washing question (s!)

[walterSCAN]

WARNING: long post.

Ok, so, I am determined to get CO to work for me eventually!

So far though, it's not working out, and I'm wondering if any of you can point me in the right direction/ tell me where I'm going wrong. I almost posted this to the CO thread, but I feel like it's too long/ involved for that... feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I'd like to preface by saying that I have read through the CO thread (not the whole thing because it's sooo long), and don't feel like my questions have really been answered.

Hair stuff that might be pertinent:
I have 1a, F, ii hair that tends to get/ look oily faster than other types.

I have always had really oily hair-- before I started stretching washes, it would be oily within 12 hours of washing, which was ridiculous given that my hair takes 3-4 hours to dry. I washed every day up until the beginning of 2009.

I'm currently stretching washes, so I'll wash on day 1 and then wash again on day 4 or 5 (evening washes). Right now, I'm using either Mane n' Tail S&C (because my hair likes protein a lot of the time) or vO5 pomegranate S&C on wash day, depending on what I feel like my hair wants at the time. At the moment, my hair doesn't look oily until the middle of day 3 (wash before bed day 1, looks good all of day 2, starts looking oily day 3).

My goal is to eventually get my hair to look good for 2 whole days-- or more, if I can. When I've got to that point, I'd like to try transitioning away from shampoo altogether with the same results.


My attempts at CO:

Haven't worked out well. :wink:

So far, I've only tried vO5 conditioners because that's all I have other than the Mane n' Tail, which I think would be too heavy for this method. I tried the pomegranate and the blackberry sage tea therapy 'flavors' with the same lack of success.

What I do is get my hair wet in the shower, slop on a bunch of the conditioner, rub it in a bit, and then loosely bun it while I do other things. The conditioner usually stays on for 5-10 minutes, most often about 7. After that, I run my head under the water quickly to get it wet again and attempt to 'lather' the conditioner-- this never happens. When I've given up trying to 'lather' the conditioner, I rinse.
And rinse. And rinse. I always run out of hot/ warm/ even lukewarm water-- it's uncomfortably COLD by the time I'm done rinsing. When I get out, my hair feels nice and I always hope that that means this time it finally worked, but by the time my hair is dry it looks and feels gross.
It looks oily and feels gunky, even though I used my entire water heater rinsing out the conditioner.

I'm wondering whether trying suave might work better for me-- I've had my eye on the tangerine 'flavor', and I used to use the aloe and waterlilly S&C and loved it. Is there that much difference between suave and vO5? I know some people have said one or the other doesn't work for them, but from what I've seen, it's usually suave that doesn't work.

Could it be the ridiculously hard Indiana water? I'm really hoping not, because I live in an apartment and am not buying my landlord a water softener. Also, I'm a full-time student working part-time and living with her fiance (who lost his job 2 months ago) and money is extremely tight.

Do I just need to wait until my wash-stretching has progressed further?

Also, one of the things that make this method hard for me is that I must wash my body after I've rinsed out the conditioner, because conditioner makes my skin break out really badly. Does anyone else have this problem? It seems like the only way I'm ever going to have warm water to wash the rest of me with is if I put the conditioner on before I get in the shower and let it sit. Is there a big difference in how CO works if you do it this way? I haven't tried it yet...

Please ask questions if I've missed anything pertinent, I really want to make this work!


ETA--> argh! I just noticed I put 'was' instead of 'wash' in the title, and now I can't fix it... :facepalm:
ETA2: Fixed.

[tralalalara]

I've also been trying CO on some of my shower days and only stretching shampooing to once a week.
for me it makes it take longer to dry and I can't even fingercomb through it or else I get frustrated by how gunky it feels at the ends.

You might try Breck conditioner, it lathers pretty well. It's what I've been using, I bought it at the dollar tree.

[florenonite]

Maybe your hair just doesn't like CO? I've got straight, fine hair, too, and CO just didn't work for me :shrug:

[contradiction]

Maybe your hair just doesn't like Conditioner Only washing. My fine, 2a hair doesn't either.
Conditioner Only is not superior, better than, or even more gentle or effective than traditional shampoo and conditioner. It's just different!

[AKgirl25]

I have been CO washing for about 3 months now. I do use a sulfate free shampoo once a week or so. Not really for oily roots but because my hair is so fine I feel like it needs it. I have not tried this, and I've heard it can lighten your hair if you use too much, but I heard adding a bit of lemon juice to your condish can help. But again I haven't tried it. I like the Vo5 tea tree mint, but it's not moisturizing enough for me, maybe something like that would work for you, though? Let us know if you find anything that works for you!

[Darkhorse1]

I feel your pain.
I too have very oily hair/scalp and I've managed to stretch washes to the 3rd day. I've found a few things that helped:
Night washings. As a teenager, this never worked, but now? It's better--not sure why??
Cool water rinse--I find this has also helped--not icy cold, just cooler than you use to wash. Not sure if it does anything, but it helps me and makes my hair shiny :)

I use a clarifying shampoo which also helps. I work with horses, so I need to remove sweat, dirt and oil, sand, shavings..you know, the usual ;)

[Bethany44]

I'm another 1a, fine hair and CO washing really didn't work for me. I used a Suave conditioner and my hair looked okay, but still flat and greasy and I couldn't go more than 1 day without re-washing. I've had better luck washing with a sulfate-free shampoo every 2-3 days and skipping CO washing completely.

[Kaijah]

I'm not a finey texture, and my scalp isn't particularly oily, but my first thought is that it sounds like you're trying to skip from full strength shampoo washes to CO. This didn't work for me AT ALL, my scalp just got gross. I had to spend about a year using low poos (glucoside based cleansers were the only ones that worked for me, and are super gentle) before I could start alternating in CO washing and come out with nice hair.

I think going from a total oil stripping shampoo to a more moisture based cleanser caused problems because my scalp was producing more sebum than it would need after being cleaned with CO/super gentle low poos.

Even with all that, I still don't CO wash every time. It just depends on how my hair and scalp are feeling. I usually use V05 or White Rain when I do cowash because they don't feel as heavy/waxy to me as Suave did. Even though my hair eats moisture like candy, my scalp and crown-hair aren't fans of heavy conditioners.

And of course it's always possible your hair just doesn't like it. :run:

I definitely have that "conditioner on the back" problem, I have to clip my hair up at the end and rinse it all off or I break out. You can to a dry cowash like you mentioned, or you could wet your hair at the sink (or with a spray bottle, or somesuch) then slather on the conditioner before you get in. Either way can work just as well as doing it all in the shower.

[Carolyn]

I've found that CO works better for me with softer water. You could use a mild ACV rinse after COing and see if it helps any. I would suggest switching the brand of CO conditioner. The VO5 Blackberry worked great for me but that doesn't mean your hair will like it or that it will work in your water. All the VO5's except KLS work for me. Suave leaves me with a bit of waxiness. Dollar Tree usually carries White Rain conditioners. Maybe try one of those.

You might want to try a long CO soak. I load my hair up with the conditioner and cover with a cheap plastic shower cap from Dollar Tree and then cover that with a Turbie Twist type hair towel. Also from Dollar Tree. I find that long CO soaks get my hair cleaner than quickie COs.

[Madame J]

I have oily hair and a scalp that hates oils/conditioner. CO was the worst thing I tried, hands-down. Just because it's a lifesaver for lots of people doesn't make it a miracle method that works for everyone. If you have a very dry length, you might try CWC, where the wash step is done with diluted, mild shampoo applied only to the scalp.

[rhosyn_du]

Both of the VO5 flavors you've tried are relatively heavy, IMO. I can't use either of them for CO unless I'm planning to wash again the next day. You might want to try one of the clarifying conditioners (Kiwi Lime Squeeze or Vanilla Mint Tea Therapy). White Rain's clarifying conditioner is also nice and light. I wouldn't really recommend Suave based on the issues you're having, since I find it difficult to rinse out and it tends to weight my hair down.

[Anje]

It might be worth blaming the ridiculously hard Indiana water (as a homeowner in Lafayette, I ended up getting a softener -- the soap scum in the house was THICK!), but it could also be an issue with having fine, oily 1a hair. It works well enough on my 1c/2a/F hair which tends more toward dryness, but I might also be more tolerant of piecey hair because of my texture.

For me, Suave works better than VO5. I like the tangerine and waterlily flavors, but there are people who swear that the only thing that works for them is tropical coconut. (My hair hates tropical coconut -- it's the only one I know of with protein, but that may be why they like it.)

I splash about a palmful of water on my crown for lathering. More water than that just seems to rinse out the conditioner. You might not even have to add any water at all.

Just a thought -- have you tried ending everything with a diluted vinegar rinse? I can't help wondering if the hard water might be contributing to the gunky feeling, especially since you're not shampooing. Vinegar is nice for getting rid of that hard water buildup. And soap scum in the bathtub.

[Deborah]

I have fine hair and hard water, so I know what you face. I'd suggest two things to try:

1. I think you need to use MORE of the conditioner. It should lather at least lightly for you. If you are not using enough, it won't lather, and it won't clean very well.

2. You may want to end with a vinegar or citric acid rinse. Either of these is good at removing mineral deposits and any conditioner left behind by your hard water.

You MAY also need a lighter conditioner than the ones you have chosen. I think VO5 works very well, but I have not tried either that you mention. The Strawberries & Cream and the Kiwi Lime both work well.

Good luck! :flower:

[walterSCAN]

Thanks for the replies so far! You've all given me a lot to think about. It's not really that I think CO is a 'miracle method' or anything, it just appeals to me a lot. Especially the idea of using just one thing on my hair most showers.


It might be worth blaming the ridiculously hard Indiana water (as a homeowner in Lafayette, I ended up getting a softener -- the soap scum in the house was THICK!), but it could also be an issue with having fine, oily 1a hair. It works well enough on my 1c/2a/F hair which tends more toward dryness, but I might also be more tolerant of piecey hair because of my texture.

For me, Suave works better than VO5. I like the tangerine and waterlily flavors, but there are people who swear that the only thing that works for them is tropical coconut. (My hair hates tropical coconut -- it's the only one I know of with protein, but that may be why they like it.)

I splash about a palmful of water on my crown for lathering. More water than that just seems to rinse out the conditioner. You might not even have to add any water at all.

Just a thought -- have you tried ending everything with a diluted vinegar rinse? I can't help wondering if the hard water might be contributing to the gunky feeling, especially since you're not shampooing. Vinegar is nice for getting rid of that hard water buildup. And soap scum in the bathtub.

Glad someone else knows about the water in Indiana... ugh. :rolleyes:Sometimes it's hard enough to break your teeth on... ;) add to that that my water is over-treated city water, and you have icky, icky water for hair washing. My grandma's well water was much better than this nasty city water!

I think I'm going to try both putting the conditioner on dry hair beforehand and just using a palmful of water before I give up on it. Also, I think I'll try the tangerine-- I love the smell, and if I don't end up succeeding at CO I can just get the shampoo to match!

I've tried ACV rinses, but they always left my hair stringy and oily looking. I don't know if I was doing it wrong or what, but after the first one, they never worked out. Heh, I'm going to be cleaning my bathtub in just a little bit though, and vinegar IS great for that! ;)

rhosyn_du: You know, I've looked for the kiwi-lime vO5 EVERYWHERE, because I used to use the S&C and liked it, but apparently it is not carried in my town now... >< Good to know that the vO5 C's I've tried are on the heavier side... I kinda thought so, but lately I haven't been trusting my own judgement with regard to things like that.

[valrhona]

"I've tried ACV rinses, but they always left my hair stringy and oily looking. I don't know if I was doing it wrong or what, but after the first one, they never worked out. Heh, I'm going to be cleaning my bathtub in just a little bit though, and vinegar IS great for that!"

Hello!
ACV rinses should work. You can buy a large bottle of water, drink some of it, then add the ACV. It does help when you mix ACV with good water, even carbonated/seltzer type of water.
Please keep us up to date with your quest!
V.

[Nae]

I am guessing your ACV rinse was a little too strong, I use 12 oz of water with just one glug of vinegar and it seems to help with the weird oily thing. I don't CO, I had so much trouble getting that to work but I have enough conditioner to try it again someday if I want to lol. I too think that our crazy hard water is probably effecting it, but who knows. They say it isn't good for shampoo bars and I was able to get that to work. Best of luck!!!

[walterSCAN]

"I've tried ACV rinses, but they always left my hair stringy and oily looking. I don't know if I was doing it wrong or what, but after the first one, they never worked out. Heh, I'm going to be cleaning my bathtub in just a little bit though, and vinegar IS great for that!"

Hello!
ACV rinses should work. You can buy a large bottle of water, drink some of it, then add the ACV. It does help when you mix ACV with good water, even carbonated/seltzer type of water.
Please keep us up to date with your quest!
V.

Will do! ;)


I am guessing your ACV rinse was a little too strong, I use 12 oz of water with just one glug of vinegar and it seems to help with the weird oily thing. I don't CO, I had so much trouble getting that to work but I have enough conditioner to try it again someday if I want to lol. I too think that our crazy hard water is probably effecting it, but who knows. They say it isn't good for shampoo bars and I was able to get that to work. Best of luck!!!

Hmm, maybe I'll try a vinegar rinse using some of the snow water I have left... Last time I tried ACV rinses, I mixed the rinse in an empty shampoo bottle-- I used 1-2 T. ACV and filled the rest of the bottle with water... maybe the problem was that I mixed it with more hard water. Also, I rinsed out my rinse because my hair really holds onto the vinegar smell...:hmm:



What I think I'll do:

Try the dry application tonight with the tangerine suave, using only a palmful of water to get lather before rinsing, and see how that works.

If it doesn't do much better, I'll do the same thing on my next wash day, but add a really dilute ACV rinse at the end... I'm not sure what to do about the smell though... It just won't go away if I let the vinegar dry in my hair-- like, it takes another 2-3 washes to get it out. Has anyone found a way to get rid of it? I don't have much snow water left, and I can't spend money buying water to rinse the vinegar out.

[Deborah]

I'm not sure what to do about the smell though... It just won't go away if I let the vinegar dry in my hair-- like, it takes another 2-3 washes to get it out. Has anyone found a way to get rid of it? I don't have much snow water left, and I can't spend money buying water to rinse the vinegar out.


Citric acid diluted in water works as well or better than vinegar, and has no smell.

[Cinnamon Hair]

What I'm not understanding (maybe I missed it) is how often do you CO? I read that you S&C wash every 4 days but saw no mention of when you CO.

I ask that, because with CO some people find they cannot go as long between washes as with S&C. Some people will mix methods, for example I CO daily for a week then S&C on Sundays. Whatever you find that works.

I also think you are rinsing way too much. Do you have low water pressure? My shower head is very powerful so it only takes me 2-3 minutes tops to rinse out the conditioner. I focus on my scalp first, with the fingertips of both hands spread out and rubbing gently in a circular motion, sort of lifting up the scalp hair while my head it under the stream. If you are spending an eternity rinsing and rubbing so much you may be doing more harm than good and it would just be better/easier to shampoo.

If you have a low-flow shower head you may want to replace it with a better one. I got mine from Bed Bath and Beyond. They had a metal colored plastic shower head that said on the box "low flow filter can be removed" or something to that effect. All I had to do was unscrew the shower head with my hands and take out a plastic washer. The difference is incredible. Taking a shower with one of those low-flow shower heads is miserable for me. It's like trying to take a shower in a drip, or a rainstorm. Just not going to happen. You can't rinse well or even get a wash cloth wet in a reasonable amount of time. Sorry for going off topic, but that is a peeve of mine.

[cardamom]

Long CO soaks cleanse better.
Instead of showering/pouring water over my hair,I finger comb with wet hands(dipping in water and combing repeatedly)till my hair is damp.CO doesn't work with water dripping from hair,at least for me.Then I have a long CO soak under a plastic cap.After about 30 minutes,wash off as usual.Hope this helps!:)

[walterSCAN]

What I'm not understanding (maybe I missed it) is how often do you CO? I read that you S&C wash every 4 days but saw no mention of when you CO.

I ask that, because with CO some people find they cannot go as long between washes as with S&C. Some people will mix methods, for example I CO daily for a week then S&C on Sundays. Whatever you find that works.

I also think you are rinsing way too much. Do you have low water pressure? My shower head is very powerful so it only takes me 2-3 minutes tops to rinse out the conditioner. I focus on my scalp first, with the fingertips of both hands spread out and rubbing gently in a circular motion, sort of lifting up the scalp hair while my head it under the stream. If you are spending an eternity rinsing and rubbing so much you may be doing more harm than good and it would just be better/easier to shampoo.

If you have a low-flow shower head you may want to replace it with a better one. I got mine from Bed Bath and Beyond. They had a metal colored plastic shower head that said on the box "low flow filter can be removed" or something to that effect. All I had to do was unscrew the shower head with my hands and take out a plastic washer. The difference is incredible. Taking a shower with one of those low-flow shower heads is miserable for me. It's like trying to take a shower in a drip, or a rainstorm. Just not going to happen. You can't rinse well or even get a wash cloth wet in a reasonable amount of time. Sorry for going off topic, but that is a peeve of mine.

Oh! Sorry! It would probably have been helpful to mention that... ;)

At the moment, I'm only CO-ing when I'm not worried about what my hair looks like the next day-- I've only tried it about 4 times now, just on random wash days when I decide I want to try it again.

Hmm... I don't have low water pressure, but I use a medium setting on my showerhead. If I use anything higher, my hair tangles like crazy-- for the same reason, I don't really rub hard either. :/ I can't really lift my hair around when it is wet or it tangles horribly. Hmf. I wonder if this is going to work for me at all. ...I'm sitting here with my head coated as I type... We'll see... :hmm:

[florenonite]

"I've tried ACV rinses, but they always left my hair stringy and oily looking. I don't know if I was doing it wrong or what, but after the first one, they never worked out. Heh, I'm going to be cleaning my bathtub in just a little bit though, and vinegar IS great for that!"

Hello!
ACV rinses should work. You can buy a large bottle of water, drink some of it, then add the ACV. It does help when you mix ACV with good water, even carbonated/seltzer type of water.
Please keep us up to date with your quest!
V.

Heh, tell that to my hair ;). I used something like a single glug of ACV in a pint of water. It was tap water, but our tap water's good. It was ok right after a wash, but got greasy faster.

To the OP: what about trying a lemon juice or citric acid rinse? I haven't done the latter, but I had much more success with lemon juice than ACV, and you and I seem to have similar hair.

If you are determined to do ACV, I'd say it's better to rinse it out; that was the only way my hair even looked passable on the first day.

[Cinnamon Hair]

At the moment, I'm only CO-ing when I'm not worried about what my hair looks like the next day-- I've only tried it about 4 times now, just on random wash days when I decide I want to try it again.

When trying a new washing method it might be better to do it exclusively for at least two weeks, to let your scalp adjust instead of switching back and forth. That is what I did when I started CO. I like to wash daily so I CO'ed daily until my hair adjusted, then I added in the shampoos.

Either that or CO every time you wash for as long as you can stand it, then throw in a shampoo, and repeat process. I don't think I would wait 4 days between CO washes though, start with every 2 days or daily.

[Henrietta]

I need a help. I’d like to change my washing routine. So far I’ve been washing my hair every three days. There was a time I washed them every 2 days but my dad said that he’ll go bankrupt if I don’t stop using so big amount of shampoo;), and somehow I went back to washing every 3 days. I don’t remember now if I had any problems with hair getting oily too fast after that…
And now I’d like to do this every 4 days instead of 3. But if I stop washing my hair every 3 days will they get use to the fact that there’s enough oil and there’s no need to produce it as fast as until now or will I get use to the fact that my hair is oily the last day before washing?;) Now at the end of the third day it is a bit oily.
Howe, more or less, time will it take until my hair will start to behave normal? I mean my scalp, because oil is not produced by hair, I know:)
The point is: should I leave my hair unwashed for 5-6 days as often as possible, for example during weekends for a few weeks in order to my scalp start to think “ok, I’ve got enough oil and I can stop producing it as fast” and then I’d get back to washing every 4 days OR should I do it slow – just start to wash my hair every 4 days and it’ll get use to it slowly?
I am really afraid that nothing will change if I just start to wash my hair every 4 days instead of 3. Maybe I need to do this drastically- leave hair unwashed for 5-6 days few times and when it’ll et use to have enough oil even for so long time (“maybe she won’t wash us! Let’s stop producing oil.”)I’ll be able to shorten the time of washing for 4 days which is what I want.
Is it like negotiating the time of going back home after a date? My friend always wants to be allowed to go back home at 11 pm. And her mother wants her to be home at 10 pm. So she asks mum if she can be home at midnight. And her mum knows that she won’t be home two hours earlier than she want to( or she seems to want) and tell her “Ok, be at home at 11 am, let’s make a compromise.” Should I do sth like that with my hair routine?
I know I’m tussling with words and tenses. Sorry.

Please, help me if you're able to. And, again, I'm sorry for language mistakes;)

[Henrietta]

Sorry for writing one post just under another but this topis is falling down on the list of topics and soon no one will notice my question... Do you have any advices for me?

[spidermom]

CO worked much better for me when I started with dry hair, but in the end I decided it was a lot of fuss for unreliable results. Since then I've been using the CWC method with diluted shampoo most of the time, and I get reliable good results, so I can highly recommend this method. I throw in a CO every once in awhile for no particular reason.

[09robiha]

WARNING: long post.

Ok, so, I am determined to get CO to work for me eventually!

So far though, it's not working out, and I'm wondering if any of you can point me in the right direction/ tell me where I'm going wrong. I almost posted this to the CO thread, but I feel like it's too long/ involved for that... feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I'd like to preface by saying that I have read through the CO thread (not the whole thing because it's sooo long), and don't feel like my questions have really been answered.

Hair stuff that might be pertinent:
I have 1a, F, ii hair that tends to get/ look oily faster than other types.

I have always had really oily hair-- before I started stretching washes, it would be oily within 12 hours of washing, which was ridiculous given that my hair takes 3-4 hours to dry. I washed every day up until the beginning of 2009.

I'm currently stretching washes, so I'll wash on day 1 and then wash again on day 4 or 5 (evening washes). Right now, I'm using either Mane n' Tail S&C (because my hair likes protein a lot of the time) or vO5 pomegranate S&C on wash day, depending on what I feel like my hair wants at the time. At the moment, my hair doesn't look oily until the middle of day 3 (wash before bed day 1, looks good all of day 2, starts looking oily day 3).

My goal is to eventually get my hair to look good for 2 whole days-- or more, if I can. When I've got to that point, I'd like to try transitioning away from shampoo altogether with the same results.


My attempts at CO:

Haven't worked out well. :wink:

So far, I've only tried vO5 conditioners because that's all I have other than the Mane n' Tail, which I think would be too heavy for this method. I tried the pomegranate and the blackberry sage tea therapy 'flavors' with the same lack of success.

. When I've given up trying to 'lather' the conditioner, I rinWhat I do is get my hair wet in the shower, slop on a bunch of the conditioner, rub it in a bit, and then loosely bun it while I do other things. The conditioner usually stays on for 5-10 minutes, most often about 7. After that, I run my head under the water quickly to get it wet again and attempt to 'lather' the conditioner-- this never happensse.
And rinse. And rinse. I always run out of hot/ warm/ even lukewarm water-- it's uncomfortably COLD by the time I'm done rinsing. When I get out, my hair feels nice and I always hope that that means this time it finally worked, but by the time my hair is dry it looks and feels gross.
It looks oily and feels gunky, even though I used my entire water heater rinsing out the conditioner.

I'm wondering whether trying suave might work better for me-- I've had my eye on the tangerine 'flavor', and I used to use the aloe and waterlilly S&C and loved it. Is there that much difference between suave and vO5? I know some people have said one or the other doesn't work for them, but from what I've seen, it's usually suave that doesn't work.

Could it be the ridiculously hard Indiana water? I'm really hoping not, because I live in an apartment and am not buying my landlord a water softener. Also, I'm a full-time student working part-time and living with her fiance (who lost his job 2 months ago) and money is extremely tight.

Do I just need to wait until my wash-stretching has progressed further?

Also, one of the things that make this method hard for me is that I must wash my body after I've rinsed out the conditioner, because conditioner makes my skin break out really badly. Does anyone else have this problem? It seems like the only way I'm ever going to have warm water to wash the rest of me with is if I put the conditioner on before I get in the shower and let it sit. Is there a big difference in how CO works if you do it this way? I haven't tried it yet...

Please ask questions if I've missed anything pertinent, I really want to make this work!


ETA--> argh! I just noticed I put 'was' instead of 'wash' in the title, and now I can't fix it... :facepalm:
ETA2: Fixed.


To get CO to work for me is I have to really work it into my hair. I flip my head over and massage it in in small cirlces really getting it into the hair (usually using small sized puddles - about 3-4) then i flip it back over a rinse out still using the circular motions.

If this dosent work for you try brown sugar. Seriously!. Add some to your CO and scrub with that instead.
Or try BellaCurl Cleansing Creme. Its not a shampoo more like a low poo and works like a dream.

Sometimes CO just dosent work for some people. Dont feel bad if it dosent or feel like you have too.

[GoddesJourney]

Try a different conditioner. I've had good luck with Garnier Fructise Triple Nutrition. It is my favorite so far. Try also *not* stretching washes at the same time you CO. CO isn't so damaging so you have nothing to worry about. Maybe you should shave or something while the conditioner is working and then rinse. You can wash after that. Also, make sure you really apply it to your scalp and scrub scrub scrub before you push it through the rest of your hair. I'm naturally very oily myself, and this has worked out for me. I can skip a day of washing now, but I wouldn't be able to do that a month ago. I had to get used to CO first.

Also, you don't have to lift your hair. Just slip your fingers under to the scalp like a scalp massage. I wrote an article about scalp massage. I wash my scalp more or less with the same idea because it doesn't mess your hair around.

[Dimitri'sMom]

I'm new again here, but years ago I remember trying CO'ing with VO5 and it made by thin, greasy hair look horrible. Now that I'm growing my hair again, I believe clarifying once a week with some baking soda in a sulfate-free shampoo (in a CWC) is the key for going longer between washes. Before clarifying my hair was greasy at the roots and dry and staticky throughout the length, now it looks much shinier and healthier.

[walterSCAN]

Ugh. Well, it didn't work this time either. I think I might just give this up as a bad job for now and continue working toward less washing and eventually diluting the shampoo. :/

[missy60]

Did you start with a clarifying wash? It is best to start with a clean slate. Like Cinnamon Hair said I would also stick to this method for a while to let your hair adjust. I have to wash more often when I CO also.

[gi2121]

This thread is very interesting to me because I'm noticing exactly the opposite thing... I started CO 2 weeks ago and tried some WO washes, and what I noticed today, as I CO'd, is that my medium-fine, usually very oily hair only needs to be quickly washed with conditionner: I put the conditioner, let it soak 1-2 minutes, massage for like 1 minute, and that's it! I rinse well, but not toooo long, and I find my hair almost too dry, very close to what it looked after shampooing, with some flyaways and everything :confused:. I'm even considering buying a richer, "oilier" conditioner for my CO washes! This is really fascinating to me, I would never ever have thought conditioner could wash my very oily scalp as effectively as shampoo; I would never have thought, either, that everyone's hair responded so differently to the washings methods.
Though it is also related to the water, the chosen conditioner...

[gi2121]

I'm also thinking about something. Have you tried diluting your conditionner with some water before applying it to your hair? Maybe it would help the "lathering" part you're not achieving. Or (and forgive me if everyone already said that, I read the answers only superficially) add a tiny drop of shampoo to some conditionner, mix and apply?

[missy60]

[QUOTE=gi2121;1009177]This thread is very interesting to me because I'm noticing exactly the opposite thing... I started CO 2 weeks ago and tried some WO washes, and what I noticed today, as I CO'd, is that my medium-fine, usually very oily hair only needs to be quickly washed with conditionner: I put the conditioner, let it soak 1-2 minutes, massage for like 1 minute, and that's it! I rinse well, but not toooo long, and I find my hair almost too dry, very close to what it looked after shampooing, with some flyaways and everything :confused:. I'm even considering buying a richer, "oilier" conditioner for my CO washes! This is really fascinating to me, I would never ever have thought conditioner could wash my very oily scalp as effectively as shampoo; I would never have thought, either, that everyone's hair responded so differently to the washings methods.
Though it is also related to the water, the chosen conditioner...[/QUOTE

Alot of people that CO find they still have to follow up with a richer conditioner...and use it just like conditioner on their ends.

[Henrietta]

Sorry, I know I am so obtrusive but I really need your advice ladies. So again:

I need a help. I’d like to change my washing routine. So far I’ve been washing my hair every three days. There was a time I washed them every 2 days but my dad said that he’ll go bankrupt if I don’t stop using so big amount of shampoo;), and somehow I went back to washing every 3 days. I don’t remember now if I had any problems with hair getting oily too fast after that…
And now I’d like to do this every 4 days instead of 3. But if I stop washing my hair every 3 days will they get use to the fact that there’s enough oil and there’s no need to produce it as fast as until now or will I get use to the fact that my hair is oily the last day before washing? ;) Now at the end of the third day it is a bit oily.
Howe, more or less, time will it take until my hair will start to behave normal? I mean my scalp, because oil is not produced by hair, I know;)
The point is: should I leave my hair unwashed for 5-6 days as often as possible, for example during weekends for a few weeks in order to my scalp start to think “ok, I’ve got enough oil and I can stop producing it as fast” and then I’d get back to washing every 4 days OR should I do it slow – just start to wash my hair every 4 days and it’ll get use to it slowly?
I am really afraid that nothing will change if I just start to wash my hair every 4 days instead of 3. Maybe I need to do this drastically- leave hair unwashed for 5-6 days few times and when it’ll et use to have enough oil even for so long time (“maybe she won’t wash us! Let’s stop producing oil.”)I’ll be able to shorten the time of washing for 4 days which is what I want.
Is it like negotiating the time of going back home after a date? My friend always wants to be allowed to go back home at 11 pm. And her mother wants her to be home at 10 pm. So she asks mum if she can be home at midnight. And her mum knows that she won’t be home two hours earlier than she want to( or she seems to want) and tell her “Ok, be at home at 11 am, let’s make a compromise.” Should I do sth like that with my hair routine?
I know I’m tussling with words and tenses. Sorry.

Please, help me if you're able to. And, again, I'm sorry for language mistakes;)

[Honey39]

CO-washing works like an absolute dream for me - however, I have thick wurly hair, and also I like doing it every morning. I can easily go a couple of days, but longer than that and it gets greasy; I think it did with shampoo as well, though, right enough!

My experience for what it's worth is that cheap conditioner is much better than anything heavy - I buy a cheap cone-free runny conditioner and slather it on, let it sit for about five minutes while I wash etc, then stick my head under the shower for about two seconds, lather it up and really *wash* my hair with it, then rinse out thoroughly.

I add leave-in conditioner and oil afterwards.

About every six weeks, I'll shampoo my hair, and that tends to perk it up a bit. Maybe different hair needs different things? I straightened my hair last week, and CO-washed first - it got greasy very quickly, more so than when I shampoo/condition.