Too many steps?

[selderon]

For the last month or so I've been oiling my hair with warm olive oil about two hours before a wash, washing in diluted shampoo, and finishing with conditioner. On occasion I do a tea rinse or ACV rinse. My hair has never been so silky and shiny.

Just because I love to be efficient, I'm wondering if I'm doing too many steps? Can you suggest an approach with fewer steps that is likely to produce the same great results? What are the pros and cons?

[longcurlygirl<3]

to much avc is actually bad if you do it frequently. and just try to lay down on the oiling. i only like to oil at night and before i go out on a second day hair. jusst spray some water and oil and my hair is shiny. use a sulfate-free shampoo[ try trader joe's] and and your oil [coconut i prefer] and shampoo and condish and shiny hair :) cold rinse are amazing also

[Anje]

You know, if this is working wonders for your hair, and it's not too much work, why not stick with it?

I'm a bit more minimalist and tend to just do a single-conditioner CO wash, occasionally with a vinegar rinse and usually with a bit of oil afterward on the ends. Because that gives me good results and is about the limit of what I'm willing to do regularly.

If you really feel like trying something else, you could try a routine like mine. CO washing, like shampooing out oil, is pretty non-stripping and results in soft, moisturized hair. However, some scalps love it and some scalps hate it. Some people get clean with CO, and some just can't manage it. All these things are so individual, they have to be personally tested.

[haibane]

I have a similar routine, castor pre-oil, oil shampoo cwc wash, and catnip tea soak/rinse. Every time I've tried to remove some part of the routine my hair comes out worse, so I'm sticking to it for now.

But maybe like longcurlygirl<3 suggests, you could try using oil shampoo instead of the pre-oiling?

[faerielady]

Once you've found the routine that works for your hair, as long as you don't mind the steps for achieving it, I wouldn't mess with it too much.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies because we simply don't leave well enough alone.

[Slinks]

Once you've found the routine that works for your hair, as long as you don't mind the steps for achieving it, I wouldn't mess with it too much.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies because we simply don't leave well enough alone.

Agreed .. I also tried differant things when I had something working for me already and ended up not getting the results I was getting, so 2 bottles of poo and 3 bottles of condish and 1 bottle of oil later I've decided to stick with my 2 oils, 3 condish's and 1 poo :-) no more !! lol, I'm always dissapointed ..

[Firefox7275]

How much are you willing to risk your current success, and can your lifestyle accommodate failed experiments (rewash/ hat)? You might try making the pre-oil or ACV rinse on alternate washes? Alternatively you could just view this initial phase as intensive therapy then, as soon as your hair feels over-conditioned, move onto a maintenance phase.

I'd like to pretend I am a minimalist or efficient but actually I am bone idle. :o Thus I have been using leave-in conditioner for years, currently experimenting with CO-washing and considering coconut oil shampoo as both are only one step in the shower!

[PamelaViktoria]

Perhaps u could do a few extra steps only when ur hair needs it.

[Roseate]

I get similar results with oil-shampoo as with a pre-shampoo oiling; I do 1/2 tsp shampoo, 1/4 tsp coconut oil, diluted in 8oz warm water to melt the oil. You could cut out one step that way, if it works for you.

That said, your routine sounds fine to me, not too many steps at all! But I know how it is with the constant desire to improve on a routine...

[torrilin]

I don't do a prewash oiling. I do dilute my shampoo some, but this is by pouring out about a dime size amount, lathering on my hands, and then spreading the lather into my wet hair. This is because I'm lazy... diluted shampoo works well for me, but anything that takes much more effort will cause me to find a lazier method.

I do a vinegar rinse after every wash, because our water is very hard.

Sometimes I remember to use leave in conditioner. With the help of a vinegar rinse, I don't need it every day, so that lets me skip steps.

[principessa1984]

ACV dries my hair out. Maybe cut down on that. For me, the simplest thing is to moisturize and seal daily. My hair gets super shiny/silky with this. And yes, I do the pre-shampoo oil treatment as well.