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Emme76
March 28th, 2008, 03:09 PM
Hey!
I been reading about CO and some gave me the advice in other threads....It does sound like something I want to try - but I am still a bit comfused about it :rolleyes:!!!!!

It is conditioner only wash? Correct?
Do you use a small amout of schampoo on the scalp, so it doesnīt get oily/greasy?
My hair getīs easily dry (but just as easily greasy on the scalp), it is thin and fine. Doesnīt the conditioner weigh down the hair??

How many of you CO?

Sorry all these questions. :)!!!!
Also if anyone knows about honey - read that it is suppose to be really good in giving back moisture..any advice on that???

And also...to get rid of build up - what schampoo should I use or method not to dry out my hair while doing it. Is it importante?

Wow..that was a lot of questions. I am grateful for anyone that is willing to share their knowledge with me. :D!!!

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!
/Emme

akurah
March 28th, 2008, 03:12 PM
CO stands for conditioner only, and it means exactly that--cleaning your hair with nothing but conditioner. No shampoo.

My hair doesn't get oily or greasy when I CO, but this is contingent on the conditioner I use. My hair also isn't weighed down by the conditioner (it's weighed down by itself... but that's beside the point). I typically shampoo and use conditioner most of the time, I only do a CO wash if my scalp is itchy or irritated.

If you choose to use honey and don't want any hair lightening, microwave the honey for a few seconds (somewhere between 10 and 30 seconds?) to kill the peroxide before using it. Otherwise, repeated use of honey can lighten hair.

Kallisti
March 28th, 2008, 03:48 PM
I can't give much advice on honey, but I pretty much exclusively CO. I've been doing it since I got here, so over a year now. You don't use shampoo when you conditioner only wash. It works really well for me, as of right now, it's been about 4 months since I last used any shampoo.
Use a light conditioner, I use V05 Extra Body for it, I find that it doesn't weigh down my hair at all. That works best for me but don't be afraid to experiment and find what works best for you!

How I do it:
I goop conditioner on my hair first thing when I get in the shower, I use a lot and make sure it is all covered in conditioner scalp to tip, and then I pile it on my head, cover it with a shower cap and go about my normal showerly routine. The last thing I do is rinse.
My hair likes it better than anything else I have tried. The first time I CO'ed I was so astonished at the fact that my hair was not greasy, I was also shocked that the next day it still didn't look greasy. I've also never noticed a buildup at all, on those times when I use shampoo I actually notice that the next day it looks greasier than with only conditioner.

The most important things that I have found:
Don't be afraid to goop it on your hair, you'll use more conditioner doing CO than just conditioning after a shampoo.
Leave it on long enough, I leave mine on about 10 minutes, but the best time may vary for you.
Rinse, rinse, rinse! It works much better for me when I make sure my hair is rinsed really, really, well.
After you rinse, you can use a heavier conditioner if you like. My hair is prone to dryness, so after I CO wash, I condition the length of my hair (not the scalp) as normal with, usually V05 Green Tea or another scent I like that week.

Hope I helped. :D

Emme76
March 28th, 2008, 03:53 PM
THANK YOU!
I will try this!!!! Maybe it is something my hair will like.
Donīt know until I try :)!!!!!!
/Emme

AJoifulNoise
March 28th, 2008, 03:54 PM
It is conditioner only wash? Correct? Yep. Conditioner Only.

Do you use a small amout of schampoo on the scalp, so it doesnīt get oily/greasy? I use only conditioner to wash my hair 5 days a week. On the 6th day I shampoo and condition. My hair doesn't get greasy because of the lack of shampoo.

Doesnīt the conditioner weigh down the hair?? Some do, you may have to try out a bunch of conditioners before you find one that works for you. I use Herbal Essenses.

How many of you CO? Dunno. But I do!

And also...to get rid of build up - what schampoo should I use or method not to dry out my hair while doing it. Is it importante? It is important. I use a -cone conditioner (meaning it has silicone in it) to CO. Which means I risk a build up of silicone on my hair if I don't shampoo every so often. Gentle shampoos don't take care of this for me so I use ones with sulphates. If you use a conditioner without -cones, you may not need to shampoo at all. And if you do, you can probably get away with a gentler shampoo.

Nynaeve
March 28th, 2008, 07:04 PM
I would expect you to see a slight amount more greasy-ness in the beginning, but only long enough for your body to get used to producing less oil, since the shampoo was stipping it away before and forcing your head to create more oils to keep it moisturized.

artemis
March 28th, 2008, 07:36 PM
I've been CO for over two years now and apart from a short (~3 month) break, I haven't used any shampoo. There's a trick to figuring out how much conditioner to use, how long to leave it in and how long to rinse, but once you get that worked out for your hair, it works just fine to clean your hair without making it greasy. My hair feels cleaner when I use conditioner only than it ever did with shampoo.

rubyann
March 28th, 2008, 09:31 PM
In order to get CO to work for me, I had to apply it to dry hair and really saturate my hair. I would part my hair and use the conditioner bottle in a manner similar to a color bottle, applying the conditioner to the roots along the part and massaging it in with the other hand. I'd then part over and inch or so and repeat until my whole head was covered and then do the length, which would then be pinned up and covered with a shower cap. I usually would do this first thing in the AM. I'd go about my morning routine, which for me is getting my kid up, dressed and eating breakfast. I'd then jump in the shower some 20 minutes later, wet it and then lather it up. Rinse, rinse, rinse with warm water. Some conditioner on the length (ears down) and then other showerly duties. Rinse out conditioner, vinegar/water rinse, slight cold water rinse and then done.

I still CO sometimes, to get out a heavy oiling. I'd still be CO'ing exclusively, but I get bored and need to change up my routine. Pity, since I have something like 8 or 10 bottles of Suave, White Rain and V05 conditioners in my shower. Good old DH doesn't even complain anymore.:D

I still use CO as the main cleansing method for my very curly headed DD. Her hair just loves CO!

ColoradoDreamer
March 28th, 2008, 09:59 PM
The very first time I tried to CO - long before I found LHC, I'd read about it in a book I'd found and just tried using the conditioner the way I'd normally do after a shampoo - it didn't really work for me. My scalp tends to be oily, so just glopping on conditioner, letting it sit, and then rinsing doesn't clean my scalp

I find that I have to "lather" the conditioner in order to get it to cleanse my scalp. I use Suave when I CO. I wet my hair and then glop on conditioner. I either put on a shower cap or I will clip the length up out of my way and proceed with the rest of my shower and let the conditioner sit on my hair. Then I take my hair down, add just a "splash" more water to my hair and gently lather up my conditioner. For me, the Suave will lather up quite nicely. Not a soapy lather, but more of a creamy lather. After I get it worked in well, I use a wide-tooth comb to comb through my hair very gently, working from the ends up. Then I rinse. I start the rinse in warm water and gradually switch to cooler water. I finish with an ACV rinse.

The first time I used this method, my hair turned out beautifully clean, soft, and shiny. I didn't have any "transition" period of heavier oiliness with CO when I used this method of lathering the conditioner before rinsing.

For me, lathering is the key.

Edited to add that the picture in my siggie shows air-dried, CO'ed hair with a little bit of coconut oil and aloe gel on the length.

Emme76
March 29th, 2008, 08:41 AM
Thank you for all the great advice - and for sharing your own experience with CO! I tried it today - first time :), and my hair does feel very soft, but not sure if it has the same volume.
I guess I have to try it for a while before I know how my hair likes it. :rolleyes:!

/emme

SolSara
March 31st, 2008, 02:14 PM
If you haven't already found it, there is a great website for CO in Swedish. :) Lockig.se (http://lockig.se) At least the list in the forum with 'cone free conditioners and another list where the conditioners have been graded being light or heavy, are both worth to visit. If you don't like to check every conditioner by yourself though, it's kind of fun. :)

CaityBear
March 31st, 2008, 04:09 PM
I've been CO since December of last year and it's gone pretty good so far. With shampoo and conditioner before, I would have to wash my hair almost every day because within the second day my scalp started to get greasy and now I'm washing my hair every second day with CO and trying to stretch it out longer.

I agree, don't be afraid to goop it on. You are supposed to use more when CO.

At the moment I used White Rain to CO. I get in the shower, wet hair with fairly warm water, saturate well with conditioner. I usually put a bit on and start to massage in then add some more so my whole scalp is slimy with conditioner and I massage the conditioner really well, then apply my regular conditioner ears down and put in a shower cap until I'm done everything else. I usually take about 5 minutes then wait a bit longer so it usually stays in about 5-10 minutes each time. Then I rinse with cold water. You don't have to do that, it's worked well with warm, but slightly cool water for me. I find the cold water just makes my hair shine a lot and I find it's better for my hair in general.

I think most of it is about finding what works for your scalp.

The basics I started with was:
Enough conditioner to make hair slimy,
Massage really well,
Rinse really good.

Then I started adjusting amount of conditioner, how much massaging and temp of water and how long to rinse.