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View Full Version : dillema-can't do c/o...but want to :-(



cleanbug
October 18th, 2009, 09:03 PM
hi all,
i posted a question to the group about a week ago about my scalp. i was using coconut suave & co on monday & friday with shampoo/condition on wednesday & saturday.
anyway, with all the co washing & days in between when i don't wet my hair, my scalp was starting to give off a smell.
i thought it was the cocunut suave conditioner but think now that it is actually that my scalp over produces oil & is most likely Seborrheic dermatitis .

all through my teenage years, i used tar shampoos as that is what my dr. said to use. denorex is very harsh on the hair but does control the scalp. as i have gotten older (through my late 20's & early 30's) my scalp seems to have gotten better & i haven't used a tar shampoo for over 2 years now. i never heard of co washing until finding this forum around 1.5 years ago (not sure of my sign up date).

anyway, after dabbling with co washing i have had several bouts of smelly scalp & excessive itching & flaking.

long story short, i have to use shampoo every time i wash my hair....its not tar shampoo, but regular shampoo. seems to keep my scalp happy w/o having to go back to harsh tar shampoos. HOwever, my hair feels dryer & i don't like how it feels. i try to keep the shampoo just to the scalp & i do cwc to try to protect the ends but it still feels dryer.

would you just try to oil the length more? i usually put about 5 drops of grapeseed oil on my palms & then spread it through my hair once dry.

thanks
tami

Flynn
October 18th, 2009, 09:35 PM
I wouldn't worry about it. Just take care to only shampoo your scalp, and it should all be fine.

Coconut oil is meant to prevent over-dying and protein loss during washing; if you're really concerned, so you could always try oiling before you wash.

I can't CO, either. Most conditioners I have to keep well away from my skin -- so much for being a "gentler" washing method!

You can move away from sulfate shampoos without having to change to COing, if you want; this might work better for you. (It might not, also. You never know.) Cocamidopropyl betaine is a good, gentle detergent to look for, as is anything acetate. Sulfosuccinates are also meant to be much gentler than straight sulfates, as are sulfoacetates.

Also, you might like to consider changing your conditioner. What are you using now? Switching to something richer and more moisturising could work out well for you.

ravenreed
October 18th, 2009, 10:47 PM
I used to get a smelly scalp if I didn't wash every day. When I switched to CO, that went away unless I go more than 3 days... and even so, it is not as overwhelming. For me, SLS shampoos cause rebound oiliness and my scalp gets all unhappy. With CO and vinegar rinses, things are going much better.

Arctic
October 19th, 2009, 02:53 AM
hi all,
i posted a question to the group about a week ago about my scalp. i was using coconut suave & co on monday & friday with shampoo/condition on wednesday & saturday.
anyway, with all the co washing & days in between when i don't wet my hair, my scalp was starting to give off a smell.
i thought it was the cocunut suave conditioner but think now that it is actually that my scalp over produces oil & is most likely Seborrheic dermatitis .

all through my teenage years, i used tar shampoos as that is what my dr. said to use. denorex is very harsh on the hair but does control the scalp. as i have gotten older (through my late 20's & early 30's) my scalp seems to have gotten better & i haven't used a tar shampoo for over 2 years now. i never heard of co washing until finding this forum around 1.5 years ago (not sure of my sign up date).

anyway, after dabbling with co washing i have had several bouts of smelly scalp & excessive itching & flaking.

long story short, i have to use shampoo every time i wash my hair....its not tar shampoo, but regular shampoo. seems to keep my scalp happy w/o having to go back to harsh tar shampoos. HOwever, my hair feels dryer & i don't like how it feels. i try to keep the shampoo just to the scalp & i do cwc to try to protect the ends but it still feels dryer.

would you just try to oil the length more? i usually put about 5 drops of grapeseed oil on my palms & then spread it through my hair once dry.

thanks
tami

CO didn't work for me either, and oling also makes my skin break out. I need good old S+C for my scalps health.

You have already tried CWC washing, does it help the length at all?
You could dilute your shampoo, with water, aloe vera gel or juice, or honey or even conditioner (the last is called COW method). I personally find honey mixed in shampoo very moisturizing.

If your hair suddenly feels dry and weird, you might have build-up. In that case clarifying shampoo helps, it's like a miracle! It's actually recommeded to clarify when you change your washing method. Sometimes some particular ingredients can cause problems for some people. Minerals from water, protein from hair products, silicones... If it is build-up and clarifying doesn't help, then you might want to look into the ingredients of your S and C.

ETA: One other idea: your oil. Some hair is very finicky about which oils it accept. Some oils might make person's hair crunchy and other kind makes it lush. You could experiment with different oils and different oiling methods (pre-wash, oiling dry, wet, damp hair...mixing oil with conditioner or aloe vera...)

spidermom
October 19th, 2009, 07:02 AM
CO doesn't work for me, either. I dilute my shampoo in a squirt bottle half-filled with warm water, shake well, apply all over scalp. This cleans without drying out my hair.

I protect my length by oiling several hours to the night before planned shampooing. I used to CWC but I'm tired of buying conditioner all the time. This is a new routine; so far, so good.

Ash
October 19th, 2009, 10:27 PM
I mix honey in my conditioner on CO days and scrub the mix onto my scalp well. Honey is mildly antifungal and antibacterial and since I have done this, I don't have an itchy or smelly scalp. I CO every other day and CWC on the other days however I do not use chemical products. I had problems when I used Suave conditioner for CO, small clumps of hair came out in the shower, now I use Giovanni.

Have you tried oiling damp hair? I found that oiling dry hair was keeping out the moisture and made it very crispy. I do overnight oilings on damp hair and that seems to work much better.

Lyttle Lox
October 19th, 2009, 10:59 PM
I have experienced the same thing.. short term. I have been co-washing a little over a month and it seems better for my hair, but my scalp has been intensely itchier and scaly (I too have s.b.). I think I will try adding honey to the conditioner as suggested before I give up co washing.

JCFantasy23
October 19th, 2009, 11:44 PM
Yeah I can't c/o either. Gives me dandruff and looks waxy. Just remember that if c/o doesn't work for you, then it's no biggie, doesn't mean you won't have as healthy hair as those who c/o when you find what works best for you.

ChloeDharma
October 20th, 2009, 12:12 AM
Lots of good suggestions here. I tend to make sure my length is heavily oiled with coconut oil before washing to protect it which helps. You could also add essential oils like lavender to your hair oil which helps calm down scalp problems.
Have you tried vinegar rinses? They can be very helpfull for scalp issues too.
Neem is another oil that is very good for skin/scalp problems but that stuff stinks!
I have tried diluting shampoo with aloe gel and must say i found that worked very well, even though usually my hair reacts badly to shampoo's. I've also found that using 'poo with SLeS instead of SLS or whatever cleansers JASON shampoo's contain seem to not bring my hair out in a hissy fit quite as much.

No excuses
October 20th, 2009, 02:38 PM
I had similar problem to yours, but now I'm alternating CO with CWC, so my scalp is washed 'properly' with shampoo every 4 days. I think you may give this method a try...

florenonite
October 20th, 2009, 02:50 PM
The above suggestions all seem good.

What about finding a shampoo with tea tree oil in it and alternating that with CO? TTO is good for scalp conditions, so it might help.

You could also look into shampoo bars. They're gentler than conventional shampoo, and you can get ones specially formulated for dry hair or for dandruff. Non-SLS shampoo is also a good idea.

ETA: I used to dilute my shampoo with about half as much conditioner. It still cleaned my hair and scalp without stripping my hair. Perhaps you could try something like that?

Aunteater
October 20th, 2009, 02:56 PM
try searching the forum for borax. I recall reading somewhere in the monster shampoo bar thread that someone who had that exact same problem found a way to keep it under control by washing with a diluted borax solution. She listed the method and ratios she used.

ChloeDharma
October 20th, 2009, 05:58 PM
The above suggestions all seem good.

What about finding a shampoo with tea tree oil in it and alternating that with CO? TTO is good for scalp conditions, so it might help.

You could also look into shampoo bars. They're gentler than conventional shampoo, and you can get ones specially formulated for dry hair or for dandruff. Non-SLS shampoo is also a good idea.

ETA: I used to dilute my shampoo with about half as much conditioner. It still cleaned my hair and scalp without stripping my hair. Perhaps you could try something like that?

You could add the tea tree to some conditioner.....negating the need to use shampoo while benefiting from that ingredient as it's 'poo use that seems to be the problem ;)