I feel so happy right now! Oh, and I have a CO wash question. (:

[Pandora.]

I know I'm only extremely new to LHC, but joining this community is already giving me drastic benefits in terms of hair care, and making the right choices for my hair. :)

Firstly, it's been two days since I last flat-ironed (I know it's not much, but that's good for me) and I want to quit using them for good (well, excluding special occassions; perhaps once every 3 weeks or so, to start with). I'm feeling positive already, because I've been wearing my hair in a bun (with the ends of my hair coming out a bit) with a big pretty flower pinned it, and I got LOTS of compliments. Then, later today, I took my hair out and I had thicker frizz-free natural waves, which people were commenting on how nice it looked. :D
So I guess it's GOODBYE hair straighteners, as I don't feel I need them as much anymore.
So, I would just like to say thank you for the encouragement of natural hair, as I don't think I would ever have been near to getting on the right track if I hadn't of joined LHC. :cheer:

Now, time for a question; now I'm CO washing, how do I get the grease and dirt out of my scalp without using shampoo?

P.S. I know I'm only a newbie, but sorry about the excessive thread-starting since I've joined this site only a few days ago - it's just that on all the other forums I'm on I tend to post threads every minute. :p

[spidermom]

CO worked best for me if I started with dry hair and finger-combed the conditioner all through the hair that touched my scalp. I'd put a shower cap over that and let it marinate for 30-60 minutes. Then I'd step into the shower, very briefly wet my hair, then run my fingers through my hair from front to back (one direction only to avoid tangling) thoroughly all over my scalp, until the conditioner got a little bit foamy (subtle, not at all like shampoo). Then I'd rinse-rinse-rinse and comb through my hair with a shower comb.

I ended up not liking CO very much, though. After 2 or 3 times in a row, my hair would look and feel clean but be so limp/stuck to my scalp that I couldn't stand it, except that I didn't have so much fluff all over the surface like I do after shampoo washing. I still throw a CO into the mix every once in awhile just for variety.

[Kathie]

Me too! Its been a couple of weeks without using my straightener... my hair is looking better and better :happydance:

Here’s a link to the CO-washing-thread. http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=2898

Basically it does get the oil out! I think its because they have surfactants in them.... check out the link its supper helpful.

[ArienEllariel]

I CO differently than a lot of people. I just add gobs of conditioner after I wet my hair, go about my other shower duties (letting it sit several minutes), and rinse out. It works for me but others prefer to keep their conditioner in longer.

Edit- believe me, I have to wash my hair every day and by the next morning, my scalp is really greasy. CO definately gets the grease out. I have no idea how, but it does.

[Calaelen]

With CO washing, there are a few things you can do to get really clean feeling hair. One of them is to get a very thick conditioner to use for this purpose, and to add lemon juice to it before putting in your hair, this is very cleansing and will have a clarifying effect on your hair. (lemon juice is drying, but used in this way it usually isn't) Another way is to rinse your hair with an apple cider vinegar rinse about 2 tbsp vinegar to 2-4 cups of water. You would rinse your hair with this after rinsing out the conditioner, then either rinse out the vinegar or leave it is for a very healthy effect on your hair. (it just depends if you can stand the vinegar smell.) Using an acidic rinse such as the vinegar, or putting lemon juice in the conditioner first really serves to ensure that it is rinsed out properly giving you that "clean hair" feeling.

It is also important to do the CO wash properly. There are small amounts of detergent in conditioner, and so your hair will be getting cleaned of dirt and debris whether it feels clean or not. Your scalp most likely will go through a phase of greasy hard to deal with mess while it is adjusting to the change, and this is normal. if you keep up with it it should adjust and the CO washing will work great.

One method you could try is to put the conditioner on dry hair before getting into the shower, leave it on while washing the rest of your body (avoid wetting your hair at this point), then put enough water in your hair to scrub with and treat it like you would with shampoo( you should get slight lather here). After this step, you would rinse out your hair, either as normal or with a ACV rinse. Your hair will have absorbed way more conditioner than usual using this method and so further conditioning is unneccesary, and your hair should be left feeling clean and soft.

[craftybunn]

I too, have not liked the results I had with the CO technique. I don't doubt the cleanliness, but my hair was so limp! No body or loose waves. Just stick straight and heavy. :shrug:

[missmandy]

There's something in conditioner that DOES clean hair and get rid of grease. That plus all the rinsing before you put the conditioner on. Make sure you put conditioner on the scalp, and leave it on for a while.

[Pandora.]

Well, I first ran some conditioner (Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Frizz Remedy Deep Treatment) through my ends before I got in the shower. Then, I rinse with lukewarm water. Then again, I put in some more conditioner on my ends, let that sit, then rinsed that out again.

My hair obviously feels greasier than it would if I'd used shampoo - but it's not too bad right now.

[Cholera]

When I CO, I like to wet down my hair and gob a bunch of cheap runny conditioner through it (think Suave Naturals). I let that sit while I do the rest of my showery things, and then I run my head under the water for a couple seconds. After that, I scrub, scrub, scruuuub my scalp (I don't worry about tangles), and then rinse all of the conditioner out for a minute or so. After that my hair feels cleaned and conditioned, it's really nice :)

[Calaelen]

one thing that jumped right out at me in your second comment here Pandora, is that you put it on your ends, but didn't mention your scalp. You have to make sure to put the conditioner all over your scalp, even more so than focusing on the ends.

In the method I mentioned you put the conditioner all over dry SCALP and hair. Then leave it until you're done the rest of your shower. You then put a small amount of water on your hair, scrub as though you're using shampoo and then rinse it out. This is the best method I know of, and since you have bleached hair it will only be even better for your ends.

[craftybunn]

With CO washing, there are a few things you can do to get really clean feeling hair. One of them is to get a very thick conditioner to use for this purpose, and to add lemon juice to it before putting in your hair, this is very cleansing and will have a clarifying effect on your hair. (lemon juice is drying, but used in this way it usually isn't) Another way is to rinse your hair with an apple cider vinegar rinse about 2 tbsp vinegar to 2-4 cups of water. You would rinse your hair with this after rinsing out the conditioner, then either rinse out the vinegar or leave it is for a very healthy effect on your hair. (it just depends if you can stand the vinegar smell.) Using an acidic rinse such as the vinegar, or putting lemon juice in the conditioner first really serves to ensure that it is rinsed out properly giving you that "clean hair" feeling.

It is also important to do the CO wash properly. There are small amounts of detergent in conditioner, and so your hair will be getting cleaned of dirt and debris whether it feels clean or not. Your scalp most likely will go through a phase of greasy hard to deal with mess while it is adjusting to the change, and this is normal. if you keep up with it it should adjust and the CO washing will work great.

One method you could try is to put the conditioner on dry hair before getting into the shower, leave it on while washing the rest of your body (avoid wetting your hair at this point), then put enough water in your hair to scrub with and treat it like you would with shampoo( you should get slight lather here). After this step, you would rinse out your hair, either as normal or with a ACV rinse. Your hair will have absorbed way more conditioner than usual using this method and so further conditioning is unneccesary, and your hair should be left feeling clean and soft.

Oh! I didn't think of doing the ACV rinse after. That is great!!! I'm going to go home and try it tonight. Thanks so much!:D

[loralie]

Yay Pandora!

You're doing great! :D

I tried CO but my scalp just gets nasty (plus I love a shampooed scalp) so I do the CWC method. Some cheapo condish on the lenghts first, then I use an SLS free shampoo (this is important... Sodium Lauryl Sulfate can make your hair fall out if you use it too often, plus it strips the scalp and makes you greasier than normal. I do use it once in a while to clarify but definitely not more than a couple times a month) just on the scalp. I scrub my bangs and top of head. Then I rinse, and condition from the back of my head (just behind the crown) down so my scalp doesn't get too greasy but I still hit my shortest layers, leave it for a bit and rinse!

CO washing tends to work really well on curly girls who have lots of volume but because I'm pretty straight haired it just makes my roots too lank and greasy. I do know that straighties do use it as well but it really depends on what you want! If you are going to keep CO washing I think the trick is to rinse rinse rinse and rinse some more.. just rub the conditioner into the scalp like shampoo and it does the same but gentler job of shampoo.

Hope this helps! :)

[Calaelen]

Oh! I didn't think of doing the ACV rinse after. That is great!!! I'm going to go home and try it tonight. Thanks so much!:D
:D You're more than welcome, I hope it works for you!
For all of you who say CO leaves your hair flat, lanky or with no body, trying the ACV or the lemon may just be the answer you're looking for too. It could just be that you're having a hard time getting it rinsed out, and that would weigh hair down.

[Anje]

Results vary a lot for CO washing. My hair loved it and continues to like it better than just about anything else I've tried.

My method is just to wet my hair, glop enough conditioner on my scalp to get it slimy (maybe 1.5 handfuls, but this'll vary with conditioner, hair thickness, etc.), smear some more on my length, wrap the length around my hand, and stick the whole mess under a shower cap. I do the rest of my showering (maybe 5 minutes), then put a handful of water on my scalp and scrub it with my fingertips. Then simply rinse hair until the slimy feeling is totally rinsed out. I get good results with protein-free varieties of Suave Naturals, and it tends to be sufficient to get oil off my scalp as well as any additional oil I've applied to my hair. Other folks get better results from other conditioners, leaving the conditioner on longer, etc, but my simple-as-possible CO routine works for me with little if any buildup. I suppose it weighs my hair down a little, but most of that is reduction in the frizzy halo of still-short growing hairs.

[Peter]

My experience with CO washing is that you need to properly scrub your scalp for a few minutes before washing it out. Hope that helps. :)

[nellreno]

I'm not sure why you only put the conditioner on your ends?


My CO washing technique seems to be a little different then most. I have to actually seperate my hair into several sections to get conditioner all over my scalp, and then I scrub like crazy. I've tried just globbing conditioner on top but then only the top part gets clean.

[Pandora.]

Thanks for the much appreciated help people. (:


I'm not sure why you only put the conditioner on your ends?

Because I'm stupid. Lol.

[manderly]

Thanks for the much appreciated help people. (:



Because I'm stupid. Lol.

You're not stupid, you're just learning to shift all the things you've ever learned about shampoo and conditioner and haircare. :flower:

First off, you really need to go out and get yourself some Suave Naturals or VO5. Cheap, cone-free conditioner is going to be the most important thing for you now.

You will not enjoy COing with heavy cone-laden conditioners, at least not to begin with.

You have to treat the CO just like you are shampooing. Throw everything you think about conditioner out the door.


Get in the shower. Wet your hair. Put a handful, and I mean a HANDFUL of conditioner on your scalp. Plop it on there. Massage it a bit to make sure you've got it all over. Leave it there. Get another handful and put it in your length. Use a comb or a denman brush to make sure you've got it well distributed.

Do your other shower things while that's all sitting in your hair.

Dip your head back in the water briefly to re-wet. Start massaging your scalp like it's full of shampoo. The conditioner with lather a bit. Seriously. Massage really, really well. Rinse. Rinse really, really well. Your hair shouldn't feel too slipperly like after you rinse conditioner, but it shouldn't feel dry.

Now you're going to apply conditioner again, this time how you normally would though. Rinse it gently leaving enough in your hair for how you like it to be (slippery).

Ta-da! You've just done a CO wash. :)

[Aevra]

That's awesome. I'm glad that you're getting really good tips from LHC. I love it here and think that the tips are awesome.

Happy growing, and hope that your hair gets even more healthy.

[Liss]

My hair is fine and straight and I need to wash it daily, so I was unsure if CO would work for my greasy hair - but it did, and it was brilliant! I used a cone-free conditioner and did a first wash just like I used to with shampoo - just massaging it into my scalp, then rinsed it out thoroughly. Then I put some on my ends and clipped it up while I was showering and rinsed it out at the end. My hair never looked limp or greasy and since going back to coney shampoo a week ago, I've noticed it actually gets greasier faster now. I'm tempted to go back to CO, but at the moment my hair either needs the cones or a massive cut (I chose cones).

BTW - Doing a CO wash with a cone filled conditioner never worked for me... and yay for giving up your straightener and the compliments you're already receiving!

[LoversLullaby]

All of the info here is very good. :D I love CO washing! Here is the link to the CO washing article, I don't think anyone here has posted it yet: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=18

[chopandchange]

I just wanted to add that you can CO with cones as well as cone-free. Some people have success with one or the other (or both), so I don't think it's right for people to state opinions based on their own experiences as though they were statements of fact., i.e. SLS makes your hair fall out, you have to use cone-free conditioner to CO wash, etc.

I use both cones and cone-free, and find cones are generally better at getting my scalp squeaky clean. This is my own personal experience and may not be true for everyone, so, OP, I think you should read all the advice here and try out different things to see what works for you!

'Hope it goes well!

[Pandora.]

I don't think I can continue with CO washing.
My hair is beginning to be a heck of a lot greasier, itchier and dirtier since I started.

[3azza]

Maybe you can try alternating between shampoo and CO, this is what i do. I have not been able to depend completely on CO.