CV bar vs CO?

[whiteisle]

How do you think these methods compare as far as their effectivness to cleanse, maintain and/or provide moisture, and their gentlness (how much they strip natural oils)?

[Calista]

For me they both clean equally effectively, and they are both moisturizing. CO makes my hair lanker, and I need to wash more often, with CV bars I wash once a week.

Hope that helps.

[marikamt]

I experimented with EVERYTHING..... I went from stretching SLS washes when I first joined, to trying CO, then SLS free, now CV poo bars...... based on your profile you and I have similar hair types so I will tell you what I found happened to me with each.
* Stretching SLS washes..... my scalp production of sebum went crazy!!!! Itchy scalp (which I have NEVER had) and really greasy hair.........

* CO only...... scalp felt better, condition of hair was good but it was really lank.... It wasn't quite greasy (although by wash day, bangs would be greasy) but it wasn't "right".... better than stretching SLS washes, but still not perfect.

* SLS-free shampoo and no cones...... best out of what I had tried.... scalp felt good, hair looked good (although almost too fly-away), no lankness/ greasiness.... hair had no "weight", I don't know how else to explain that...... and I felt a little frizzy....

*CV bars ('poo bars in general).... wow!!! My hair feels the best ever!!!!!! It feels clean, but not over-stripped, has body and "weight" but is not lank, I can go 3+ days between washes and no greasies.

Now- I will tell you your hair is slightly thicker than mine... I have "fine hair bit a lot of it".... w/ cones/sls shampoo, I thought it was stick straight........ CO made it the waviest, but it kind of "separated" too..... sls/ cone free it was the frizziest...... "poo bar shows waves, not as much as CO, but no "separation"..........

I *think* the coarser and/ or curlier your hair is, CO seems to respond better... curlies, correct me if I am wrong......

[Carolyn]

Some of the difference in performance will be due to your water type. I have Culligan softened well water. I love CO washing. It's been my preferred method for several years. I get nice clean, shiny, soft hair with it. The CV bars didn't work at all for me. They were a disaster. My hair was gunky, coated, dull and lank even when I did white vinegar rinses. I would probably try CV bars again if I lived somewhere else as I like the idea of them. LUSH solid shampoos and Jungle conditioner work for me.

[Fethenwen]

This is a very interesting thread. I just started using shampoo bars, but I haven't got really an opinion about them yet.

Will watch this thread with interest :knit:

[whiteisle]

I experimented with EVERYTHING..... I went from stretching SLS washes when I first joined, to trying CO, then SLS free, now CV poo bars...... based on your profile you and I have similar hair types so I will tell you what I found happened to me with each.
* Stretching SLS washes..... my scalp production of sebum went crazy!!!! Itchy scalp (which I have NEVER had) and really greasy hair.........

* CO only...... scalp felt better, condition of hair was good but it was really lank.... It wasn't quite greasy (although by wash day, bangs would be greasy) but it wasn't "right".... better than stretching SLS washes, but still not perfect.

* SLS-free shampoo and no cones...... best out of what I had tried.... scalp felt good, hair looked good (although almost too fly-away), no lankness/ greasiness.... hair had no "weight", I don't know how else to explain that...... and I felt a little frizzy....

*CV bars ('poo bars in general).... wow!!! My hair feels the best ever!!!!!! It feels clean, but not over-stripped, has body and "weight" but is not lank, I can go 3+ days between washes and no greasies.

Now- I will tell you your hair is slightly thicker than mine... I have "fine hair bit a lot of it".... w/ cones/sls shampoo, I thought it was stick straight........ CO made it the waviest, but it kind of "separated" too..... sls/ cone free it was the frizziest...... "poo bar shows waves, not as much as CO, but no "separation"..........

I *think* the coarser and/ or curlier your hair is, CO seems to respond better... curlies, correct me if I am wrong......


I've been meaning to say something! :) I've had a pretty good experience with cv bars however they didn't moisturize my hair enough like regular shampoo & condish (namely tresemme). I might try them again and use conditioner afterward instead of an acv rinse. Wow! I just have to keep messin', don't I? :rolleyes::D

[Merewen]

I've been experimenting with both of these recently. My hair seems to stay cleaner for longer with the bars, but I notice a whole bunch more splits after I wash with the bars. I thought it was just damage that was hidden by the 'cones before, but when I COed for a while and then went back and washed with the bar (ONCE), there were the splits again!

[lonestargal]

I love CO. It works really well for my hair. I tried the CV bars several times with no luck. I love the scents and they work great as body wash but couldn't get them to work in my hair to save my life. I have pretty hard water and when I'd wash, my hair never felt moisturized. I also had a lot more shedding than I did with poo/condish and I have very little with CO. Great bars just not for MY hair.

[Velouria]

I've been experimenting with both of these recently. My hair seems to stay cleaner for longer with the bars, but I notice a whole bunch more splits after I wash with the bars. I thought it was just damage that was hidden by the 'cones before, but when I COed for a while and then went back and washed with the bar (ONCE), there were the splits again!

The 3 time periods I've tried using shampoo bars, I've always noticed an increase in splits and breakage. You'd think I would have given up after the first trial (w/CV), but no, I had to try several different brands of bars first. The last brand I tried (Sweet Creek Herbs)gave the best results in terms of immediate results. But now I'm again noticing more splits and fragility. No more! All my samples are going in hand-soap dishes.

[moonbeam]

CO made my hair feel lank and heavy, and the roots did not feel clean.
CV bars (I tried several "flavours" ) made my hair feel waxy and coated, though my scalp felt great. I really wanted to make the bars work and tried for several weeks with many different rinses.

[Anje]

In the past, I found that my hair wasn't as soft with CV bars, if that makes sense. It wasn't horribly dry without the conditioner, but it wasn't as soft. CO makes my hair feel softer and very nice, and it's quite cleansing for me -- enough so that I get frizz that needs weighted down after a wash.

I'm not sure how I'd do with CV bars now that I'm in a new location with a water softener. When I've tried DH's bar, I notice that the acid rinse isn't as necessary.

[Merewen]

The 3 time periods I've tried using shampoo bars, I've always noticed an increase in splits and breakage. You'd think I would have given up after the first trial (w/CV), but no, I had to try several different brands of bars first. The last brand I tried (Sweet Creek Herbs)gave the best results in terms of immediate results. But now I'm again noticing more splits and fragility. No more! All my samples are going in hand-soap dishes.

Yeah, and I have a ton of soap bars. I figure I'll keep them around in case my hair needs a break from the CO once in a while. They're gonna last a good long time at this rate though.

[marikamt]

so do you all think the difference in result has to do with hair type or water type?? At first I thought maybe hair type, but now I am leaning towards water.... maybe a combination of both???

[getoffmyskittle]

I don't know if I qualify to reply to this thread just yet, but I used CO for ages, because it made my hair softer than it had ever been before (plus it's kind of a rite of passage for new LHCers). I never had trouble cleaning with it, either. I stopped using it because it made me shed a lot. I have just started experimenting with soap and I haven't tried CV yet but my experiment is so far going well - nice soft hair and a really low shed rate.

But, my hair is overall in much better condition than it was when I was COing (new LHCer vs 5 years down the line), so I'm sure that has something to do with it. I'd not go back to CO because the shed rate is just horrific to me now. I don't know why I did it so long. :p

CO didn't really eliminate splits for me... so far I haven't found anything that does other than wearing it up. I do keep tabs on how moisturized my hair feels and try not to let it get dry. I like oil for that. :D

[GlassEyes]

I've been meaning to say something! :) I've had a pretty good experience with cv bars however they didn't moisturize my hair enough like regular shampoo & condish (namely tresemme). I might try them again and use conditioner afterward instead of an acv rinse. Wow! I just have to keep messin', don't I? :rolleyes::D
I'd use them with ACV AND conditioner if I were you.

CV was horrible for my hair. It had shine and body, but it felt waxy, coated, and overall, quite weird. If you have porous air, soap bars can destroy it--soap has a far different PH than hair, making the cuticle rise making it more porous, and lose moisture faster, at least from my understanding. That's pretty much the opposite of what you want.

There's also been some debate as to whether ACV or acid rinses restore the pH of hair well enough, but I know little about the argument.

CO, on the other hand, has been lovely for me. :p I REALLY wanted CV bars to work--they smell great--but they didn't. That might've just been a transitional period, because my hair WAS really shiny with them--I was going to give them another try before I read about their relation to porous hair.

[Velouria]

CO didn't really eliminate splits for me... so far I haven't found anything that does other than wearing it up.

Perhaps I should clarify my meaning.....I never expected that shampoo bars would eliminate or even necessarily reduce splits or breakage, but what I found was that they seem to increase when I've used bars.

[Bucatini]

so do you all think the difference in result has to do with hair type or water type?? At first I thought maybe hair type, but now I am leaning towards water.... maybe a combination of both???

marikamt I think it has to do with both, but largely the water. As others have said, I wanted so badly to love CV bars despite all evidence that they were not for me (tangles, increased shedding, waxy coating, a generally yucky/bad feeling of my hair itself and my scalp, impossible to manage or style), and I wanted to give them a fair chance. During that time, I went to visit a friend in another state and there the CV bar worked WAY better. Then back at home on my next wash it was the same mess all over again.