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View Full Version : I want to go NW but still a little confused



Sassy9226
July 24th, 2012, 11:52 AM
Hello! After combing through the NW/SO thread I am still confused on how exactly I would go about this process... I was wondering if those people who have gone NW have transitioned into it, that would be great.

What is your day to day routine? And what is/was your overall experience like? I would like to know what to expect.

Also, can someone tell me what preening is?

akilina
July 24th, 2012, 12:00 PM
I am sorry that my reply is not from experience, but I imagine that you could just start stretching washes more and more. Possibly start with CO, then work your way to WO, and eventually NW.
With your CO, start every other day, then maybe work to every two days, and so on. Then bring in WO every other day and stretch that to every few days.
Get yourself a Boar Bristle Brush. That helped me a ton when I was stretching my washes and COing.
It seems to be a lengthy process though to stretch washes and build your way up.

I may be totally wrong. Sorry if I am and hopefully someone will come along with more information. There is a NW/SO thread out there somewhere if you search for it :] <---oops, read again...you already looked there :P I just woke up haha...

Bopoluchi
July 24th, 2012, 10:52 PM
i've been NW/SO for 5 months, however i gave myself a naughty rinse the other day so now i'm in disgrace (just kidding).

i wish i'd kept a journal of my transition cos that would've been really interesting to look over (for me at least). for a couple of years i'd been doing WO and using Indian methods, and some people reckon that helps with transitioning, you know, using less 'harsh' cleaning methods than conventional shampoos, but there's no reason why you can't just jump into NW 'cold turkey', maybe a longer transition time, but i dont know. some folks like Frizzinator i think it was suggested starting off with a clarifying wash with a clarifying shampoo or baking soda, otherwise several good washes with just water to get rid of build up and stuff. i just did nw after a couple of WO washes, and i remember the first couple of weeks were quite gross, but by the 2nd or 3rd month my hair was looking really good.

my daily routine back then was to finger-detangle, scritch, massage and preen. preening (for me) involves using my fingers to gently massage and 'pull' sebum from my scalp down my hair length. it feels reeeeally good. i also used horn combs to scritch and comb my hair. i used to wear my hair out a lot which i think might have influenced my fast transition period, as airing the hair seems to dry up the sebum. having said that, it was not great for my hair as i had lots of breakage and splits. if oily hair is an issue for you, you could try airing your hair a little in a controlled environment with minimum hair hazards such as wind, extreme temperatures, movement, car seats etc.

after a while of that regime, my sebum production slowed right down so smp-ing every day became a waste of time. i also decided that i wanted to really protect my hair from damage so i started wearing my hair up and thought i'd keep handling to a minimum. so i started wearing my hair in braided updos, keeping my french braid in for a few days at a time, only rebraiding when it was getting messy. i also don't comb my hair anymore, i just finger-detangle. so now i only smp whenever i rebraid my hair, maybe twice a week. every day i massage my scalp (not rubbing the skin, just using my fingers to move the skin of the scalp around, if that makes sense) and i keep my hair in updos during the day, undoing it at night, when i wrap my braid in a silk scarf and sleep on a silk pillow.

the only issue i've had with this routine is that i don't produce enough sebum to coat all my hair, so i started oiling my length. unfortunately i've been overdoing it so the length of my hair became quite oily due to my over-enthusiastic oiling, which is why i rinsed my hair. i might explore other ways of keeping my lengths moisturised, maybe distilled or rose water, if thats not enough i'll resume oiling in moderation. i'll continue to oil my nape and the ends of my hair, as they're the driest bits.

anyways, so basically my regime is keeping my hair in the same braid for a few days, putting it up for the day, down wrapped in silk at night, finger-detangling and smp when i rebraid, oil my nape and ends, moisturise my length somehow, massage my scalp every day, no brushing or combing. i've been really happy with this regime, i think its been really good for my scalp and hair, which looks pretty good when its not smeared with neelibhringaraja oil.