better, but now that is has dried, it is still too waxy to be considered good but it is better. I might do another rinse in a couple of days and see how it feels. I concentrated on scrubbing scalp with the citric acid in, and my ends now feel worse then my scalp! I BBB'd and my BBB still got gummy, but not as much.

I do know from past experience that I could get my hair almost "shampoo clean" with acid rinses (I was using vinegar then) but it is drying. After WO didn't work for me, and I went on a whirlwind adventure trying to find natural products that moisturised. Like some others have mentioned, oils don't seem to absorb into my hair, just sit on top. LOTS of things are cleansing (acid rinses, BS, eggs if you don't have hair that clings onto smells for dear life :rolleyes:) but I am yet to find a natural moituriser that works as effectively as conditioner.


have you thought about rose water? i hate to keep bringing it up over and over, but since you odnt want to use oils i think it woudl be good for you. makes my hair feel softer, for sure!


What completely solved the wax/sebum problem for me was an extremely dilute wash (3 drops prell in a half gallon water). I soaked the hair first in warm water then worked the rinse through followed by a long cold water rinse. I applied 3 drops of MO to length and ends while damp.
I do this every 2 - 3 weeks; no wax, no smell, no fuss.
I realize sls shampoos and reactions to them are why you're here in the first place, but it's very different when diluted this much, it cleanses without stripping.
Most importantly my sebum production has gone way down;
Not much manipulation required anymore. It gets better all the time.

vety interesting, proo! i can see this working well for a lot of other people who want to be WO but have sebum issues!


Bright cadmium yellow. Almost scary.

http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/i/105paintedSwatch/cadmiumyellow.jpg

Sorry, I haven't seen your post; wasn't following the thread for a few weeks.

not a problem at all! thanks for getting back to me! (and WOW, that IS yellow!) :)


Still going well!
I seem to be able to bring the sebum down my hair a little easier,so it does not appear so stringy! YAY!
So overall I'm happy! I really do love WO!:heart:

glad to hear it's going well for you!!!!


So...rinsed my hair, left it bunned and wet, it smelled weird.

Left it overnight.

DH stuck his nose in it this morning and said, "Your hair smells nice"

Me: ???? *sniff sniff*

Hair now dry, and smells...of not much at all.

HOORAY! IT WORKED!

Right, back to washing my hair twice a week if it's lucky.

I love WO, it's a pain getting it started but then, for me at least, it's so low maintenance. :D

very good to hear! i'll report back after my DH smiff-test too :)


I'm new to TLHC and I joined because of this thread which I've been lurking for the past 6 weeks. I've been WO for 3 weeks (as of 1Apr12) when I used to S&C every 2 days.
The first week was not great, but WO washing more often and making an effort to massage my scalp made a huge difference. I'm finding it a bit strange that every time I wash I get a different result as my hair is changing. I'm BBBing in sections before washing and using a little jojoba oil on the ends/length to beat the dryness...the other day my hair was (literally)squeaky clean when I detangled post-shower.
Overall I'm liking the WO experience...It's a bit liberating not using products. The things I don't enjoy so far are...
1. I have a side fringe (or bangs whatever you'd like to call them/it) which I used to straighten with blowdrying and straightening iron and I'm struggling to get used to it being curly and sticking out all over the place, so I'm pinning it back more often.
2. It doesn't seem like the sebum is moving down the shaft very fast with BBBing. I'm beginning to get into more preening and using fingers/water in the shower to help it along, but I'm scared about breakage doing this. Or maybe I'm just pulling my hair too hard.
3. I was also hoping/still am hoping that frizz would be less of an issue, but it doesn't seem to go away. Although, today is a fairly good day. Any ideas for frizz tackling other than jojoba which I'm already using? Too much jojoba makes it all oily and limp as expected.
But it's awesome to be here and not alone on my WO journey.

1-- have you thought about wrapping your bangs/fringe? as in, pinning them back while they're wet so that the dry straighter? just a thought
2-- some people use a moist cloth to help drage the sebum down the length with. i keep meaning to try it but havent yet.... i hear its great though
3-- i dont have so much frizz anymore as i do general fly-away hairs that arent yet long enough to stay with the pack. you'd think w/ WO theyd stick to the others more, but they dont. DH actually pointed them out :(

[LaceyNg]

it figures that as soon as i'm ready to upload my pics, LHC would be having problems :(

here goes (i hope these show up, i always seem to have trouble posting pics here!)

length shot:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b368/H8ed_By_Many/Misc/0418124.jpg

and just some other shots to show color more acurately and show the condition:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b368/H8ed_By_Many/Misc/0418127.jpg
(please excuse the flakes!)

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b368/H8ed_By_Many/Misc/0418128.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b368/H8ed_By_Many/Misc/0418129.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b368/H8ed_By_Many/Misc/04181210.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b368/H8ed_By_Many/Misc/04181211.jpg

this is after about 5 months or WO, these particular shots just after a honey treatment ans WO wash (the next day after it had dried)

[PrairieRose]

LaceyNg...Wow! your hair looks great:) It really has grown too!

[LaceyNg]

LaceyNg...Wow! your hair looks great:) It really has grown too!

thank you! :)

i know it looks longer in some pics rather than others.... but i think part of what actually has made it seem longer to me was trimming off the super thin ends a while back. unfortunately, my growth rate isnt really all that impressive :/

[soniqui]

Jojoba oil is quite waxy and doesn't penetrate the hair shaft well. You could try a more penetrating oil and your hair might like it better. I'd try coconut oil for a while and see if that helps. Then I'd try olive oil for a while and see. Then maybe sunflower and mineral oil. Whichever works best will give you an idea of the kind of oil your hair likes best.

Coconut oil is one of the most penetrating oils and is excellent at reducing hair loss and damage (from UV or hair treatments). Shea and cocoa butters are also high in saturated fats making them pretty penetrating, though less so than coconut oil. Olive, almond, hazelnut, avocado, and canola oils are high in monounsaturated fats and are pretty good at penetrating. Flax seed, safflower, and sunflower oils are high in polyunsaturated fats making them not very penetrating. Jojoba oil, lanolin, (and sebum) are waxy and not very penetrating. Mineral oil is made from hydrocarbons and is not penetrating at all.

I've been researching oils recently! I put more info here. (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=2094528&postcount=117)

Thanks for the info, your research is very thorough. I think I'll try Olive Oil as I've already got some in the house. Still a bit hesitant with any oils and will only use tiny amounts at a time. Will let you know how it goes though, as I really don't like the squeaky clean sticking-to-my-fingers-while-i-detangle feel.


I find finger preening before I shower works well for me. I also use my BBB, but I don't think it's enough by itself, at least not in the beginning.:)

Thanks PrairieRose. I've heard others say the same in the past couple of days so I'm starting to try use my hands more. I definitely agree a BBB alone is not enough.:agree:



1-- have you thought about wrapping your bangs/fringe? as in, pinning them back while they're wet so that the dry straighter? just a thought
2-- some people use a moist cloth to help drage the sebum down the length with. i keep meaning to try it but havent yet.... i hear its great though
3-- i dont have so much frizz anymore as i do general fly-away hairs that arent yet long enough to stay with the pack. you'd think w/ WO theyd stick to the others more, but they dont. DH actually pointed them out :(

Thanks LaceyNG...p.s. your hair is absolutely gorgeous!
1. This is what I actually did today.:) I don't like the way it looks pinned back but I will see how it goes as it is most likely the best solution.
2. Last two washed I've been just using my bath towel to do this, only it's mostly dry at the time. Maybe I'll try a damper towel and see how that goes too. I'm not sure if towelling too much contributes to my frizz issues, as I've read that it can.
3. Oh dear... :(That would definitely bother me if my DH commented on my frizz or flyaways. I'm hoping earthnut's oil suggestions may increase my hairs clumpability (it's totally a word), And I know I am still transitioning. End of May is when I'll review the frizz and overall WO feel.

[LaceyNg]

<snip>
Thanks LaceyNG...p.s. your hair is absolutely gorgeous!
1. This is what I actually did today.:) I don't like the way it looks pinned back but I will see how it goes as it is most likely the best solution.
2. Last two washed I've been just using my bath towel to do this, only it's mostly dry at the time. Maybe I'll try a damper towel and see how that goes too. I'm not sure if towelling too much contributes to my frizz issues, as I've read that it can.
3. Oh dear... :(That would definitely bother me if my DH commented on my frizz or flyaways. I'm hoping earthnut's oil suggestions may increase my hairs clumpability (it's totally a word), And I know I am still transitioning. End of May is when I'll review the frizz and overall WO feel.

thank you! :)

do you take the pins out after your bangs are dry, or do you just leave them in? i guess it would be the reverse of heatless-curls. heatless straightening instead :)

i hear people use microfiber cloths, and only run the hair going downwards, so it actually smoothes out the hair, as opposed to towel drying hair when it gets tossled all every which way usually

i love "clumpability" :D it DID bother me when DH mentioned it. moreso that he realized, i think. and since i believe most of mine is new growth, theres really nothing i can do but wait. being WO i'm very reluctant to add anything else to my hair, as i'm sure you understand! i admit i'm pretty excited about trying an EO spray though... i just have to figure out how to buy some w/out DH noticing-- i feel like an addict or something! but i know he would say "did that forum tell you to do this?!?!" :rolleyes:

[soniqui]

thank you! :)

do you take the pins out after your bangs are dry, or do you just leave them in? i guess it would be the reverse of heatless-curls. heatless straightening instead :)

i hear people use microfiber cloths, and only run the hair going downwards, so it actually smoothes out the hair, as opposed to towel drying hair when it gets tossled all every which way usually

i love "clumpability" :D it DID bother me when DH mentioned it. moreso that he realized, i think. and since i believe most of mine is new growth, theres really nothing i can do but wait. being WO i'm very reluctant to add anything else to my hair, as i'm sure you understand! i admit i'm pretty excited about trying an EO spray though... i just have to figure out how to buy some w/out DH noticing-- i feel like an addict or something! but i know he would say "did that forum tell you to do this?!?!" :rolleyes:

I've left the pins in so far today as I'm at work. Will remove and check when I get home. But it probably means I will be able to leave them out tomorrow. :)

I don't have a microfibre cloth I don't think but I can rummage through some old stuff and see if I can find one. At the moment I flip my head upside down and grab sections with the towel and squeeze from root to tip a few times. I never thought that how I dry my hair could contribute to how it looks when it dries, but I have learned this is definitely true, among the million other things I've learned since deciding to go WO. How do you dry?

I'm lucky in that so far I haven't had any hair smell issues apart from a mild paranoia which causes me to ask DH daily, or sometimes twice daily, "does my hair smell?" So I can understand how you feel. You can bet that if he ever discovers that it does smell bad the first thing I will be getting is some EOs and a spray bottle! I'm excited to hear how your EO experiments go.

[LaceyNg]

I've left the pins in so far today as I'm at work. Will remove and check when I get home. But it probably means I will be able to leave them out tomorrow. :)

I don't have a microfibre cloth I don't think but I can rummage through some old stuff and see if I can find one. At the moment I flip my head upside down and grab sections with the towel and squeeze from root to tip a few times. I never thought that how I dry my hair could contribute to how it looks when it dries, but I have learned this is definitely true, among the million other things I've learned since deciding to go WO. How do you dry?

I'm lucky in that so far I haven't had any hair smell issues apart from a mild paranoia which causes me to ask DH daily, or sometimes twice daily, "does my hair smell?" So I can understand how you feel. You can bet that if he ever discovers that it does smell bad the first thing I will be getting is some EOs and a spray bottle! I'm excited to hear how your EO experiments go.

i let my hair air dry, 100%. after i turn off the shower i stand there for a minute or so and squeeze out as much water as i can. then i dry my body off and wrap myself in a towel. i just let my hair drip down onto the back of the towel for a bit while i put on face creme, etc. and then even after i get dressed it still drips a bit onto the back of my shirt. after i'm dressed i tilt my head back and use my fingers to gently separate/fluff my hair off of my scalp. if i dont do that my hair just dries looking sort of helmet-like, and doesnt have ANY volume near the roots :/ and then i just leave it be!sometimes when it's 90% dry i'll run my fingers through it to gently de-tangle it a bit, but thats it. when i used conditioner in the past if i combed it while wet my hair would get SUPER straight, and i want to keep as much waviness as possible, so i try not to mess with it too much.

as far as i know, when people use the damp microfiber cloth, they do it on dry hair though.

i asked DH last night if my hair smelled. i'd just done a honey and cinnamon treatment, so to ME it smells delicious. he said the length didnt smell good, just "ok", and that my root area really smelled bad. not like too much cinnamon or anything, but like sweat. i dont smell anything though! i wish so badly that i could smell my own scalp! b/c the length smells just like cinnamon. so i guess off to the store i go, to get some EO! i'll update you guys after a few days or so, once DH has dont another sniff test :) with the honey, cinnamon, and lemon i'm going to smell like a cookie. a DELICIOUS cookie :)

[Bedhead]

LOL!! Yeah, sometimes it comes in handy if you can make up your own story by not speaking the language :D :D Funny that you have the patience to watch videos in a language you don't understand :p...
Yes it can. ;)
I actually live somewhere that is definitely not the culture I grew up in and very few of my friends speak English as a first language. I'm also attempting to learn two languages, one of which is the primary language here (not German though), so I'm kind of used to it.

As for the events on my head - I washed (with rhassoul) today, and it feels as though the pimples are already receeding... As I'm not particularly dogmatic about my hair routine I'm still quite happy about the fact that I went 9 days without washing and with my hair looking quite ok. All I need to figure out is what's plugging up my scalp...
I'm wondering if you have high acidity. Have you considered your diet as far as acid vs. alkaline (ph level)? Maybe it's all that nutella and pancakes you've got going on over there? ;)



As a little girl I always dreamt of being a pirate. I associated it with utter freedom and lots of travelling and adventures. Later in life I came to love the music of Kurt Weill (The three penny opera) and so piratejenny seemed a fitting screen name. :pirate:
</hijack>
Ah ha! Aye! Aye! Piratejenny! :cheese: I hope you follow your dreams of far off lands!

[Bedhead]

Checking in.... My hair has continued to do well. I ate tomatoes, though, a couple days ago, and I'm allergic to tomatoes, so both my skin and my hair reflected this. There was a subtle but higher level of sebum that wasn't quite as nice smelling as it has been for the past week, but it was what it smelt like before last weeks sudden shift - luckily that lasted only a day and a half and it's back to smelling pretty again.

As it is now, my hair is smooth and soft, maybe a bit too smooth - I've been having trouble keeping my buns in because it's so smooth (I use a stick). but I'm not complaining.

I realised I've gotten to a point where this hair care regime has become part of my normal rhythm and routine i.e. it's not such a big deal anymore, and feels more natural. I've gotten used to my hair texture too. I've decided it feels like a really soft expensive paintbrush; that seems to be the best description for it.

This spring has brought , once more, a shedding spree, only this year instead of hundreds of hair, possibly close to 500 at times during the shedding season, it means tonight my cleansing of my hair resulted in the loss of about 10 hairs (it's possible there's a few more I didn't see). And since I have a lot more baby hairs, yet again, in comparison, I'm looking forward to having all my hair back again, and can't wait until it grows into the length - so far they're about 6" long and shorter.

Anyway, all is good on this corner of the world! I'm thinking about writing a mini-blog about my SO experience. :)

[Natalia]

Just wanted to drop in for a quick share. I finally Finally FINALLY made it one whole month of pure WO with no greasy/icky/itchy/stick i want to shampoo feeling :D !!!! I did end up doing a CO+BS at about 6 weeks since i got sick of my hair taking so long to dry. It helped that some and my scalp feels nice but now i have some crispy hay-like feeling at my nape and my ends which tangles alot more so trying to sort that out. Still very happy to know i am capapble of making it to a month with just WO.

[piratejenny]

I'm wondering if you have high acidity. Have you considered your diet as far as acid vs. alkaline (ph level)? Maybe it's all that nutella and pancakes you've got going on over there? ;)!

Well, the thing is I haven't really changed anything about my diet - not that I'm aware of anyway. I do agree, though, that diet has a huge influence of the condition of hair but to figure out a culprit as far as specific foods go will take some time in my case. I'm not aware of any allergies for instance. I also think I eat fairly healthfully (focus on fruit, veg and whole grains) but I do "sin" . I like steaks and wine :toast:

I think I'll just go slowly. It's taken me a year to get from almost daily S/C to once a week rhassoul plus occasional dry shampoo. Things have improved steadily and since I'm not washing very often all experiments take a LONG time anyway...



Anyway, all is good on this corner of the world! I'm thinking about writing a mini-blog about my SO experience. :)

Definitely do! It's great to get positive experiences. I dare say not too many have made that journey :D

[Bedhead]

Well, the thing is I haven't really changed anything about my diet - not that I'm aware of anyway. I do agree, though, that diet has a huge influence of the condition of hair but to figure out a culprit as far as specific foods go will take some time in my case. I'm not aware of any allergies for instance. I also think I eat fairly healthfully (focus on fruit, veg and whole grains) but I do "sin" . I like steaks and wine :toast:

I think I'll just go slowly. It's taken me a year to get from almost daily S/C to once a week rhassoul plus occasional dry shampoo. Things have improved steadily and since I'm not washing very often all experiments take a LONG time anyway...

Slowly can be good. In stretching out you washes has the acne begun to show itself after a longer period of time? Are you seeing an improvement there at least?




Definitely do! It's great to get positive experiences. I dare say not too many have made that journey :DI know I'm not the only one, but yeah, there's not too many of us. It might take me a little while though. Since my hair has fully transitioned, I am no longer obsessing over it and have time to complete other things in my life. LOL! :p


------------------------------------------------------


It's been the ominous 14weeks since I began my NW/SO journey, and I'm glad I stuck it out. I have the last two weeks of pictures, unfortunately there's been a problem with loading them on the server lately, but I'll get them up as soon as possible. In any case, I know, smell wise, I transitioned at 12.5 weeks, but even since then there has been an improvement, as in something in my hair relaxed, and there's more softness and shine coming from within the hair itself. I've been oiling about every 4 to 5 days with olive oil, and today my hair looks wonderful, healthy and clean. I've learnt that I need to add moisture when my hair begins to lose it's colour tone somewhat.

I don't know if I'll have anything to report after this, but you can be sure I'll be poking around and supporting anyone else going through the process! :)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, and happy preening! :magic:

[LaceyNg]

Just wanted to drop in for a quick share. I finally Finally FINALLY made it one whole month of pure WO with no greasy/icky/itchy/stick i want to shampoo feeling :D !!!! I did end up doing a CO+BS at about 6 weeks since i got sick of my hair taking so long to dry. It helped that some and my scalp feels nice but now i have some crispy hay-like feeling at my nape and my ends which tangles alot more so trying to sort that out. Still very happy to know i am capapble of making it to a month with just WO.

congrats!!! thats a huge accomplishment!

i've always found BS to be quite harsh-- next time you're feeling like you want to cut back on some of the sebum, you might consider doing a tea rinse. it's acidic, but very mild :)

[Natalia]

congrats!!! thats a huge accomplishment!

i've always found BS to be quite harsh-- next time you're feeling like you want to cut back on some of the sebum, you might consider doing a tea rinse. it's acidic, but very mild :)

thank you been a long time since ive tried tea rinses, glad for the reminder :)

[Kamir0]

piratejenny, I use a fine-toothed comb too. Actually, I use a wooden fine-toothed comb first (1.5mm spacing), and then I use a plastic super-fine-toothed comb (~1mm spacing) and THAT really gets the job done. I dry clean it multiple times before I'm done (with a nail brush), and I also wash the plastic comb with soap and warm water quite regularly.
I am actually waiting to receive a so-called "dust removing comb" (0.7mm spacing). It should work even better. :D

Off-topic: Bedhead, do you live in the French-speaking part of Canada? I have cousins living in Montreal (they're French like me, but they moved to the US 15 years ago, and went to uni in Montreal). :)

I just hit the 7-week mark today. :happydance:
My hair is extremely soft and smooth, and it smells nice on the length, but still a bit strong on the scalp.
I had a lot of work this week and could not SMP as regularly and for as long as I'd normally like to. It's now been a couple of days since I resumed normal daily SMPing and it is nearly back to what it's been lately, although my scalp is a little oilier and itchier than usual. I even found some flakes for the first time in ages (TMI: I'm on my period so that may be why).

I have actually been thinking of your 7-week mark experience, Bedhead, to keep my resolve, because I have been less happy with my hair lately and I have been thinking of powdering it with cinnamon/ginger, etc. and even rinsing.


I'm thinking about writing a mini-blog about my SO experience. :)

Oh yes, please do. I have had a very similar experience to yours, and if it wasn't for your posts, I would have given up and moved on to another experience weeks ago. :flowers:
Your experience may help others interested in this method... :D

Also, for the first time in months (if not years), I wore my hair in a half-up (cinnabun) out of the house. I initially felt a little self-conscious, but when nobody commented on it, I relaxed about it. I worried the bun would fall out but my 60th Street Production three-prong fork held like a rock. :D

Congratulations on the 14-week mark and fully transitioning, Bedhead! :happydance:

I wanted to upload some NW pictures too, but the server kept returning an error message... :(

I have worked out that I'll hit the 12-week mark on DBF's 30th birthday (June 2nd).
I am not sure whether I'll carry on past that date, but as long as the smell is not too bad, there is no reason to change anything. "If it ain't broke..."

[earthnut]

What dry shampoos do people use? I'm probably going to try cocoa powder tomorrow on my hair since I over-did it with the coconut oil. Ginger sounds like it might be a good option for my fair-haired daughter.

[DoubleCrowned]

What dry shampoos do people use? I'm probably going to try cocoa powder tomorrow on my hair since I over-did it with the coconut oil. Ginger sounds like it might be a good option for my fair-haired daughter.
I use corn starch dusted in with a blush brush. After styling, a very superficial surface brushing with a baby brush or soft BBB removes enough on the surface that my hair does not look powdered. Cocoa probably would have worked for me, but it was lumpy and a little bit moister than corn starch.

[LaceyNg]

thank you been a long time since ive tried tea rinses, glad for the reminder :)
no problem :)
out of curiosity, what kinds of tea rinses have you previously used? i'm always up for trying new teas in my hair :)


What dry shampoos do people use? I'm probably going to try cocoa powder tomorrow on my hair since I over-did it with the coconut oil. Ginger sounds like it might be a good option for my fair-haired daughter.

i didnt even know there WAS such a thing as ginger powder!


I use corn starch dusted in with a blush brush. After styling, a very superficial surface brushing with a baby brush or soft BBB removes enough on the surface that my hair does not look powdered. Cocoa probably would have worked for me, but it was lumpy and a little bit moister than corn starch.

i havent used it yet, but when i do, corn starch will be my powder of choice as well. thanks for the tip about using the blush brush, DoubleCrowned!!!

[earthnut]

i didnt even know there WAS such a thing as ginger powder!
I just used the dried ginger powder in my spice drawer, you know, for cooking. ;) It worked OK, but was a bit too yellow for her hair. Next time I may use cinnamon or cinnamon/corn starch blend. I used cocoa powder for my own head and it was pretty good for soaking up my excess coconut oil. Smelled good too. :bluesmile

[Natalia]

no problem :)
out of curiosity, what kinds of tea rinses have you previously used? i'm always up for trying new teas in my hair :)

oh its been a while but i know i did plain black, chamomile, calendula, and a few well its in the cupboard so why not try it lol.

[Bedhead]

Off-topic: Bedhead, do you live in the French-speaking part of Canada? I have cousins living in Montreal (they're French like me, but they moved to the US 15 years ago, and went to uni in Montreal).

Yep! And it's very different from the mountain/prairie culture, where I'm from. :)


I just hit the 7-week mark today. :happydance:
My hair is extremely soft and smooth, and it smells nice on the length, but still a bit strong on the scalp.
I had a lot of work this week and could not SMP as regularly and for as long as I'd normally like to. It's now been a couple of days since I resumed normal daily SMPing and it is nearly back to what it's been lately, although my scalp is a little oilier and itchier than usual. I even found some flakes for the first time in ages (TMI: I'm on my period so that may be why).

I have actually been thinking of your 7-week mark experience, Bedhead, to keep my resolve, because I have been less happy with my hair lately and I have been thinking of powdering it with cinnamon/ginger, etc. and even rinsing.

Kamir0, congratulations for hitting the 7 week mark! :cheer:

Whatever you want to do, don't do it!!! You have reached and are in the midst of a major turning point. I know it's hard, but keep going; you won't regret it. And that sounds like quite the heavy duty fork you've got there! LOL! :)


Oh yes, please do. I have had a very similar experience to yours, and if it wasn't for your posts, I would have given up and moved on to another experience weeks ago. :flowers:
Your experience may help others interested in this method... :D

Also, for the first time in months (if not years), I wore my hair in a half-up (cinnabun) out of the house. I initially felt a little self-conscious, but when nobody commented on it, I relaxed about it. I worried the bun would fall out but my 60th Street Production three-prong fork held like a rock. :D

Congratulations on the 14-week mark and fully transitioning, Bedhead! :happydance:


Thank you!!! :joy:

I'm working on the blog now. It looks like it might be a three or four part series. Between the 18 pages of just my text from here and the accounts in my journal, it will be a lot to sort through and cut down. I'm glad my posts have helped and motivated you! :D


I am not sure whether I'll carry on past that date, but as long as the smell is not too bad, there is no reason to change anything. "If it ain't broke..."

By the time you get there, as I've said, this regime, won't seem like such a big deal, you'll simply just be doing your hair with the same la-di-la attitude you once did with shampoo. I see no reason to change at this point, and yesterday, after saying my hair looked great, my friend and neighbour confirmed something was up with the water here - we were both relieved and saddened to find out we were not the only one's experiencing strange problems (he's having skin problems an his hair has been falling out).

[LaceyNg]

I just used the dried ginger powder in my spice drawer, you know, for cooking. ;) It worked OK, but was a bit too yellow for her hair. Next time I may use cinnamon or cinnamon/corn starch blend. I used cocoa powder for my own head and it was pretty good for soaking up my excess coconut oil. Smelled good too. :bluesmile

a word of caution about the cinnamon: it can cause irritation for some people. also, i use it in a honey treatment, and it's not so easy to rinse out w/ WO. it usually takes me 3 WO washes before i get it ALL out. and now days i wash less often, so i do honey treatments with no plain WO washes in between, and i have quite a lot of cinnamon leftover in my hair. i cant SEE it, but i sure do smell delicious when my hair gets even a little bit wet! :)



oh its been a while but i know i did plain black, chamomile, calendula, and a few well its in the cupboard so why not try it lol.

i wish i liked the taste of teas. i have so many in my cupboard too, and i feel that at the rate i use them for my hair they're going to be there quite a while!

[redeyedtreefr0g]

I think I'm too chicken to try putting things in my hair. I tried an egg wash once. It made my head all itchy,though it did feel as if I had just washed my hair- without putting in any conditioner afterwards! I felt very strange walking to the bathroom with an egg and a bowl, terrified that my husband or his grandfather would walk out and catch me.

I have still been Water-Only since July last year (with the visit to the haircutter place in October being the only exception)

Over spring break I was back in Florida retrieving family members to live out here in Oregon with us. My hair did NOT like being rinsed in that water again.

I'm still waiting for the day that someone notices that the bottles in the shower are only getting rearranged occasionally- not getting any emptier. Then again, maybe no one will notice. I wonder if I should bother taking them with me when we move to Colorado this summer...?

My hair is... ok. It's not great, but then again I tend to ignore it a lot. I brush it with my regular brushes and wear it down most of the time so there is no fuss with my bike helmet.

[soniqui]

I think I'm too chicken to try putting things in my hair. I tried an egg wash once. It made my head all itchy,though it did feel as if I had just washed my hair- without putting in any conditioner afterwards! I felt very strange walking to the bathroom with an egg and a bowl, terrified that my husband or his grandfather would walk out and catch me.

I have still been Water-Only since July last year (with the visit to the haircutter place in October being the only exception)


I, too, am a chicken when putting things in my hair. I've only used jojoba and EVOO in tiny amounts so far. But when I started I bought a pre-mixed ACV & honey bottle that I found in the supermarket. I thought it was interesting and I haven't heard of anyone on here putting them both together, so it's still unopened in the cupboard until I can find the courage to rinse with it. Maybe after a full 8 weeks WO I will.
And it's inspiring to hear you've been WO so long! Thanks for sharing.

My question to everyone is...week 5 and my scalp is itchy. Why is this and what can I do? I have been trying to use Snowy's Massage Technique every day, but I'm still feeling the urge to itch with fingernails sometimes. DH and I plan on buying a shower filter, as he has a skin condition he is convinced is due to chlorine etc in the water...at the moment I'm thinking maybe this would help my scalp stop itching as well. Ideas?

[earthnut]

I, too, am a chicken when putting things in my hair.
I've been sticking to oils and water-soluble items. I wouldn't put egg in WO hair, though I've had it work in my hair when I was using shampoo, because I had a disastrous experiment with mayo. The smell would just not come out, for months, even with shampoo. However, I do put vinegar and honey in my hair, because they both easily dissolve in water and don't have much scent.

[soniqui]

However, I do put vinegar and honey in my hair, because they both easily dissolve in water and don't have much scent.

Thanks for the encouragement earthnut. I know that I will eventually be brave and try it. Mostly because I don't want to have bought the bottle to sit around and gather dust. I just don't think that time has come for me yet. Do you use them together? What effect does it have?

[earthnut]

Thanks for the encouragement earthnut. I know that I will eventually be brave and try it. Mostly because I don't want to have bought the bottle to sit around and gather dust. I just don't think that time has come for me yet. Do you use them together? What effect does it have?
I haven't used them together. I've used vinegar on it's own and it may have helped move some of the sebum down. There's lots of discussion about vinegar earlier in the thread. If you have hard water, a vinegar rinse seems to be an almost necessary part of WO. It can help make your hair shiny too.

I've used honey mixed with some oil as a leave-in. I'm not sure if it had any effect, but it's hard to tell since it was mixed with oil. Honey by itself is on my "to-do" list. Honey is a humectant and can help moisturize the hair.

[earthnut]

I've been about a week on WO and for the last couple days my hair has been dry and in need of oil. I preen it, move the sebum down, and oil the ends with oil. Since my hair seems to need nothing more I haven't been wetting it.

[88Marisa]

Hi everyone! I've been busy and haven't been keeping up with this thread, but I'm still WO, and it's been 11 months now. I've been using aloe vera gel a bit more lately to help hold my curls in formation and I've noticed it seems to help my hair look less oily too, especially the day when I wash my hair, which is still my worst hair day, looks-wise. It can look a little stringy when it's drying. Once I've brushed it out a few times it tends to look a lot better.

However, if I really need to have really good hair in a hurry (ie, interview), I'll wash (lukewarm water!), then put in aloe vera gel (food grade) and then blow dry with a diffuser (gasp!) until mostly dry, let it air dry the rest of the way and then brush it with a BBB until really smooth. I get nice shiny bouncy curls when I do this. Not sure why, but the blowdryer makes all the difference. I don't do this regularly though, so I try to wash when I'll have at least 12 hours so it can completely air dry and some extra time to benefit from brushing and preening.

The rest of the time, if my hair looks okay but not very curly, I'll brush it out well with my BBB, put in a small amount of aloe vera gel at the ends (or sometimes just some extra water if I'd already put in aloe vera gel since my last wash) and then hop in the shower and let the steam help the curls along and do a little scrunching with my hands. Any frizz gets smoothed out with a BBB afterwards.

Right now I've hit most of my major hair goals with the exception of length, which is just a matter of patience at this point. Well, I'm also hoping I get more natural highlights this summer too. But overall I'm happy. My hair is all virgin, looks and feels very healthy, no more serious issues with frizz, no more dandruff since my first (and only so far) cassia treatment, no smelliness (I'm allergic to a lot of perfumes, this is actually one of the major selling points of WO to me), less shedding, etc. I'm consistently happier with my hair than I had ever been before either, and it costs a lot less than all the products I've tried in the past.

I'll check in at my one year anniversary next month, hopefully with some pictures, although I may wait until my hair has gotten longer, as curly short hair can look a bit wild and I don't want to scare people off thinking that's how it behaves on this method with longer hair too!

[lunamummy]

Hi everyone, ages ago I promised an update about WO with henna. Did it wash out?

Well the first time, I mixed my henna with water plus a teaspoon of lemon juice. It was incredibly hard to wash out and in the end I had to use a cone free conditioner (just the cheapo Tesco one) to loosen the hair enough to get the water through it.

The second time, I added two really generous dollops of Greek yoghurt to my henna mix and it was so much easier to wash out! I also mermaid-swished my hair in a bucket of warm water with a bit of citric acid in to loosen the henna, and then dipped my finger tips in coconut oil and rubbed it through the ends during the final stages of my rinsing.

This time I think I might up the yoghurt even more - my length has been quite stiff feeling. I'm toying with an egg wash too, pre-henna, but worried about any smell lasting. I'm just not sure what the cause of the stiffness is.

Anyone else had successes or otherwise with WO and henna?

[earthnut]

Anyone else had successes or otherwise with WO and henna?
I don't use henna, but here's some experiences from earlier in the thread. I'm sure searching the thread would be helpful too. :blossom:

(January 29th, 2009)
I did henna the last time I was WO, and I didn't shampoo before applying it. (Actually, I never shampoo before applying henna. Henna's drying enough as it is.) My hair seems to take up the stain just fine, and while the henna seems to take off a lot of the sebum, you can go right back to WO. I can't comment on WO on virgin vs. hennaed hair because I was already a hennahead, but I doubt there's a significant difference.

(October 23rd, 2009)
I'm a hennahead, and I've been WO since mid-April (6 months). I strongly recommend using pure henna powder (BAQ). Mine comes from Mehandi.com. When I dye my hair, I use a mixture of henna and water. I used to use lemon juice, but I soon found that I could get the same dye release without it. So I guess that my first suggestion would be watch what you use in your henna mix. Many people use a mix of water, some sort of citric acid (ie lemon juice) and henna, but lemon juice can be drying and may be something you want to be aware of.

Also I don't use any conditioner in the henna or when I rinse it out. Conditioner will also strip your hair of sebum......... and....... well, most of us are doing WO so that we can keep our natural sebum. So that's another consideration. I wish that I could say that's why I don't use it. But the simple fact is that I don't use conditioner in my henna mix because it's more work and I'm into zero effort hair. LOL

It doesn't seem to me that henna dries my hair out. If my ends feel crunchy or the hair seems nastier than normal, I'll just throw a glob of aloe gel in. Sometimes, I'll also use a couple of drops of jojoba oil. But I have very dry hair, so someone with oily or normal hair might not need that. While I'll admit that the hair doesn't feel its best the day that I dye it, it's back to normal by the next day. In fact, what I've discovered that for a week or more after a henna dye job, I have AMAZING hair. My guess is that the henna takes out enough of the sebum to give me "fresh washed" looking hair, but without any of the damaging effects of traditional shampoo. One word of caution, though, is that I only henna my hair every two months or so. If I did it more often, I might not have that same wonderful, after effect.

[redeyedtreefr0g]

My question to everyone is...week 5 and my scalp is itchy. Why is this and what can I do? I have been trying to use Snowy's Massage Technique every day, but I'm still feeling the urge to itch with fingernails sometimes. DH and I plan on buying a shower filter, as he has a skin condition he is convinced is due to chlorine etc in the water...at the moment I'm thinking maybe this would help my scalp stop itching as well. Ideas?

You could try the vinegar rinse- I've read that might help, or also use bottled water- that might help not only with mineral build-up on your hair, but rinse off the irritating chemicals from your scalp.

I have noticed (I think) that rinsing (washing?) with hot water will make my scalp more oily, and also itchy. I have to use cold water to rub oils off my face or head to prevent them from getting dry (and itchy on my head) and just over-producing oils to recover. (I also use bar soap to wash my face oil off my hands, rather than put any kind of soap on my face. I feel that it is a nearly guaranteed way to cause pimples. I might de-sebum my hands occasionally while rinsing my hair too.)

So I will rinse my hair in cold water, then turn up the hot to boil myself from the neck down :D

Anyway, hope that helps

[Bedhead]

Still going strong, and I've come to the conclusion it really has happened, and I am for sure not deluding myself. This is goooood!

BUT, you may remember I had been doing a cleanse a few weeks ago? Well, what resulted is I ended up starting a liver detox a few days ago (my body is so happy). Anyway, guess what happened within one day of starting this cleanse???? I got scalp acne! Not a lot, and already most of it is almost gone, but I found that interesting given what others here have experienced. Something to consider.... Like said, it all comes out your head with this regime. ;)

I hope you're all well and enjoying the spring!

P.S. Still waiting on the servers to post pics of the final weeks of my transition.

[LaceyNg]

I think I'm too chicken to try putting things in my hair. I tried an egg wash once. It made my head all itchy,though it did feel as if I had just washed my hair- without putting in any conditioner afterwards! I felt very strange walking to the bathroom with an egg and a bowl, terrified that my husband or his grandfather would walk out and catch me.

I have still been Water-Only since July last year (with the visit to the haircutter place in October being the only exception)

Over spring break I was back in Florida retrieving family members to live out here in Oregon with us. My hair did NOT like being rinsed in that water again.

I'm still waiting for the day that someone notices that the bottles in the shower are only getting rearranged occasionally- not getting any emptier. Then again, maybe no one will notice. I wonder if I should bother taking them with me when we move to Colorado this summer...?

My hair is... ok. It's not great, but then again I tend to ignore it a lot. I brush it with my regular brushes and wear it down most of the time so there is no fuss with my bike helmet.

lol! i had to finally tell my husband that i was WO, he kept asking if i was EVER going to finish up all of the conditioner we have. heh. i said, i DO use it-- as body wash :)


I, too, am a chicken when putting things in my hair. I've only used jojoba and EVOO in tiny amounts so far. But when I started I bought a pre-mixed ACV & honey bottle that I found in the supermarket. I thought it was interesting and I haven't heard of anyone on here putting them both together, so it's still unopened in the cupboard until I can find the courage to rinse with it. Maybe after a full 8 weeks WO I will.
And it's inspiring to hear you've been WO so long! Thanks for sharing.

My question to everyone is...week 5 and my scalp is itchy. Why is this and what can I do? I have been trying to use Snowy's Massage Technique every day, but I'm still feeling the urge to itch with fingernails sometimes. DH and I plan on buying a shower filter, as he has a skin condition he is convinced is due to chlorine etc in the water...at the moment I'm thinking maybe this would help my scalp stop itching as well. Ideas?

to jump back in this conversation, since going WO i'm actually quite cautious with what i put in my hair.... i used ACV once after WO and it left my hair SO dry :( i do use some teas sprayed in my hair, but they all rinse right out. and i use honey and the cinnamon... and jojoba, and nightshade's panacea. i was a bit nervous about that last one, since she said she's never heard back from a WO washer if it left buildup or not. but i'm happy to say that the winter blend so far hasnt left any buildup!

i've heard people talking about how you cant rinse out egg in hot water or it'll cook into your hair, and i just cant give up my hot water. i KNOW hot water's bad for hair, skin, etc, but i figure if i'm not using heat styling or chemical dyes, one hot water wash a week isnt TOO bad damage-wise :) i admit though, i AM beginning to wonder if it's the reason behind my flakes....


(also, soniqui, let us know how the shower filter goes for you!)


I haven't used them together. I've used vinegar on it's own and it may have helped move some of the sebum down. There's lots of discussion about vinegar earlier in the thread. If you have hard water, a vinegar rinse seems to be an almost necessary part of WO. It can help make your hair shiny too.

I've used honey mixed with some oil as a leave-in. I'm not sure if it had any effect, but it's hard to tell since it was mixed with oil. Honey by itself is on my "to-do" list. Honey is a humectant and can help moisturize the hair.

thanks for posting this! it just clicked in my head after reading this that perhaps thats why DH said my hair looks dull-- maybe its our hard water, and i just need a (very mild) ACV rinse.

soniqui, i might just do this after my next hone treatment and WO wash-- i'm thinking that could give the same results as using honey and ACV mixed?


I've been about a week on WO and for the last couple days my hair has been dry and in need of oil. I preen it, move the sebum down, and oil the ends with oil. Since my hair seems to need nothing more I haven't been wetting it.

welcome! :)
keep us updated! its always interesting to me to see how different everyone's transitions can be!


Hi everyone! I've been busy and haven't been keeping up with this thread, but I'm still WO, and it's been 11 months now. I've been using aloe vera gel a bit more lately to help hold my curls in formation and I've noticed it seems to help my hair look less oily too, especially the day when I wash my hair, which is still my worst hair day, looks-wise. It can look a little stringy when it's drying. Once I've brushed it out a few times it tends to look a lot better.

However, if I really need to have really good hair in a hurry (ie, interview), I'll wash (lukewarm water!), then put in aloe vera gel (food grade) and then blow dry with a diffuser (gasp!) until mostly dry, let it air dry the rest of the way and then brush it with a BBB until really smooth. I get nice shiny bouncy curls when I do this. Not sure why, but the blowdryer makes all the difference. I don't do this regularly though, so I try to wash when I'll have at least 12 hours so it can completely air dry and some extra time to benefit from brushing and preening.

The rest of the time, if my hair looks okay but not very curly, I'll brush it out well with my BBB, put in a small amount of aloe vera gel at the ends (or sometimes just some extra water if I'd already put in aloe vera gel since my last wash) and then hop in the shower and let the steam help the curls along and do a little scrunching with my hands. Any frizz gets smoothed out with a BBB afterwards.

Right now I've hit most of my major hair goals with the exception of length, which is just a matter of patience at this point. Well, I'm also hoping I get more natural highlights this summer too. But overall I'm happy. My hair is all virgin, looks and feels very healthy, no more serious issues with frizz, no more dandruff since my first (and only so far) cassia treatment, no smelliness (I'm allergic to a lot of perfumes, this is actually one of the major selling points of WO to me), less shedding, etc. I'm consistently happier with my hair than I had ever been before either, and it costs a lot less than all the products I've tried in the past.

I'll check in at my one year anniversary next month, hopefully with some pictures, although I may wait until my hair has gotten longer, as curly short hair can look a bit wild and I don't want to scare people off thinking that's how it behaves on this method with longer hair too!

thanks for the update! i love hearing from longtime WO-ers! and i know we're all looking forward to pics!


Hi everyone, ages ago I promised an update about WO with henna. Did it wash out?

Well the first time, I mixed my henna with water plus a teaspoon of lemon juice. It was incredibly hard to wash out and in the end I had to use a cone free conditioner (just the cheapo Tesco one) to loosen the hair enough to get the water through it.

The second time, I added two really generous dollops of Greek yoghurt to my henna mix and it was so much easier to wash out! I also mermaid-swished my hair in a bucket of warm water with a bit of citric acid in to loosen the henna, and then dipped my finger tips in coconut oil and rubbed it through the ends during the final stages of my rinsing.

This time I think I might up the yoghurt even more - my length has been quite stiff feeling. I'm toying with an egg wash too, pre-henna, but worried about any smell lasting. I'm just not sure what the cause of the stiffness is.

Anyone else had successes or otherwise with WO and henna?

thanks so much for this update! i actually havent even used henna yet since that topic came up.... and i know i'm way overdue.... now that you've reminded me of it, i'm thinking i may henna again here in a couple washes or so.....


I don't use henna, but here's some experiences from earlier in the thread. I'm sure searching the thread would be helpful too. :blossom:

thank you SO MUCH, earthnut! this was very helpful! it was very nice of you to go through the trouble of hunting those posts up!



and sorry for replying to a million posts all at once-- i just felt like there was so much i missed that i wanted to chime in on!


as far as my WO journey is going, my flakes are back with a vengeance :( i was hoping that the honey treatments would be the solution for me, as the 1st one seemed magical, but now they're just ok in terms of helping flakes. i think i'm going to do a very mild ACV rinse before i give up on the honey treatments though. another idea i've been toying wround with s listerine on my scalp. but i'm really reluctant to try that since i dont want to strip off too much sebum.... so i guess i'll try the ACV rinse, then a few more honey treatments, and then oiling my scalp (probably w/ jojoba), and THEN the listerine. i'm hoping i wont have to go that far though! and with only washing once every 9 days, trying new stuff is a slooooooowwww process!

[Kumiko033]

Ok I want to join the club, my hair fits into a ponytail, I can do other updo's.

I have been on WO now for a week and I've tried it before when I had even shorter hair but damn..My hair stinks. A close friend of mine told me it smells like cat fur and..weed - hooray?

I've been browsering through this thread and I hear a lot about EO's but is it really succesfull and how long is the transitioning for hair to well, stop smelling :D!

[GrowingGlory]

My hair has transitioned! Now I can just brush it with my WIDU Bamboo wooden bristle brush, then brush it with my MP Large Extra BBB, fluff it with my fingers, and call it done. It looks great: full of volume and manageable. It feels soft and smooth down to the tips. I'm so happy to let go of products in favor of this simple routine.

[proo]

Hey pals
My SO is going very well, not compelled to rinse at my typical 3 week point.
Less and less sebum production all the time.
Hair/scalp feel clean and strong - I really love this method!

Bedhead, when you said a few posts back about adding moisture when hair feels dry or dull do you mean oiling? Is there any spritzing involved?

[Bedhead]

GrowingGlory. Yay! These are exciting times. eh? :cheer:


Proo, sounds like you're doing very well. Good stuff!
Yes, I mist and add oilive oil. It might not be SO, but it's working very well for my hair, and I only add the oil to my very ends, not the length of my hair. I think Wednesday was the last time I did it, so 4 days ago, and so far, it doesn't seem to need anything extra - I just listen to my hair instead of forcing an every so many days schedule onto it.

I should note, I also pretty much stopped using my brush, unless smoothing out a 'do. This just happened organically a few weeks ago, around the time of my full transition, and it's working well for me. I remember Frizzinator mentioning not needing it anymore too.

[piratejenny]

Just checking back in on my favorite thread after a week off-line (on vacation) :D. While I was away I didn't wash my hair at all - it was a rather rustic, camping type vacation anyway - which means that I went for two weeks SO. After a rhassoul wash my hair feels "conventionally clean" for about three days, then it becomes somewhat heavier. As far as I can tell, though, it doesn't change much anymore once it has reached the "heavier stage" and there is not much of a reason to wash again other than wanting the conventionally clean feeling or, well, skin acne...

As for the acne, that hit a worst point about two weeks ago (just before my last wash) and has been improving since. There are still some pimples, but it's definitely improving. I have no idea why (maybe the huge amount of French wine and cheeses I consumed last week :D ).

Main thing, though, is that my sister - who very critically and honestly scrutinizes my hair every time she sees it - claims that in an updo it looks perfectly normal. Not only that, she even claimed it looked very shiney and healthy!!!
:cheese:

I guess this goes to prove once more that a big part of SO goes on in ones head ;) ...

That said, I just applied henna mud to my head and will reset the cycle once more... We'll see how long I last next time around :cool: