WO vs CO

[Samikha]

Has anyone tried both, and what were your experiences? Which one did you settle with, and why? How were they different?

I've been doing CO for a while, and while it mostly works well, sometimes it leaves my hair much too heavy. And it's not the perfect routine (but then, what is?). I've been wondering whether to do WO instead. I'd like the lack of fuss and the quicker drying time (!) but I'm wondering what other cons and pros are to it, compared to CO.

Anyone care to enlighten me? :)

[Samikha]

No one? Come on, people, don't make me change my hair routine uninformed;)

[spidermom]

The only think I know about WO is that after 3-4 days of rinsing only, my scalp/hair start to smell unpleasant. (I sweat every day from working out.)

[Peter]

With WO I have to wash every 2-4 days or it'll get itchy, greasy, and have a bit of an odor. With CO I can wash once a week and my scalp doesn't get itchy very often. My hair is a lot happier with CO.

[misspriss]

I tried WO a couple of times. I don't like it, my hair was flat and nasty looking quickly. I suppose if I did it longer, it may work out, but CO works great for me. Perhaps a lighter conditioner?

[Anje]

I find that the hair on my scalp tends to be heavier with WO compared to CO, but CO leaves my hair quite fluffy. (The baby hair frizz goes everywhere, while WO kept it calmer.) My main reasons for giving up the WO were that my ends weren't getting sufficient moisture from just water, vinegar rinses, and oil; and that I wanted to be able to go into swimming pools occasionally and then be able to clean the chlorine-water out without having my hair get "different" for a week and a half. I still am tempted back to WO, but I need to modify it for my ends' sake, if nothing else, and I rather enjoy messing with products and kitchen concoctions.

ETA: Did WO (with oil and vinegar rinses) with maybe 5 CO washes over the course of 9 months. My sebum rinses out pretty easily, and CO washing is almost stripping, as it removes all my oils and leaves my hair practically weightless.

[catfish]

Why pick one or the other, you could do both. Do some CO and maybe WO in between. COing with a more cleansing conditioner might help to, for example find a clarifying conditioner with citrus oils or tea tree oil may help keep your hair cleaner longer.

[Deborah]

I was completely WO for 22 months. I enjoyed the experience, but I finally had to admit that it was MORE work than CO'ing once or twice a week. The WO washing took a long time, while CO washing was not as long, and was way more pleasant. So I switched back to CO, and am happy with my hair.

WO was a very interesting experiment, and I learned some things about my hair. I actually like the way it feels when my hair is a bit oily, later in the week. It is so soft and extra silky, but it looks better (when down) the first half of the week. That is why some weeks I wash twice, but probably more often I just wash it once.

WO adjustment took me a good three months. Once there my hair settled down and was reasonably nice all the time. No one ever knew I was WO, and no one said anything about my hair seeming unclean or oily. I eventually told my husband, and had him sniff for me quite often. Usually my hair smelled just fine to him. He described it sometimes as smelling a little 'soapy.' I guess my natural head smells 'soapy' to him, but never smells soapy when I used shampoo, shampoo bars, or conditioner. Funny how we perceive smells.

Should you try WO? Only you can answer that. I did it whole heartedly, never going back to any products until I just stopped doing it altogether. It takes an adventurous attitude. I had fun with it, but some complained and whined about it endlessly. (That's why I did not write about it on the WO thread.) Maybe it's a matter of personality type. :shrug: I don't really know.

[MotherConfessor]

I second catfish, CO and WO together work very nicely. I like WO between CO's, it resets my curls and keeps my hair from getting greasy too fast, without having to worry about the upkeep involved with strait WO.