Make a deep treatment out of your cheapy conditioner

[Heidi_234]

I thought this method deserves a thread of its own. I swear by it. Actually, I don't use conditioners only in the conventional way anymore, and I always use them this way these days.

BTW, I didn't come up with a proper name to it. I referred to it awkwardly as the "Dry CO" method, but it's not very accurate. If somebody comes up with a better name, it would be super cool!

Anyway, it's very simple.

1. Choose a conditioner - it doesn't have to be cone-free, but I personally didn't try a coney conditioner for this. You might want to choose a cheaper one, because with this way of using it, you'll need more than you usually use.

2. Your hair should be totally dry - don't wet it before applying the conditioner. Conditioners do contain water, so wetting your hair will only dilute it, and possibly block some of it out. The whole idea is that in the shower, when your hair is already wet, the conditioner remains on top, diluted with all the water. Yes, it's meant to be used that way, but if I get softer hair my way, I'll choose to cheat. :wink:

3. Make your hair 'wet' with conditioner - that's why you'll need more of it. Your hair will soak it up, so whatever amount you're used to use won't be enough. Make sure you'll get everywhere, make sure you apply it from all sides and even with your hair upside down (unless it leads to massive tangles of course!). As a curly head this is the time I prefer to detangle my hair, but those of you who have the privilege to detangle before might prefer to do it before applying the conditioner.
Applying it on the scalp is not necessary (I don't do it, some people say it makes them shed anyway).

5. Don't restrict yourself - you may try to use different conditioners at once. Thinner ones good for detangling, thicker ones a great for my always dried out horrible ends. Sometimes I use few different conditioners at once, sometimes I only use one. You can also mix stuff in - honey, oils, I've even done a conditioner and citric acid mix once too ('tas nice :D).

4. Put you hair up for a while - some would probably find that the mere application on dry hair is enough to make their hair great. I find that it's not enough for me, but half an hour to an hour is quite enough. You don't get better results with leaving it over 1 hour IMO, and the conditioner might kind of dry in your hair, which is not a disaster at all, but isn't too nice either. Putting a piece of saran wrap over the bun is optional, it could prevent to conditioner from drying.

5. After time's up - hop in the shower and rinse it out. Proceed with your regular washing routine. For example - if you usually CWC, you can probably skip right to the W.

So, in short - all you have to do is apply lots of conditioner on your dry hair, put it up for a while, and then rinse out and proceed with washing. That's all. This simple. (Do I sound like a commercial?)

I can feel my hair softer already in the shower. I have horrible damaged ends, and this really helps me to cope with them. Of course, your mileage may vary, but I hope it would work you as wonderfully as it does for me. Oh, and thanks to Heavenly Locks for inspiring me to try it. Once I did, I'm never going back to using conditioners the way it says on the label. :gabigrin:

Marry Christmas and happy new year everybody :flower:

[Calista]

Sounds like a conditioner only wash to me. Many do it on dry hair. :)

[Othala]

Heidi, that sound like a good idea that would suit dry, coarse hair like mine. I will try it tomorrow and report back, I will definitely do the saran wrap thing to maximise absorption as opposed to evaporation. Thanks for this.

[Heidi_234]

Sounds like a conditioner only wash to me. Many do it on dry hair. :)
If many do this, almost nobody wrote they do.

Heidi, that sound like a good idea that would suit dry, coarse hair like mine. I will try it tomorrow and report back, I will definitely do the saran wrap thing to maximise absorption as opposed to evaporation. Thanks for this.
You're welcome. I hope it works for you well. :)

[AnnaMarie]

Sounds lovely Heidi, I'm definately going to try it :)

[Imoness]

Sounds nice. I think I'll try this as well. ^.^

[Kaijah]

Sounds good! I used to do deep treatments on dry hair maybe weekly - I don't know why it never occurred to me to slather on my first conditioner before every wash for a few minutes. :hmm: It seems like doing this regularly will be nicer than just a weekly treatment.

[spidermom]

I'm glad to hear that your hair is benefitting from this treatment. This is how I used to do CO because starting with wet hair didn't give as good of results. After about a year of doing 2 CO washings to every one CWC wash, I decided that CO left my hair too limp so I discontinued it. I'm pretty much a shampoo and condition kind of washer these days. I leave conditioner in my hair every wash, so no need to add it before I wash, as in CWC, which I did for years.

[Dreams_in_Pink]

Does this work with oils? (i'm trying it now though :D )

[Heavenly Locks]

When I CO, I almost always do it this way :) This is a great thread, I am glad you posted it.

I just wet my dry hair with my CO condish...and then get in the shower and do all the normal things. Sometimes I don't get in for an hour or so though.

:flower:

[BlndeInDisguise]

I like to do this once in a while as well, since most of the time I do scalp only washes. Just applying conditioner to wet hair and rinsing it after a couple minutes doesn't do the trick for me. Thanks for posting this! :)

[Quixii]

Question: If you feel you need to use shampoo, can you not use this method? I mean, I usually do the outside-of-LHC-typical method of shampoo then conditioner, all in the shower.
Otherwise, sounds like a great method. :)

[Unofficial_Rose]

I have never tried this, but I'll definitely give it a go. My hair is pretty dry, so this might help - thanks. :)

[teela1978]

If many do this, almost nobody wrote they do.


It was a popular thing a couple years back. You'd have to look on the old boards to find much written about it. Probably not a bad idea to have it on the new ones.

Personally I've never really had the patience to keep goo on my head for very long :)

[halo_tightens]

Question: If you feel you need to use shampoo, can you not use this method? I mean, I usually do the outside-of-LHC-typical method of shampoo then conditioner, all in the shower.
Otherwise, sounds like a great method. :)

You could try what I do sometimes...

Do the whole routine with applying gobs of conditioner to your dry hair and letting it soak for a while. Then, when it's time to wash, start by just wetting the scalp area a little-- enough to do a scalp shampoo. Then you can rinse out the close-to-scalp-poo and the conditioner all at once, followed by another dose of conditioner or not, as you please.

I like to do this when my hair feels too dry... It seems to give the benefits of the conditioner soak without eliminating the good scalp scrubbing that I don't feel right without. :)

[Kaijah]

Question: If you feel you need to use shampoo, can you not use this method? I mean, I usually do the outside-of-LHC-typical method of shampoo then conditioner, all in the shower.
Otherwise, sounds like a great method. :)

I wouldn't think so. I usually just shampoo my scalp, so I'd just leave conditioner off the first couple inches so they'd be 'clean' when going to wash. Unless you mean you like shampoo on your length - then this might cause problems since they'd have a layer of conditioner protectant.

[jel]

I want to try this! My hair has become much drier this winter, but at the moment I don't have much time for real DTs. I usually CWC in the shower, so starting half an hour before (and not bothering with adding oil, honey, aloe etc.) is doable.

Thanks for posting, Heidi!

[redneckprincess]

thats how I do my weekly SMT's

[Brat]

I've got some SMT type stuff on my head right now, applied to dry hair! First time, so we'll see how well it works with my poor fried mane!

[JamieRose]

I wasn't aware people did CO washes like this- thanks for starting it as a thread. Must go try!

[little_cherry]

That sounds very interesting! I'm going to try my CO washes like this from now on :) Will try doing an SMT this way, too! Thanks for the idea Heidi_234 :)

[coscass]

I'm a little confused. It sounds good, and I might try it, but my question is-- doesn't the warmer water open your cuticle up, and colder close it? If so, how is your hair really soaking up any of the condish if the cuticle is closed? (Then again, I suppose if your hair is damaged, the cuticle might be open. Idk.)

Because even in scalp treatments, you apply the stuff, then put a cap on and usually put them under a blowdryer so the heat opens the cuticle. Your plan might work either way, but me personally, I'd rather put it all up in a shower cap and put a blowdryer on it.

Don't mean to be a negative nancy, lol, just curious.

[bigmama8]

Thank you for posting this! I am going to try it soon. My ends have always been dry, but this year seems to be worse for some reason. Hopefully this will help my poor ends. Thanks!!

[amoulixes]

How funny, that's exactly what I'm doing right now. :D Put it in over an hour ago. I figured that I don't always have to bother with honey or aloe for an SMT, so I do this every so often.

[Demetrue]

I do this about once a week. Sometimes I will add jojoba oil, grapeseed oil and honey to the conditioner first.

[ravenreed]

When I do an oil treatment and let the oil sit, I will put conditioner on top of everything, without wetting my hair. When the conditioner is almost dry, I hop in the shower and rinse. It helps to get out any excess oil and works well for me. I also do this if my hair is really oily and I don't think CO will get it out the normal way (normal way I do it, anyway) My hair is pretty happy after.

[Brat]

My hair is finally dry from my little version of the SMT I applied to my dry hair, and I have to say... Wow! It is so soft and the ends don't look crispy. Curls are nice and defined. I used V05 Strawberry conditioner, some Olive Oil deep treatment stuff, some freeze dried aloe powder, and a few squirts of honey. Nuked for 10 seconds twice, and stick blended. Left for half an hour under a cap. Rinsed and air dried. Awesome stuff! Oh, it was on dirty hair too, no shampoo involved this time. Scalp still itchy and flaky though, so no help there. But I love the results and will have to do it again soon!

[GlamFanatic]

I love to do this with color glaze. but can rarely find it anymore

[ravenreed]

I make sure that I rinse my scalp with ACV when I do a CO cleansing. It helps my scalp so much with the itching and flaking.


My hair is finally dry from my little version of the SMT I applied to my dry hair, and I have to say... Wow! It is so soft and the ends don't look crispy. Curls are nice and defined. I used V05 Strawberry conditioner, some Olive Oil deep treatment stuff, some freeze dried aloe powder, and a few squirts of honey. Nuked for 10 seconds twice, and stick blended. Left for half an hour under a cap. Rinsed and air dried. Awesome stuff! Oh, it was on dirty hair too, no shampoo involved this time. Scalp still itchy and flaky though, so no help there. But I love the results and will have to do it again soon!

[Brat]

I make sure that I rinse my scalp with ACV when I do a CO cleansing. It helps my scalp so much with the itching and flaking.

What dilution? I'd LOVE to get rid of that problem!

[Natalia]

Hehehehe i didnt know this was a method :) i thought i was jus a lazy COer who didnt want to sit in the shower that long :p. Ive left mine on for up to 2 and a half hours a few times (who knew doing laundry was good for your hair ;) )

[Natalia]

Oh! Not to be off topic but i just saw this. Brat how do you like your freeze dried aloe? I just ran across the product a few weeks ago and thought it looked awesome :). I am waiting on a coupon so i can order some for myself, im really excited by it.


I used V05 Strawberry conditioner, some Olive Oil deep treatment stuff, some freeze dried aloe powder, and a few squirts of honey.

[.Amanaka.]

I had heard of people doing CO washing this way, but I had never tried it. But this sounds perfect for one of my 2010 hair goals, and definitely beats going out and buying tons of deep conditioner. I'll have to try this the next time that I wash.

[Fiferstone]

This is exactly how I use my conditioner every time I wash. I do use shampoo on the scalp and then just work the suds down to the length, because I need shampoo to clean the scalp (I've got a very oily scalp). I wet my hair with conditioner, bun it, run around doing my usual morning routine, and then hop into the shower (hair still bunned), and wash my hair as the last thing I do, followed by an ACV rinse as my final rinse. I'm liking the results thus far. I use a no-cone condishoner, and a mild (I hope) shampoo containing SLS, both by LUSH.

[30isthenewblack]

I'm going to try this. Thanks for the tip Heidi!

[Chamomile betty]

Thanks for the post. I'll have to give it a try this week while I am off on Christmas Vacation. I have some conditioners I want to try out.

[ooo]

I used to do this too. Now that my hair is all virgin it is not necessary any more. Thought I'll give it an other try every once in a while.

[LILBERT]

Im trying it now, as a CO wash, will let you know in few hours how it goes. ;)

[katha]

I'm just out of the shower - I put in conditioner first, on dry hair. I used Lush American Cream, which I usually like a lot. It's the only conditioner this far that doesn't make my hair feel too slick and greasy. I didn't let it wait for too long, maybe 10 minutes, because I'm an impatient person. :D
I just put it on the ends and the lenghts though, and after waiting those 10 minutes I wet my scalp, put shampoo on it and rinsed all out together.
I never put this much conditioner on my head before, and to be honest I'm not sure I like it, yet, as my hair is still wet and waiting to air dry. However, while I put in my usual coconut oil it did feel nicer than usual.. so I might do this again, maybe play with the soaking time or so.. thanks for the input in any case, it's always fun to try new things when it comes to hair care. :D

[Brat]

Oh! Not to be off topic but i just saw this. Brat how do you like your freeze dried aloe? I just ran across the product a few weeks ago and thought it looked awesome :). I am waiting on a coupon so i can order some for myself, im really excited by it.

I love it, I originally got it to use in soap. Much easier to use than measuring out and keeping the gel. I think it's 40x concentrated. Mix with water to get aloe juice! Or, mix with condish and honey for hair LOL

[coscass]

huh. Well, I guess this works if so many people are getting such fantastic results. I still don't really understand how though lol

[Heidi_234]

It was a popular thing a couple years back. You'd have to look on the old boards to find much written about it. Probably not a bad idea to have it on the new ones.

Personally I've never really had the patience to keep goo on my head for very long :)

Hi thanks for clarifying. I wish somebody started this thread here for me when I was a newbie. ;)

I'm glad to hear so many people find it helpful. :flower:

[Heidi_234]

huh. Well, I guess this works if so many people are getting such fantastic results. I still don't really understand how though lol
The cuticle is not completely sealed, if you dunk your hair in a bowl of lukewarm water - the hair would still soak it. Heck, even if the water is ice cold, the hair will soak it up. So, instead of having your hair getting soaked up in plain water which after a while evaporates away, we 'soak' it with conditioner which contains 'moisturizing' ingredients - that is, stuff that helps your hair keep more moisture in and thus keep it more moisturized and happy.

[maria_asa]

My hair has been very dry lately and nothing I've tried so far has helped very much so I'm definitely going to give this a try.

[Teakafrog]

I do this sometimes for a deep treatment, but not usually with the cheapy conditioner, but with a thick heavy conditioner like cholesterol. I let it sit for an hour or so, then shampoo it out and condition. I'll have to try it with the regular stuff.

[handsclean]

I tried this last night- I put in a semi-heavy oiling of coconut oil first, which I left in braids to soak in for an hour, then I slathered my hair in Suave Tangerine, put it in a bun and left it for about forty-five minutes. I rinsed it in the shower (I'm a COer) and put in my normal second conditioner, (Garnier Triple Nutrition), rinsed that with cold, then added more of it. I put in a bit more coconut oil, bunned it and went to bed. In the morning, it was somewhere in between damp and semi-dry, and I took it out and scrunched it. I definitely had a good hair day today! I'll definitely be doing this in the future :) I'd heard of it before and always meant to try it, but this thread finally inspired me to :)

[time_on_fire]

I'm trying this right now with Giovanni's Smooth as Silk conditioner. I'll be washing it out after the football game is over.

Only thing I've notice - my layerd ends stick out of my bun. The ends got hard and crispy, even though there was a bunch of conditioner on them. Did the ends need even more?

[Keildra]

I am so going to try this in the morning

[Heidi_234]

I'm trying this right now with Giovanni's Smooth as Silk conditioner. I'll be washing it out after the football game is over.

Only thing I've notice - my layerd ends stick out of my bun. The ends got hard and crispy, even though there was a bunch of conditioner on them. Did the ends need even more?
If the conditioner dries in your hair it makes it feel crispy and hard. It's not that you need more conditioner, a plastic sandwich bag or a piece of saran wrap over your bun will prevent it. :flower:

[shadowclaw]

This is a swell idea, Heidi! My hair tends to dry out really easy when I don't use cones and I end up in the shower everyday putting conditioner on my length. It probably isn't bad for my hair to get wet everyday, but I like how I can go several days without wetting it if I use cones. They really keep the moisture in there.

My hair usually stays very moisturized for two or three days after a deep treatment, so maybe this method can help me get more mileage out of it? It would be nice to have moisturized hair for a week without using cones.

[LilyMunster]

I have great results with this method, so long as none gets on my scalp. I often ponytail dry hair, then sop on the condish to the length, then bag the length with a grocery plastic bag. Getting the benefit of a long soak with none on the scalp. I put a beanie over it all so as not to scare the Granddaughter. hehehhe

[time_on_fire]

Thanks, Heidi. That's what I ended up doing - I put a plastic grocery bag on my bun. The dogs seemed amused by it, since they know that there is usually food in grocery bags.

This morning my hair was still a little damp, but THICK! I have it up in a fig 8 today, but it's itching to be let down. We have a concert to go to tonight, and it will get to fly free then.

I like it!

[zuno9]

Wow - I ended up trying this last night & the results were fantastic. I used my normal conditioner (which I CO with) with 2 tsp's of avocado oil added. Amazing how a simple adjustment to DT application can make a difference.

[Holly9192]

im trying this now...but i heated the conditioner and added oil and honey. i haven't rinced it yet but it smells pretty good

[Brat]

I will be adding a bit of oil next time... which to use though... hmmmmm

[Neoma]

heidi, this sounds like a brilliant method. I'm going to try it tomorrow morning. I'm going to mix some Strawberries & Cream with some aloe gel. I'll keep you posted on the results.

Thank you for starting this thread.

[Kris Dove]

Ooh, I already do this with Lush Marilyn hair moisturiser- as this is how it says to use it on the label! Never thought to try it with an ordinary cheapy conditioner though- thanks for posting! :)

[Sissy]

what a great idea. I'm going to try tomorrow morning. I have been applying conditioner to my heavily oiled hair before getting in the shower as it helps to wash it out (tip I picked up from a thread on here). However, I have never done a pre-conditioning on dry hair like this... sounds lovely! I'm not sure weather I'll apply it to my scalp or not... guess I'll decide in the AM when I'm doing it :)

Thanks Heidi!

[Starblanket]

Woo! Thank you so much for this, silly me I haven't thought of this before. :cheese:

Stupid question: do you believe adding green tea to the conditioner would null the effects? Should I just blend some green tea leaves with honey instead (no water)?

[Heidi_234]

Stupid question: do you believe adding green tea to the conditioner would null the effects? Should I just blend some green tea leaves with honey instead (no water)?
Green tea... It's not commonly used here for hair conditioning, even though all the anti-oxidants are rather good for hair too. The thing is - green tea contains tannins and might end up too astringent (at least on it's own). I doubt it would null the effect, although it would definite make the conditioner very runny, and obviously dilute it quite alot. You should try it and see if it works.

I so glad so people found this thread useful. Yay! :D

[Tabitha]

Yep this is how I do my COs - CO on wet hair or left on for just a few minutes didn't work for me.

[Neoma]

I tried this method this morning. I mixed some Strawberries & Cream conditioner with a little aloe gel and a dropper of Moonchaser's SS Oil. I bunned my hair and let the mixture sit for an hour. Then I rinsed it out and CO'ed as usual.

My hair is so much softer than usual. It feels moisturized and conditioned and healthy.

Thanks again, Heidi, for starting this thread.

[Sissy]

I also tried this method this morning and had good results. I used 3 diff types of conditioners and then CO washed it out after I had bagged it on my dry hair for a few hours. Worked a treat... I've let my hair air dry without leave-ins and yes it came out nice and soft!

[Starblanket]

Green tea... It's not commonly used here for hair conditioning, even though all the anti-oxidants are rather good for hair too. The thing is - green tea contains tannins and might end up too astringent (at least on it's own). I doubt it would null the effect, although it would definite make the conditioner very runny, and obviously dilute it quite alot. You should try it and see if it works.

I so glad so people found this thread useful. Yay! :D

Thanks for this! :D Hopefully it works out so I could add it to my routine.

I used a blender and mixed conditioner, one green tea leaf, shea butter, jojoba oil, and a few drops of essential oils. The look on my mum's face was hilarious when I told her what I was doing.

[Auntbeast]

I'm currently sitting here with a bag on my head. Not because I'm ugly, or because I'm an unknown comic, but because I'm giving this a try. Our water is very, very acidic (pH 5) and is frying my poor hair. I hope this helps.

[Neoma]

I'm currently sitting here with a bag on my head. Not because I'm ugly, or because I'm an unknown comic...You're very funny, Auntbeast.

I hope the treatment works for you.

[jel]

I tried this the other day with a light conditioner that I normally use for the first C in CWC. I left it on for about half an hour, then got in the shower and completed the wash and condition. My hair didn't feel much softer while still wet, however when it dried it was definitely shinier than usual! Which is a good result for me, definitely worth repeating (maybe with a heavier conditioner).

[RavennaNight]

I am trying this as we speak:). My head is slathered in :inlove:VO5 Passionfruit Smoothie:inlove:

[RoseRedDead]

Right now I've got Suave Sunkissed Raspberry (old formula) slathered on my hair from ears down. It's been under a shower cap for about 1 1/2 hours now, and I'll be washing here soon....

Intrigued by this, needless to say.

[paintedmuse]

I was going to wash my hair tonight anyway, so now I'm going to try this. It sounds great :D

[shockinglength]

I tried this a while ago and it did make my hair so much softer. I guess my hair was so dry that I had to apply half of a bottle of suave conditoner!!! It also took FOREVER to rinse out of my hair. Do these things also happen to you guys?

[Othala]

Reporting back. This technique worked really well and I had well moistured hair for longer than normal afterward. Many thanks Heidi.

[DanielleRenae]

I went to Sally's yesterday and bought a gallon of conditioner. I probably used 7 or 8 handfuls on my hair. It also took me about 30 minutes in the shower to wash it out. I don't even think I got all of it out. My hair feels a lot better, though.

[RoseRedDead]

I'm not sure how this worked out for me.

There were a lot of other variables I threw in along with this (shampooed my scalp [suds did travel down the length a little], rinsed a lot more than I usually do, detangled with a not-so-great conditioner 'cause that's what was in the shower, etc).

I'll have to try this again with fewer other things mixed in.

My hair doesn't feel so great - kind of rough, like I did when I used to CO and rinsed WAY too much....

[Heidi_234]

I tried this a while ago and it did make my hair so much softer. I guess my hair was so dry that I had to apply half of a bottle of suave conditoner!!! It also took FOREVER to rinse out of my hair. Do these things also happen to you guys?
Half of battle sound awful lot to me, it does take more conditioner than with the 'mainstream' way, but not that much.

As for rinsing out - I'm not sure, I'm a curlyhead, and I tend to actually leave conditioner in after washing, so I was never concerned about completely rinsing it out. I do find that my hair stops feeling as if there's conditioner in it rather fast though when I rinse it out.

[GlassEyes]

Yeah. :shrug: I do this--sometimes I like to add oils/butters, and maybe honey or molasses.

I usually apply it to wet hair, and if I don't, I usually either comb it through with a wet comb or smooth some water on top to spread it down. Otherwise it gets clumpy and doesn't fully drench the whole length. Plus, adding water seems to 'activate' it for me. :shrug:

[vamq]

Never knew this was some kind of "method". I do this all the time:D

What works great for me, is putting light/volume conditioner on my length, and an oily/moisturing conditioner on my ends. Then I (french)braid my hair, and go to sleep.
Conditioner works in the whole night. It really works for my frizzy hair.

For me: I don't need really much conditioner, because I do this quite often. So my hair's not that dry. Also, rinsing out is not such a problem. Maybe because my hair loves conditioner anyway? I just have to make sure I don't put conditioner on my scalp, because I have to rinse a looong time if I do.

[MandyBeth]

This is my method for CSC. I can't give up the poo for my scalp, but my hair is so short yet, with ends running towards crispy, using the conditioner before helps keep my hair more/less behaving. I think it also helps with my 'cone addiction, since I don't feel like I use nearly the amount of my 2nd conditioner as I have before, and it rinses out a lot better.

[Yozhik]

Thanks for the advice! I'm definitely trying this tonight :)
I hope this solves my crispy ends :( -- I've been getting worried that I might have to resort to a trim!

[katydid317]

Thats pretty much what I do for deep conditioning. My tresemme conditioner, honey and some olive oil. slather it in, put a plastic bag over my head. wash out an hour or so later. My hair isn't coarse or dry to begin with but still, it feels sooo nice when I do this.

[Sherri]

I have never thought to try this. I will give it a go on my next wash day:)
I always put coconut oil or jojoba oil on my dry hair and expect to get moisture but never thought about conditioner.
I will report back on how it works on my hair.

[CaityBear]

I should do that again. I did that once quite a while ago and loved it. My hair has been feeling wonky lately so I need to do some sort of deep treatment to reset it. haha

[WaitingSoLong]

I did not realize this was a typical way to do CO. I have tried CO but always on wet hair. I am going to try this once and see what happens. Today is my wash day, so I will do it before I hop in the shower later.
Going to look for the CO thread because now I have CO questions!

[Heidi_234]

I did not realize this was a typical way to do CO. I have tried CO but always on wet hair. I am going to try this once and see what happens. Today is my wash day, so I will do it before I hop in the shower later.
Going to look for the CO thread because now I have CO questions!
Just to clarify - it's not the typical way to CO. If it was, I wouldn't have posted a new thread when there's already a CO thread going on. :)

[Aggie]

Bumping...

[WelshLocks]

I'm doing this right now and I wanted to ask how often everyone does this treatment?Can i do it like once a week(I'll run out of conditioner before then haha!)or should I do this once a month? I hope this turns out well.

[Heidi_234]

I'm doing this right now and I wanted to ask how often everyone does this treatment?Can i do it like once a week(I'll run out of conditioner before then haha!)or should I do this once a month? I hope this turns out well.
I guess it's up to you :) There are no rules really. Nobody tells you how often you need to do SMTs, right? ;) I wash my hair once a week, so I do it each wash. If you're more frequent washer, maybe you don't need to do it each wash. Whatever feels good I suppose.

[Captain Nikki]

I've been doing this the last couple of weeks or so, since reading this thread. It works brilliantly for my hair. My ends are no longer dry & crunchy. Works better than oiling. I do this before every wash & i wash nearly everyday since it's very hot here & i am very active in my job & i run & ride horses.

[JamieLeigh]

This is how I do my deep treatments. I use the Suave Naturals tropical coconut, and add one part honey for every two parts conditioner. After mixing well with my fingers, I apply it to my dry hair, root to tip. Then I sit with it under a plastic cap for 2 hours (if I have that much time), and rinse it out as though it were a normal CO. I don't heat it up like an SMT, because I've found that excess heat to my hair makes it frizzy - and this includes my shower water. (This is also probably why I wash my hair less in the wintertime. :()

[WaitingSoLong]

Ok, so I did try this yesterday. I used a cone-free conditioner "Mane & Tail" (I have horses. I coul dnto find cones anywhere on the ingredients) because it was the only thing I had enough of to do this. Wow did it take a LOT. And I would not say it was saturated but every strand was definitely damp. It is very cold out and I get chilled even inside with wet hair, so I bunned it (this was an interesting experience) and put my twist towel over it like a heating cap. An hour later I used a little shampoo (like 1/4 of what I normall use) at the scalp and rinsed, then conditioned with my regular conditioner.

Holy Wow! My hair was shiny and so slick I could not keep it in just any bun! I did not have to oil it at all. And after the mini-shampoo and rise and recondition, my hair still smells like the Mane & Tail, so I know I did not wash it all out.

So now I am just wondering, too, how often I should do this. Once a week is too much for me as that would about almost every time I wash my hair. But then again, maybe that is good. So now I will have to buy a bottle of some cheap (like Suave) conditioner and see if I get as good results.

Then of course probably have to do a clarify once in awhile. Thanks for this thread!

[hanne jensen]

This sounds silly, but is it o.k. to apply this on dirty hair? I usually have several coats of coconut oil in my hair by wash day. I also have residue after leave-in condishioners. Will the cheapo conditioner cut through all this?

[Heidi_234]

This sounds silly, but is it o.k. to apply this on dirty hair? I usually have several coats of coconut oil in my hair by wash day. I also have residue after leave-in condishioners. Will the cheapo conditioner cut through all this?
Yes, why not. You hair is completely not coated, and the conditioner still has access to the hair. If anything, the conditioner, left in for longer, may help remove oil from hair. As you might seen over the boards, it is commonly said that CO removes heavy oilings far better than shampoo.

I apply conditioner on 'dirty' hair - it has in it all kinds of stuff; various oils, shea butter, aloe vera gel, maybe occasional leave in, and the conditioner left in from last wash.

[Aeon F.]

Yep this is how I do my COs - CO on wet hair or left on for just a few minutes didn't work for me.

Ditto! :D

Plus it is a way to leave the condish on really long time to clean (I CO), without having to be stuck in the shower forever and run out of hot water! Ha!

I love doing this- it's also great for removing heavy oilings too (I usually try to do a heavy coconut oiling the night before a wash). I love this method- makes my hair very happy!! :inlove:


I just bought a tub of lustrasilk mango shea butter cholesterol treatment recently- I wonder if I could use that in this method and still get my hair clean... :hmm:

[Aquamarine]

Sound great! I think I gotta give it a try:D

[Aggie]

On Long Hair Care Forum, we call this deep conditioning on dry hair and it is perfect for ethnic hair. The difference is we tend to use great quality deep conditioners and not the cheapie variety. When we use the cheapie conditioners, it would be called deep co-washing.

This method has definitely been a time saver for me and I love this way of treating my hair. Alterna Enzyme Therapy Hemp Hydrating Conditioner is my favorite conditioner for this particular method of treating my hair.

[Kaileida]

Did this last night with my Suave because of some serious hair knots. It feels soooo amazing today :D Thank you!

[Heidi_234]

On Long Hair Care Forum, we call this deep conditioning on dry hair and it is perfect for ethnic hair. The difference is we tend to use great quality deep conditioners and not the cheapie variety. When we use the cheapie conditioners, it would be called deep co-washing.

This method has definitely been a time saver for me and I love this way of treating my hair. Alterna Enzyme Therapy Hemp Hydrating Conditioner is my favorite conditioner for this particular method of treating my hair.
I'm not sure I specifically mentioned it in the OP, but I second what you say about using specifically intended deep conditioning masks. Sometimes I use a conditioner on the length and a hair mask on the ends. I guess my emphasis was more on the fact even the cheapy conditioner can give such fantastic results.



Also, since we are on the topic of daviations - I find that with my hair, sometimes the length from shoulders down feels dry while the hair to my shoulders feels actually great. Sometimes I do the same Deep/Dry CO thing just on the dry length and rinse just it. It's also great for curlies, because it brings back the day 1 curls. ;)

It could be just my ends that are totally dried out, so I'll braid it and slather the ends with conditioner, leave it for the said 0.5-1 hour and rinse out.

Just tossing some ideas. :flower:

[Little_Bird]

Hmm, that seems like a great solution for my problem!

I have been using this THIIIIIICKKK conditioner, which is cone free, and my hair does not like it. I was trying to switch to all natural products but I already knew, and my hair actually likes cones.

SO... I've been trying to get rid of the conditioner, but I want to use it all, since my mother gave it to me so dearly. So I think I'm going to do this! I'm only left with just enough for two applications so I guess it's ok.

And then when I wash it out I'll finally be able to apply my old conditioner again :D

Thank's so much for the suggestion, I'll post the results next week! (After I try it!)

:flower:

[Arctic]

I have tried this too twice after reading this thread/method :) It works really well and doesn't seem to give me instant buildup like I often experience from anything other than plain old S+C. I have used the same condish I usually use anyway, it's relatively cheap (FInnish XZ Xylitol Honey) and cone and protein free. My hair has been really soft and nice afterwards. I have to use shampoo on my scalp so I have tried this modified like C+W and CWC, both seem to work nicely.

[Aggie]

I'm not sure I specifically mentioned it in the OP, but I second what you say about using specifically intended deep conditioning masks. Sometimes I use a conditioner on the length and a hair mask on the ends. I guess my emphasis was more on the fact even the cheapy conditioner can give such fantastic results.



Also, since we are on the topic of daviations - I find that with my hair, sometimes the length from shoulders down feels dry while the hair to my shoulders feels actually great. Sometimes I do the same Deep/Dry CO thing just on the dry length and rinse just it. It's also great for curlies, because it brings back the day 1 curls. ;)

It could be just my ends that are totally dried out, so I'll braid it and slather the ends with conditioner, leave it for the said 0.5-1 hour and rinse out.

Just tossing some ideas. :flower:

Thank you Heidi. I totally love your idea of using a mask at the ends of the hair. My ends normally need more love for sure. Thanks for sharing.;)

[missfaroe]

Just bumping this thread because maybe this could help some of you guys :o

I tried this a week ago and the result was amazingly soft hair! I have never had the same result by adding a little conditioner after washing out the shampoo in the shower!
And I find it much more convenient to just apply conditioner in my hair whitout having to be in the shower and then I can just do whatever I want; wacht tv, be online on LHC and so on :o I just hate to wait the 5 min. It takes for the conditioner to work in the shower. I really don't have patience for that, whatsoever ;)

[The-Young-Maid]

missfaroe I'm so glad you bumped this! I never really thought to try this before.
I have a giant bottle of conditioner from Costco that I use for a pre-wash(shampoo)
conditioner that I want to finish. I don't have much time to shower so I usually
wash my other conditioners and my deep conditioner out sooner than I'd like. I
can't wait to try this tomorrow!

[RavennaNight]

Yep, just chiming in that whenever I have done this, I always have a good result.

[HintOfMint]

I did this when I had a bunch of V05 Vanilla Mint conditioner left over from my failed experiment with CO. It was too runny for me to use as a regular conditioner with shampoo so I turned them into SMTs. I used them as I would a regular conditioner but it was pretty good for my hair.

[millyaulait]

This doesn't work for me with my conditioner (Biolage), for some reason it makes my hair drier and not very happy.

I've noticed that Biolage works amazingly on super wet hair.

I've been soaking my hair first before running the 'dish through, wrapping my hair up in a towel & waiting 30-60m before rinsing it out.

I do this after every wash & my hair has improved so much it feels like silk.

Just throwing that out there for anyone who hasn't had any luck with applying conditioners to dry hair.

[missfaroe]

missfaroe I'm so glad you bumped this! I never really thought to try this before.
I have a giant bottle of conditioner from Costco that I use for a pre-wash(shampoo)
conditioner that I want to finish. I don't have much time to shower so I usually
wash my other conditioners and my deep conditioner out sooner than I'd like. I
can't wait to try this tomorrow!

I'm glad you are glad and I really hope it works out well for you too :o

[dwell_in_safety]

This is how I CO-wash. :) the past couple months it's always been over coconut oil to wash the oil out of my hair + wash my hair in general, but when my washes weren't as stretched and I was oiling every other wash instead of before every one, I'd just use conditioner and leave it on dry hair for an hour or so. Always leaves hair looking great and clean.

[Neneka]

I do this when I go to sauna. I put some oil in too sometimes. It protects my hair well and prevents drying even if I go to sauna for multiple days in a row. :)

[Bagginslover]

I did this the other day with some left over conditioner.

I have to warn you, if you are using a conditioner you don't really like the scent of, do not use it for this!! I could still smell it days later!! Luckily I didn't stop using it because of that, but the smell was very strong, much stronger than when I used it for regular WC, CWC, or even CO (tried all 3 with this particular one). So yes, only use a conditioner you don't mind stinking of!! ;)

[jacqueline101]

I've done that intact about a year ago I had lovely lavender scented hair for a week.

[The-Young-Maid]

It works!! Yay, my hair was super soft. I'm now officially halfway through this 33.8 oz conditioner. :cheese:

[Buddaphlyy]

It's so interesting that the same technique can have so many names. I would call this a pre-poo and I have been doing this since before I even came to hair forums. I prefer to add a little bit of oil to mine to aide in slip.

[WilfredAllen]

I already do this and I love it!!

[Jenny31557]

I'm definitely going to try this before my next wash. I'm excited to see if it'll work for my hair! Fingers crossed!

[hairconvictions]

Thanks for posting this- I can't wait to try it. My ends are getting dryer as the winter approaches! :)

[Shibe]

We only have two in one :(

Gotta wait until we hit the store to buy separates.

[Macaroni]

I haven't done this in a long time so I think I'll do it soon.

You don't have to tip your hair/head upside down to do this. Just section it into quarters and apply it to each quarter section, starting in the back.

[sarahthegemini]

I put my co-wash conditioner on dry hair and leave it for 10 mins. Does that count? Probably not actually as it's not a moisturising co .... :o

[Macaroni]

I haven't done this in a long time so I think I'll do it soon.

You don't have to tip your hair/head upside down to do this. Just section it into quarters and apply it to each quarter section, starting in the back.

Did it last night and wow! I'm going to do it before every shampoo.