for those who wash once a week or less...

[MayaBlue]

Which washing method do you prefer?

I usually CO once every 3 days, but I'm recently trying to stretch my washes out to once a week.
I didn't do it gradually, I just kind of jumped into it this week and haven't washed since last thursday.
My hair's doing well, I'm just not sure if I should stick to CO or if washing less frequently prefers a different washing method.
Thank you!

[Tennessee Rose]

I think it is something relative. I started with the CO method but my hair smelled like musty and I felt dirty. So now I wash with the CWC method every four days with non-cone conditioners. Although I wash it once a week or every other day as well, it deppends on my mood and...dirt.

[MayaBlue]

Thank you :)

[Chiara]

I've got to once a week washing, now. My grease production has slowed down so much, so it has worked for me. I do CWC, so conditioner on the length, wash just the hair above my ears with a mild shampoo (no sulfates, no cones) and then do an SMT which I leave on for around an hour.

I might see about maintaining weekly washes, but cutting to shampoo once a fortnight, and doing a non-shampoo wash on the 'other' week. My hair and scalp don't really like detergents (but my hair looks lank in the blink of an eye, and shows wax build-up from conditioners; detergents just shift that better).

[wimsey]

I wash every 2 weeks. I use diluted shampoo (Tresemme Vitamin C Deep Cleaning with Aluminum Lauryl Sulfate diluted about 1:8 with a few drops of Thyme EO mixed in) squeezed directly onto my scalp using a treatment bottle with a long nozzle. I usually shampoo twice. The second time I work a bit of the suds down my length. Then I condition with Regis Design Line Olive Oil Conditioner--leaving it in while I finish showering, so 5-6 minutes.

I wear my hair up every day. I do wash my bangs every other day with the same dilute shampoo.

[Heartwillfollow]

I started off on 6 day no wash challenge doing CWC, felt good for the results after two months, since then I have switched to doing CO mainly once a week or as needed if that happens.

[Aevra]

Right now, I am washing with sulfate free shampoo (right now it's pomegranate shampoo from Burt's Bees) and conditioning with cone free conditioner (again, pomegranate from Burt's bees) whenever I feel like I need a wash, so whenever I feel like my hair is getting too dirty, or greesy...or if I go for a swim.

I usually follow with either a thin coat of oil after my hair dries, or with a leave in conditioner from Garnier Fructis that is cone free when my hair is wet.

But as for time limit, the average is around 3 to 3 1/2 weeks between each wash.

I suppose it really depends on what type of activities you're doing as well, and what your hair likes, and needs.

[MayaBlue]

Thank you guys for the input. I think I'll stick with my CO routine for now and see how it goes

[MissManda]

I sometimes wash my hair once a week. It has wored best for me when I do CWC, C-COW-C, or just S&C. I am currently experimenting with CO, which I have been doing every three for four days to allow my scalp to adjust. If CO works out for me, I think I just may be able to do weekly washes. I prefer to wash my hair on an as-needed basis, so it ranges between every three days to once a week.

I do recall going a week and a half between washes without too many issues, though so I could do that if I needed to. I was using natural shampoo and conditioner and I was trying my hardest to avoid the horrid Los Angeles water, so not washing felt more beneficial than exposing my hair to the water and I never, ever felt clean after doing so. I find it amusing that I was doing this prior to my discovery of LHC.

[Night_Kitten]

I wash once a week, with a mild shampoo (no SLS, no cones) on my scalp, then let the suds wash over the length, then follow with a no-cone mask (instead of condishioner) from my ears down, and finish with a catnip rince. Also I usually heavy-oil the night before washing.

If CO washing worked for you before with more frequent washes, I think you should first try CO washing, and then only if that doesn't work as well as before, try a really mild shampoo...

Good luck with your new rootine :D

[Finoriel]

And on an additional note. I'd not recommend jumping right into it, i.e. suddenly skip washing for an extended period of time.
There's very little folks who can do that successfully. Most give up very soon because of the unpleasant side-effects this out of the blue hardcore-not-washing tends to have.

For most people it totally whacks their scalp-balance with all sorts of unpleasant phenomenons like itching, dry or greasy dandruff, crazy shedding, slowed down growth, the oiled otter look, smell issues caused by bacteria eating the excess oil and skin cell mix which is still produced in the same amount (because the skin did not go get time to adapt to it and go down with the production) but is not washed away etc.

It takes time for your skin to get used to it that it is not washed as frequently as previously. Stretch out your wash intervals one day at a time and see how that works for you for some weeks. When it works, then you can wash a day later again, see how that goes. Etc. etc.
Allow your skin some time to notice that it can produce less sebum because it's not stripped of all oils as frequently as before. Saves you from the unpleasant my-scalp-is-freaking-out-phase while your skin re-learns how to keep itself balanced.

I've gone from washing every day to 10-14 day intervals - without zero issues. But not within a week :wink: more like 5 or 6 years.
And while I could go much longer than two weeks without looking like a greased pan :p, my scalp seems to be happiest when I wash it around the 10 day mark.

[Maddy25]

I did CO every second or thirday day, and it was all great! But then I decided to do a deep oiling and CO after, the past few days my hair has been soooooo gross! I need to shampoo it now :mad:

[vintersaga]

I am currently washing my hair once a week (sunday is my washing day) and using the CO-method. My hair loves it. Between the washes I brush or comb my hair and oil it when it feels a little dry.:)

Every second week I rinse with ACV due to hard water.:) I hope to stretch my washes even more, but I'm thinking like Finoriel and will make it one day at a time, I think. So eventually I will go from 7 days, to 8, to 9, to 10 days between washes. But it all depends on how my hair feels. I like to have a special wash-day per week. That would be more difficult if I washed every 10 day.

[melikai]

I CWC with a non-sulphate shampoo and use conditioners without silicones or polyquaterniums, about once a week (whenever my hair seems to need it, which is usually every 5-7 days).

[hmmm]

I usually use soapnut or egg to wash my hair. Shikakai if I feel like oiling beforehand.

[LittleRainbow]

I wash once a week, and if I want I could avoid washing at all, but then I'd get scalp issues. My hair doesn't mind though :cool:
When I wash I use an egg mixed with some ACV or honey, and apply it all over. Focusing on the scalp. Then just CO with silicone etc free conditioner. Next two days (a least) I get the most ridiculous shine and softness. It's Lovely :sun:

[slz]

I use herbs, mainly : shikakai and amla or zyziphus or ... anything (I will try gram foulr tomorrow).
Except before hennaing, I use a cheap sulfate shampoo to strip my roots of any foreign molecule.

[Wally]

On a weekly cycle I have done CO, CO, WC, but I am currently doing CWC once a week and like it better. I haven't noticed a huge difference, I like the 'clean scalp' feeling.

[Heidi_234]

My scalp is so un-greasy on top I can pretty much wash as infrequently as I like. I once went NW for two and a half months straight with no adjustment period, easily. My only problem now is that my ends tend to dry out rather fast, especially if I forget to oil them or put shea butter.

So usually I wash once a week/week and a half, and I do CO on the length and WO-ish on the scalp - just let it get rinsed under the water, no products used.

[forty-two]

I WO, usually with an ACV rinse, plus an occasional CO, and my hair can go indefinitely, so long as I oil it. My scalp prefers every couple of weeks, but sometimes it has to make do with scritching, scalp massage, and lavender water.

I got here the hard way ;) - did the 30-day WO challenge (more like 6 weeks to adjust, though). Worked, though, unlike my previous attempt, where I had done a year of weekly CWC washes (coming from an every 2-3 day wash freq.) and my hair *never* adjusted.

[Feng-Shui]

I washes each 2-3 weeks with diluted sulfate shampoo.(SLS but no cone products.)

I can go up to 4 weeks and does not have a problem.

Some time I comes along out with 3 Scalp washing before I again washes my lengths.

It has some time lasted to my Scalp was adjusted on this long time.

I reminds me which I 2004 has begun with CO without cone products and then ever longer expanded.:)

[JayLee]

I do a CO wash once a week. But i do wet my hair with water only every couple of days, to revive the curls.
And about once a month I feel the need to CWC. Just to get that rel clean feeling.

[embee]

I wash my hair every couple of weeks, stretching the time as long as I can. This time it looks like maybe 3 weeks!

I use very dilute shampoo and rinse very well with plenty of water. Now is summer so no conditioner. Maybe if I have static trouble in the winter I'll begin to use conditioner (again, very very dilute).

[LoversLullaby]

I CO once a week using a SMT. Keeps my hair clean for the week. :)

[blueue]

I use a shampoo bar followed by conditioner and an ACV rinse once a week. I have stretched it to 10 days before without any problems :)

[dianehair]

I CO wash once a week and spritz daily with a homemade rosemary water.

I just infuse mineral water with rosemary and use that as a hair and scalp spritz which keeps me feeling fresh and smells lovely. It's a good face spritz too.

[melikai]

When I wash I use an egg mixed with some ACV or honey, and apply it all over. Focusing on the scalp. Then just CO with silicone etc free conditioner. Next two days (a least) I get the most ridiculous shine and softness. It's Lovely :sun:

Neat, I was thinking just today that I want to try doing egg washes followed by CO! I used to do egg washes (with honey and lemon juice), but after what I'll just call a "bad smell experience", I stopped. I think maybe following with a CO of a scented conditioner might help! :cheese:

[MayaBlue]

those of you who said jumping into it was a bad idea were very right. My scalp's freaking out, i've never been this itchy. I'll probably try to adjust slowly now :(

[Kaihino]

I wash once a week with Nature's Gate herbal shampoo and Nature's Gate Aloe Vera conditioner - which I am not liking as well as their plain herbal conditioner, I must say. My hair is extremely oily but I find with the use of hats/scarves/etc. I can stretch the wash time out an entire week. It's just that for two or three of those days I can't let anyone actually see my hair ;).

[sabreena]

I used to be a girl who washes her hair twice a day with shampoo. My hair was dry and brittle not to mention frizzy. I started by washing every 2 days because a friend pressured me to. My hair did look better. Then i discovered a good salon that washes hair really well. They give a good stimulating head massage and my hair looked tame. So i go to them every week for a wash and blow. My hair is neater and happier. I only wash it once a week.

I suggest to skip a day. Initially you will feel uncomfortable and psychologically dirty. That's how I used to feel. Gradually you will get used to it!

[embee]

I see I answered this question in Sept. 2010.

update:
Well, in October I decided to try NW/SO for a while. It was interesting, and for sure I could not wear my hair loose/down because it looked so stringy, but my scalp felt ok, and all winter long I rejoiced in having no "cold days, wet hair hanging down". Summer worked ok too, which surprised me, as I work in my garden and sweat. Sometimes I'd rinse my scalp with water when showering, but no washing at all.

I'm coming up on my 1-year next month and it's worked so far. I kinda want to wash (or rinse) the whole length in October, but in a way I don't want to, I want to wait, to see if anything changes.

[Little_Bird]

I wash mine once a week =) If I'm really into doing the whole thing, I brush my hair with a boar bristle brush, and then hope into the shower right away. I shampoo and then condition with a shower cap. Afterwards I towel dry a little bit and then oil with jojoba oil. I then blowdry my roots only, which helps with my scalp condition.

And that's it :) Sometimes I do a heavy oiling the night before I wash my hair. Other times I do a hair mask (deep treatment) a few hours before.

Washing once a week is great and just enough if your scalp isn't too oily. Good luck with it :)

[Merewen]

CO worked great for me when I lived farther south. Now I am using CWC or shampooing followed by a catnip soak.

[Madora]

I wash once a month using one diluted tablespoon of George Michael Pink Shampoo to cleanse the hair, rinsing, and then using another diluted tablespoon of the shampoo to cleanse the scalp.

Conditioner is one tablespoon of the GM conditioner, followed by plenty of rinsing.

In between shampoos I brush every day with a clean bbb (100 strokes).

[Anje]

I'm close to washing once a week, CO.

My scalp's fairly reactive to dryness, and responds by pumping out more oil. If I shampoo, I start needing to wash every 2-3 days, and I tend to need to wash more frequently in the winter for the same reason. So I really benefit from stretching washes.

Like Finoriel, I recommend not simply trying to switch to washing less often, but try a gentle method and don't wash til your roots get a bit greasy. If you wash when you need to, you'll eventually reduce your oil production to your scalp's minimum for the conditions (external and internal) that it currently experiences.

[Yame]

I wash once a week, using CWC twice. I dilute my shampoo into 1/2 shampoo 1/2 water for the first wash and 3/4 water the second time. I use a sulfate free and cone free L'Oreal shampoo and just a random conditioner, whatever is the cheapest I can find.

[Deborah]

I CO wash once a week. It works great for me.

[misspurdy06]

I don't use anything in my hair. Just water. Rinse, rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse.

My hair takes a very long time to get dirty now. there is bit of a transition period but then your hair levels out.

Makes me wonder why people think they need so much stuff to maintain there hair. What do people now think people did in the past? I haven't seen any paintings of people in the Renaissance with dreads.

[Signe]

I wash every 10-14 days, or whenever I feel like it, really. I have only been able to do this since going WO. Giving myself a good scalp massage, then detangling and using a boar bristle brush usually helps me stretch washes if I do get a bit greasy. When my hair looks all right I can fingercomb and preen a bit and it goes back to looking great again.

[Ligeia_13]

I wash with conditioner once a week. It actually seems to stay cleaner for much longer than it used to with shampoo.

[teal]

I transitioned from S&C every 2-3 days to BS/ACV once a week in June. It took about 6 weeks for the sebum production to slow down. After that I did a BS scalp wash every 7-10 days with WO washes in between and ACV rinses after each wash. Lately I've been doing a castor oiling once a week, and I CO-wash the morning after - condish seems to help get the oils out and/or under control. Ideally though I'd like to swear off mainstream shampoos and conditioners entirely. My scalp and hair both love the stretched washes. I don't intend on ever washing more than once a week again if I can help it.