CO Woes

[whiteisle]

Does anyone else experience super soft hair from CO but that it is limp and lifeless? I think this is my 3rd or 4th attempt to CO but I keep coming to these results. I love the gentleness of it and that it seems to keep my hair just as clean as shampoo did, but it just lays there......doing nothing......
When I shampoo, I get nice lift, not too much poof, and swingy hair that falls here and there and yonder...it's nice. But I'm afraid to do it everyday (don't want to damage) and I don't like stretching my washings to even every other day so I'm kinda at a crossroad here as far as what to do next. I tried WO for about a week, and DH practically begged me to wash:rolleyes: and I have tried stretching between washings (of what ever variety) but given that pulling up isn't an option for me at this point, it's very hard to disguise the greasy top. I was really hoping CO would work out this time but I'm not feeling it. I guess I'm just wondering if this is par for the course when doing CO?

[Cinnamon.locks]

I do have similar experiences with CO. even now after a year of stretching out poo washing up to 1 1/2 weeks. maybe it's the type of hair we have? I tend to feel like my type of hair is not the best for long term CO due to the fineness and lack of curl, but it could be the season or the products i use for CO. i know many here who have hair like mine and have put away their poo and love CO, i also love it but my hair does react very limp with two or more CO in a row. so i do try to wash with a very gentle poo after 2 or 3 CO's, of course it could also be that when i started CO'ing i did not poo first, i simply went from a good S+C with cones to CO with no cones. maybe the trick is starting with a good poo wash and then a nice Condish with no cones and continue CO from there? i'm not sure.

Hopefully someone more experienced will come along and help.

[chrissy-b]

I've had this problem too. Super soft hair but not much body. I've recently started stretching out my washings-- I was CO every day and CWC 1-2x a week, now I'm CWC 1x and WO 2-3 times a week (with occasional conditioner only on the ends) and I find that even though my hair is still pretty greasy the WO gives it a lot more body and it feels thicker too.

It might be worth it to give WO a try if the CO fails to give you the results you want.

[Riot Crrl]

I feel clarifying is an important step. In my opinion so is switching to no cones, unless you want to clarify with sulfates regularly.

I have never had any problem with CO up until now, lol. It seems that it became hot outside and I wore my hair up a million times in a row with oil in it. Now there's oil like permanently stuck in it, haha. I've always gotten oil out with CO until this. I'm going to try a couple things first but I might have to end up shampooing this.

[aisling]

There's generally a couple of basic CO problems:

What product do you use? Is it actually suitable for CO or is it too heavy?
How long do you let the conditioner soak in? Many of us like putting CO conditioner on our dry hair well in advance before showering, to allow it to soak longer.
Do you rinse enough?


Riot Crrl suggested clarifying and I think that's a good idea, the best way for many to start. Having fine and straight hair is definitely not something that makes CO unsuitable, I'm speaking from experience here :)

[paper]

I tryed CO too. I do love the way it made my hair feel soft. I feel what works best for me is to CO between S&C. Or when my hair feels extra dry. You just have to experiment to see what works for you.

[QueenBea]

I was having good luck with CO in our city with fairly hard water; went to visit a friend in Orlando with super-soft water. And the conditioner wouldn't rinse out at all. So water type makes a difference too.

Bea

[Maravel]

There's generally a couple of basic CO problems:
What product do you use? Is it actually suitable for CO or is it too heavy?
How long do you let the conditioner soak in? Many of us like putting CO conditioner on our dry hair well in advance before showering, to allow it to soak longer.
Do you rinse enough?
Riot Crrl suggested clarifying and I think that's a good idea, the best way for many to start. Having fine and straight hair is definitely not something that makes CO unsuitable, I'm speaking from experience here :)

I agree with this. I still CO for most of my washings, but I can never do it more than twice in a row, or else I get the greasies. When it is time for me to shampoo my hair, I use a clarifying 'poo diluted with some water.

One thing that helped for me was rinsing really well. I was rinsing like I normally would when I S+C, but I found that this wasn't actually getting all the condish out of my hair. Spend more time rinsing than you feel you need to. I stick my head under the shower stream and give myself a little scalp massage at the same time. It helps the water get down to the scalp and the roots of my hair, and the gentle motion helps rinse the condish away.

Also, I know you said your hair was too short to put up, but you might try pinning it as outlined in the Curly Girl method during drying to help with volume. Take small sections of hair from either side of your part, lifting them from the root and crossing them over, to make an X shape. Secure them with bobby pins or small claw clips.

Hope this helps you out! :D

[Tangles]

Another vote for alternating CO with scalp shampoos. I find that what makes the difference for me is shampooing LESS OFTEN, not eliminating shampooing. Similarly, using LESS CONES is a more effective guideline than using NO CONES AT ALL EVER. For example, very occasionally I'll blow fry and use a silicone serum; I simply clarify afterwards.

[AlleyKitten]

I had a lot of limpness (along with grease) when I wasn't getting my hair clean enough. Also, even now that I'm doing it right (the scrubbing is an important step!) I can't do more than one or two CO washes in a row or it just gets flat and oily no matter how well I wash. I usually do something more like C-COW-C, or a CO was with a tiny bit of diluted shampoo after, to make sure it gets clean enough and chase away the oil and limpness. My hair loves CO, but not all the time, every time.

[spidermom]

I can't CO exclusively because I get limp, greasy-looking hair after the third time in a row. So I alternate CO with CWC using diluted shampoo. Most weeks, I CO once and CWC once. The rest of the time I keep my hair dry under a shower cap when I bathe.

[Honey39]

I would alternate between CO and shampoo - it's absolutely NOT set in stone that there's one 'right' way to do it, and you have to do that. It's what works for your hair and your hair alone.

It's weird, I'm the reverse, I thought I would shampoo once a week, but CO is brilliant for my hair, so I haven't bothered for a while. Who would have known?? CO-ing on a daily basis with no heavy conditioners but a smoothing of coconut oil makes my hair happy.

What I mean to say - I thought that I *should* try stretching out the CO washings because that's what other people do; but then I realised, it's got to be about what works for your hair and your life at that particular point. SO - if you need to shampoo a bit more frequently to get the body you want, then that's fine too!

[Dvips]

As has been mentioned, you could simply alternate between using shampoo washes and CO.

Another thing to keep in mind, it can be difficult to find the right CO conditioner for your hair. My hair prefers a thicker conditioner (White Rain Sunflower) than the thin ones that most COers use. Also, I have to CO twice for it to work (CO, rub in a bit, wait, rub a bit more, rinse, reapply, rub in a bit, wait, rinse - I call it "CO-C").

Good luck!

Dvips

[whiteisle]

Thank you all so much for the suggestions! I know I need to be true to my hair but that is such an elusive little secret to figure out it seems! LOL I think I'm definitely going to alternate the CO with S&C. That might just be my ticket......for now at least!:D