Shampoo-ing the oil out vs. co-washing it out

[buttercupmcgee]

I like to douse my head in EVOO a few times a month, and leave it on for 48ish hours (you're so welcome, boyfriend.)

I've read that shampoo-ing the oil out eradicates all the moisturizing efforts, but I haven't had any luck with co-washing it out. Last time I let a healthy heaping of conditioner sit in my (dry, oiled) hair for an hour before massaging it out in the shower, and it was still lank the next day. EVOO seems more stubborn than other oils.

In your opinion does shampooing it out really nullify the effects of the oil? And if so am I doing something wrong with the co-washing?

[millyaulait]

Hmmm... What kind of conditioner are you using? If it has cones that can sometimes cause problems.
I would wet my hair a bit (dried in oil makes my hair a bit crunchy/stiff) before slathering on the cond' though.

I used to have trouble getting EVOO/Coconut out of my hair too until I switched to a lighter, cone-free conditioner.
I hope someone comes along with the shampoo info! :)

[Sillage]

When I use coconut oil as a prewash treatment I can still feel it in my hair after I shampoo it out so no I don't think that shampooing eliminates the beneficial effects of the oil.

[ratgirldjh]

I don't think shampooing or using a poo bar negates the benefits of the oil. The oil is supposed to have penetrated into your hair and the shampoo or soap will just wash it off the outside (hopefully)... Anyway I can still tell the benefits when I use soap to remove oil.

Use whatever works best for you.

Perhaps you could try mixing a little shampoo into your conditioner. Or shampooing first (putting the shampoo on the hair before you wet it) and then perhaps using conditioner after to get the rest of the oil out.

[Amber_Maiden]

I shampoo my hair after a heavy oiling, and find my hair still looks/feels great after...

[buttercupmcgee]

Whoops forgot to mention, it's V05 cone-free, and I use a metric ton of it.

Good idea re: wetting it prior. Would you say dampen it or get it soaking? I imagined the water would create a barrier between the oil and cleansing properties of the conditioner, some how. Not sure why. Maybe the oil/water separation visual.

[buttercupmcgee]

The oil is supposed to have penetrated into your hair and the shampoo or soap will just wash it off the outside

This is what I was hoping

[RedRendezvous]

I find that wetting my hair before I CO really helps. I get my hair pretty wet, then towel dry it a little bit so that my hair doesn't drip on me.

[spidermom]

I guess I do both. I apply oil to my length (not my scalp) and coat my length with conditioner when I wash my scalp with diluted shampoo. Between the conditioner and the suds running through my hair in the rinse, the oil comes out well enough most times.

[rowie]

I will soak my hair in coconut oil over night before my wash day, and then the next day use a sulfate shampoo and my hair feels ooober soft and not dry.

[Sophiatrist]

I soak a couple hours with coconut oil and then shampoo twice with an SLS free shampoo. I'm pretty sure the shampoo isn't washing out all of the oil, oar at least not its effect. My hair feels much better after an oiling.

[PetuniaBlossom]

I also oil overnight before I CWC. For me, what works is to seriously dilute the shampoo so that I can actually "lather, rinse, repeat" - even though I'm not using more shampoo, I believe the two-step procedure makes the difference for me. HTH.

[Mrstran]

I was using a clairifying shampoo on my roots and letting it runs down my ends to wash oils out.... Then learned I was waisting oil. Lol lesson learned.

I started cwc. Root wash with diluted shampoo and absolutely LOVED the result.

[janeytilllie]

YYMV

I always do a heavy Olive oil and castor oil soak mix before washing my hair. I wash my hair every 3 days.


Putting your shampoo on your oiled dry hair first. Massage then apply a little water, massage again then rinse. I then I shampoo again. Apply Conditioner on the lengths and massage gently. Rinse. Done.

I use sulfate medicated shampoo and I still feel the benefits of my olive oil for my scalp and hair.

This works for me but every hair is different.

[mizukitty]

I've never had a problem removing oil from my hair with either method. When your head is super, super covered in oil, it helps if you are thorough and take your time. If you have a lot of hair, sectioning ensures you're getting at every part. My favorite thing to do (and by far the most effective) before I use shampoo or conditioner to remove oil is to use hot (but not OVERLY hot) water and my hands to manipulate the oil down and manually remove as much as I can. "Water doesn't dissolve oil", but hot water does make it less viscous and able to travel down and off the hair much, much, more easily (think of an oil cleanse for your face). You will definitely see cloudy water running off. After I've done that, I pick a weapon of choice. I think shampoo is easier to work with when you're an oil slick because 1. you use less product and I don't like being too wasteful 2. it's faster 3. you can tell if you're using enough product. You want to use quite a bit of shampoo. Rule of thumb = you want to see foam and suds. If you don't, you're not using enough to cut the oil. If you rub it around and your hair doesn't produce any foam, you need to use more. I do not apply it directly to my length, but rather work up an extremely dense foam on my scalp that I then slightly dilute and run down my length. A gentle side to side (not up and down!!!!!) rub is usually okay for me, and really helps to remove everything. You can obviously not do that if your hair is very fine or prone to breakage. And then remember to rinse for longer than usual. With co washing, it's still very possible to remove oil, but you need a TON of product (to have enough emulsifying agents to lift the oil) and you can't really tell if you do have enough product as there aren't any bubbles. In either case, you need to get your hair hot and wet first to mechanically remove excess oil for best removal (in my opinion.) I also don't feel like shampooing defeats the purpose of the oiling as it helps protect the hair from rubbing and mechanical damage, as well as retaining protein in the case of using coconut oil.

Hope this helps in any way, shape, or form :)

[Eastbound&Down]

Conditioner gets oil out much better than shampoo. I always do CWC (conditioner-shampoo-conditioner)

[meteor]

I guess the formulation and the way the shampoo and conditioner are used during a wash could impact the result. Some people soak hair for a while before co-washing, for example, or dilute shampoo or massage conditioner for a longer time, and this would all be important for end results...

JC of Natural Haven Bloom did a few experiments comparing photos of hair under microscope washed with conditioner, shampoo and a few other products.
Here is a link comparing CO-wash with shampooing, if anyone is interested: http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2014/02/does-co-washing-really-clean-your-hair.html

Shampooed hair (photo): http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Rp4eWCowy9o/UwjPFk6lk8I/AAAAAAAABT4/FhFzWwmWZxg/s1600/shampooed_hair.jpg
Co-washed hair (photo): http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y0z0wFZSC0I/UwjOZ7rvmUI/AAAAAAAABTo/-ruHsPp8LNs/s1600/co-washed_hair_2.jpg

[Hay_jules]

Wow, I'm really impressed with the level of oil removed in cowashing based on those pics.