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SummerRuby
June 1st, 2009, 07:32 AM
I wanted to try the WO method because I've tried so many other things and not really much else has worked. Co-washing overmoisturizes my hair, shampoo bars don't work on my thick hair, and baking soda/ACV and liquid shampoos (including castile) dry my hair out. So I looked on TLHC and saw many women who have had success with the WO method and I wanted to try it.

But many of the women I saw have slightly curly hair (3a, at most), and my hair is kinky/coily (about 4a/b), so I'm not sure if this method would work for me. I know of course I'd have to modify it a bit to fit my hair, and I can very well do that, but do you think the WO method would work for kinky hair? I really want to have success with this method, but I'm worried that I don't have the right hair type...:-(

mwedzi
June 1st, 2009, 09:29 AM
Hi! This 4b woman does water only.
http://nappyme.wordpress.com/
She says her hair feels great. No shampoo, no conditioner, just 1 moisturizer (some Proline glycerin- type spray).

Copasetic
June 1st, 2009, 10:24 AM
I have a friend with kinky hair who told me she has been water only for years. She found that it was the only thing that worked for her hair long term. Its worth a shot!

Fillette
June 1st, 2009, 03:07 PM
Hi SummerRuby :flower:,
I am no expert on WO but the only way you'll know if WO is for you is if you try it.
The way I see it, you have nothing to lose! Good luck and I truly hope it works out for you.
:)

flapjack
June 1st, 2009, 06:06 PM
The thing with WO is that it's a really easy and one-size-fits-all way to get started. I would just try it and adjust/change small things, one step at a time, to meet whatever issues you run into. WO seems to work for some people in all hair types and textures. One of my girl friends has been WO for years and she says her hair is as kinky as it gets. She has a small afro. So give it a shot and see what happens, good luck.

Anje
June 1st, 2009, 09:08 PM
My hair's not kinky, but I did WO for about 9 months, and the main downside was that my hair got a little dry, particularly on the ends. My hair needs conditioner, though, and CO is definitely not too moisturizing for me.

Give it a try. You may need to add oil to your ends if your sebum production isn't sufficient to coat them (mine's not). Be prepared that you may have 1-2 months of getting-used-to-it time, though. Curly hair tends to do better with WO than straighter hair, because the oiliness doesn't show as easily. It may work well for you.

Gothic Lolita
June 2nd, 2009, 12:40 AM
I've a classmate of Brazilian descent (she's black) and has 4c hair. She only washes very rarely and mostly just rinses and massages her scalp with water, because everything else is too drying for her. I think you could start WO, and ih you don't like ir you can always quit again. Maybe you'll need to oil your ends, but even the SO people sometimes need to do that.

Naluin
July 29th, 2009, 01:16 PM
I just saw this thread. Hopefully my untimely response will help someone.

My hair did just fine on WO for about 8 months. Then I started to get build up. Instead of just clarifying, I tried other washing methods, but of all the ones I've tried, WO gave me the most consistent and best result. I did need to oil my hair, though, but my hair just seems to need oil anyway.

Vermelha
July 29th, 2009, 01:37 PM
I did it for a while. My hair felt awesome while doing it.

However, I had an event I wanted to go to and I really needed a trim, so I used my shampoo and straightened my hair. I'm back on it now.

It's not W/O per se, but I do use oils to help retain my hair's moisture. I wash with nothing but water, I don't use conditioner; instead I use any oil I've got, and that's it. I've even used a tad bit of vegetable shortening as a sealant/pomade to slick my hair back into a bun.

Though I'm more curly than kinky, I think anyone should be able to do the W/O, especially considering that kinky hair works well with no-poo and co-washing regimes. The nature of kinky hair is typically dry, so why wouldn't it work? Like someone said earlier, the only thing you can do is try it out and look at that blog Mwedzi mentioned. Her hair seems to be faring well with the W/O.

P.S. - Like Gothic Lolita said, I know black Brazilians who just wash their hair with water (and a lot of them have gorgeous long natural hair). One girl said wetting the hair was "just what Brazilian people do."

Nappyme
August 5th, 2009, 08:55 PM
Hi! This 4b woman does water only.
http://nappyme.wordpress.com/
She says her hair feels great. No shampoo, no conditioner, just 1 moisturizer (some Proline glycerin- type spray).
She's right. I've been doing water only for I think two years now. I love it. I rinse and then apply proline lite cream moisturizer. My hair and scalp are doing just fine.

:cheese: