Is this feasible?

[calaren]

Aloha everyone!
I have a question...
I have extremely, insanely greasy hair and I was wondering if it would be possible to transition to CO washing or (preferably) WO washing?
I've been washing my hair every 3 days for over a year now, thinking that would cut back on the greasies some, but it hasn't. My hair is always stringy down to at least ear length within 24 hours of washing, honestly. I live alone and work at home, so I can tolerate having hair that could be used as a deep fryer by the second day.
I have tried CO a few times recently and I had mixed feelings. The section of hair that normally gets greasy so fast (down to about ear lobe length) felt so soft and actually clean, but from there down, it was stringy and greasy feeling/looking. I smushed conditioner all through my hair (I used either the Organix Cherry Blossom and Ginseng cond. or the Tresemme Naturals Nourishing moisture cond.) and rinsed/scalp massaged for 6-8 minutes under lukewarm water with a finishing splash of cold water. Did I just do it wrong?
Does anyone else here have ultra greasy hair that they have gotten under control and/or successfully switched to CO or WO?
I'm up for trying anything, really, and thanks in advance for any advice!
Oh, if anyone has any tips for dealing with ultra-greasy skin that they don't mind passing along, I'm all ears! :)

[caiti42]

I used to have incredibly greasy scalp and switched to co. I avoid cones though that causes me greasies

[Anje]

You might be able to CO wash. My scalp gets pretty oily if I use shampoo, so avoiding it entirely seems to be the trick for me and my hair.

I'm less familiar with the conditioners you're using. In general, you want to get a really light one without a lot of moisturizing capacity to help keep it from getting stringy. Lots of cationic surfactants (stearalkonium chloride, cetrimonium chloride, behentrimonium chloride, behentrimonium methylsulfate, etc.) tend to mean more cleansing power and fairly slippery hair afterward without buildup.

So what I use is primarily the Suave Naturals line. Lots of folks like Alberto VO5 conditioners, too (I find them a bit runny for my taste, but others find my Suave waxy). Lately, I've been messing with a Silkience conditioner that I found 20 oz/$1 at the local dollar store, and am pleased with the results. That one has lots of those cationic surfactants I love.

If you can find it, try the Silkience. You may find it gets your hair cleaner than some of the other conditioners out there.

[Saraya]

I have hair that gets greasy very fast. I shampoo every day because not everyone is meant for stretching washes, co, or wo. I am one of those people. I do use biolage normalizing shampoo its for balancing out oily scalp and it smells great. Its a little expensive but you could always try that every so often and CO inbetween. You are going to get some conditioner buildup if you dont shampoo at all. Hope that helps. : )

[Athena's Owl]

you may as well try switching to daily CO and see what doing that for two weeks does for you.

[calaren]

Ah, thank you all for the help! I will try to find the Silkience conditioner and try using it (or one of the Suave Naturals) every day! I'd really love it if I could someday transition to WO or just everyday things like soda, ACV, non-exotic herbs, etc. as within a year or so, I'll be moving to 50 very isolated acres to do the subsistence farming thing. :cheese:
Buuut, that just may not be in the stars for me or my hair considering its greasitude. :D
Thanks again!

[mallorykay13]

I used to have incredibly greasy scalp and switched to co. I avoid cones though that causes me greasies

I 2nd this. I switched to CO and had great greasy-breaking results.

[julierockhead]

All of the above. And, I found that a change in diet really helped my skin and scalp greasies - I avoid refined grains and sugar, replaced them with whole grains and fruit, added more fish, and started a multivitamin. I occasionally supplement with fish and flax seed oil, if I feel I am not getting enough good fats.

[WinterButterfly]

I use sillicones to add greasyness to my poor dry scalp... can I have some of yours? Oh I hate wash day! I only do it for the dust. Sillicones are great to make the hair more oily. Going without them tends to dry my scalp. One thing is that having your head under cold water a little longer and then washing it might help. The cold water helps send the oil out of your scalp. I like a cold water rince for my head. Feels so nice and refreshing. I try to streach washes till I get acnee around my neck. Then I wash because I have to. Maybe try a wo or co rince every other day to start? Having an oily scalp isn't the worst thing in the world though. It sure beats a dry dry dry scalp. That is uncomfortable! What kind of foods do you eat? Maybe I could try it. I usually eat tea and veggies and lean meats and whole grains. I eat some fruit too. I prefer the veggies though. Do you eat a lot of fish? I heard that fish oil can make your skin more oily without breakouts. I hope your scalp gets more dry! Keep in mind though that as long as you are comfortable and you aren't getting a lot of damage then you should wash however often you like with whatever you like. Try lots of things and do what works for you.

[calaren]

Ah, thank you all so much!
Well, as far as diet, Winter, I pretty much follow the guidelines of the book Nourishing Traditions. :) You may want to check it out.
I think I will just start experimenting and see what happens - if I strike gold, I'll be sure to let you all know!

[calaren]

Eeep, Winter, if you see this, I was going to try to PM you about that book if you're interested, but apparently I can't yet!

[KwaveT]

You may have to give CO a tryout for an extended period of time to get results. Some people's oil glands respond faster than others to the change. You have to give it a month or two before you start to see results with reduced oil.