From CO back to Poo, Less shed?

[AspenSong]

I'm wondering...have any of you guys gone from CO washes back to shampoo (sulfate free) and experienced less shedding?
A year or so ago when I started doing CO washes, I felt my shed rate def went down. I've gone through a horrendous shed lately that's almost made me want to cut my hair just because I feel so bad about it's thinness (nothing wrong physically...could have been just my diet changes and weight loss I've been working on).... But this last week I just needed a wash, and something made me grab the sulfate free shampoo in the bathroom and 'Poo the scalp. Result? Infinitely less shed hairs after that wash, and same thing a few days later when I washed again. Is this just a fluke? Or do you think my hair maybe just needs the change? :confused:

[patienceneeded]

My shedding definately decreased when I switched from CO to a CWC-type routine. I do not use any conditioner on my scalp anymore, which I was doing with plan-old CO washing. I have noticed a major improvement in shedding department. Much less hair is being shed. I don't count hairs, to me that's a bit obsessive (my opinion, to each their own) but I can see and feel that it is less when I toss the shed hair from the drain-guard into the garbage.

[hototogisu]

I embraced CWC (with sulphate shampoos, no less!) about a month ago and my hair has never felt better, plus my shed rate has dramatically decreased. I'd been co-washing with the occasional shampoo for 2-3 years, and while co washing made my hair feel great I feel like us thin haired people need to make a choice between your hair and your scalp. My scalp loves shampoo, brushing, and infrequent oil massages.

I CWC every two days now using Nioxin shampoo, Inecto for the CWC part, then a final condition with Nioxin conditioner on the scalp and Triple Nutrition on the lengths. This routine, while depressingly conventional, is really working for me.

[CurlyMopTop]

The shedding that I had gone through this year went way down when I quit CO washes. My hair loved them, but my scalp didn't. :D

[bunzfan]

Me to my shedding went down by at least 80% when i went back to CWC, my hair loved co washing but obviously my scalp didn't.

[irishlady]

I quit CO for this reason, and my hair didn't seem to like CWC either. So I'm back to regular old shampoo/conditioner with some coconut oil before.

lol I always giggle when it's called "poo"..but that's my immature sense of humour :laugh:

[Mina17]

I shed a LOT more when I tried CO and I believe it also slowed down my growth. I went back to shampoo when I realized my hair was much thinner than it had previously been. I shed very little now and my growth rate is back to where it was before the CO experiment. My scalp apparently needs shampoo to be healthy.

I have to wash my hair frequently (stretching washes causes me to shed more also) so I still CO and CWC alternating with regular S & C to give my length a break while still getting shampoo on my scalp often enough to keep it happy.

[Kapri]

'I embraced CWC (with sulphate shampoos, no less!) about a month ago and my hair has never felt better, plus my shed rate has dramatically decreased. I'd been co-washing with the occasional shampoo for 2-3 years, and while co washing made my hair feel great I feel like us thin haired people need to make a choice between your hair and your scalp. My scalp loves shampoo, brushing, and infrequent oil massages. '

Hototogisu's point is very good. I noticed this week how fab my hair looked after a coconut oil prep, root re-touch with Tints of Nature hair dye and a conventional wash with the Tints of Nature shampoo and a light condition on most of the hair and then just the ends were richly conditioned with Ojon Damage Reverse. I know dye isn't great for the hair but the whole process (aside from risks of chemical poisoning from the dye ha ha!!!) gave me hair that people have been commenting upon all week. It is shiney, thick looking and bouncey.

When I over-condition and under wash..I feel miserable, my hair looks lank and thin and my roots are squished rather than bouncy. CWC with complete avoidance of the scalp (unless for a pre dye coconut oiling) is my route also. And I keep the conditioner for mid-lengths down only and possibly vary the conditioner strength too at the ends.

Kapri

[Amber_Maiden]

I did CO-washing for 3 months, the one day decided to shampoo. My scalp felt so much better!!! I definitely noticed a change with the shedding as well- not as much as before!

[Annibelle]

Just like the others here, my hair liked CO, but my scalp didn't. I had a decrease in shedding at first, but then was shedding handfuls of hair each day! :( Once I shampooed, I was fine. I went back to CO after that and the shedding immediately began. Now I'm shampooing (SLS-free) twice per week and my hair enjoys it. :)

[AspenSong]

Thanks all. So apparently I'm not all alone in this or imagining it and that makes me feel better! I picked myself up a bottle of Natures Gate 'poo this morning since I do love their conditioners and the shampoo is sulfate free. So hopefully it'll help the shedding. It just had gotten insane with my CO washing and frankly, was freaking me out a bit.
So we shall see what happens! It just barely occurred to me it could be the CO washing....My hair had been so much better since I've been doing it, I never thought of the shedding being maybe some to do with that. But I washed my hair this morning (I soak the ends down in condish and wash my scalp and let it kind of wash out and over the rest of the hair and condition the ends more) and between that and using the tangle teezer later, I probably lost about half of what's been coming out.

[BlondieHepburn]

Perhaps I'm just not taking a minute to think about this, but what is it about CO washing that would cause such a dramatic increase of shedding?

I've been considering switching to a CO routine, but I am already shedding more than usual right now, and more shed sounds frightening!

[Kapri]

I have been asking the same question re CO washing and shedding....

Clearly the needs of the scalp or some scalps at least and those of the hair are different. There was once a product called Wash and Go by Vidal Sassoon, a shampoo containing conditioner.I remember reading an article that critiqued it because the shampoo/conditioner combi meant that certain ingredients got trapped on the scalp by some elements in the conditioner. It may be that there is a build up of some aspect f the product which blocks pores or traps dirt or whatever... and the hair roots rather than being cleansed are experiencing a build up of some of the chemicals that can cause hair to fall out (DHT for example) and a build up of oily secretions...

I don't know ...but it would make sense that a gentle but thorough cleanse is better for the scalp altogether...

[lajsa]

Well, I haven't had any problems with extra shedding from my CO as I recall. :/ I usually do lose hair, of course, but that's to be expected with all the extra massaging and stuff that goes on with CO. Then again, my scalp seems to be in agreement with my hair :p

But honestly, if you shed less with shampoo and you prefer that you should really go with it. I mean, everyone's different and different routines work best for different people. :)

[Hotrox]

I'm one of the many here too, my shed rate slowly went up on a CO routine and my scalp became more and more uncomfortable, itchy and dandruffy. I went back to shampooing with a mild but with sulphates shampoo in a CWC routine and BAM instant happy scalp and my washing shed rate decreased dramatically.

[Bianca]

Tried using shampoo for a couple weeks some time ago, and all I got was more shedding and MORE frizz. So co-washing it is for me :p

[mneh]

I went back to shampoo (sulphate free) after CO washing for most of a year. In common with other posts on this thread, my hair loved CO but my scalp didn't. I have an oily, sensitive scalp and no matter what alterations I made to the CO routine, it still bothered my scalp. I just shampoo, condition, and ACV rinse these days, with the occasional heated conditioner treatment, or baking soda rinse,if my hair looks like it needs it. My scalp is itch-free now and I have fewer flakes. I can't say my hair sheds less, but I'm a thick, coarse-haired wurly and I always leave a hamster's worth of hair in my shower hair trap no matter what :)

[fridgee]

Tried using shampoo for a couple weeks some time ago, and all I got was more shedding and MORE frizz. So co-washing it is for me :p

I am so glad to hear that not everyone has shedding increase with COing... this thread was really starting to worry me! I do shed quite a lot with COing but I just assumed it was because I've been wearing my hair curly more, so less were escaping in between washes. Maybe I should try shampooing to see if it makes a difference. I hope its not the COing because my hair has never felt better!