The CO (conditioner only) washing thread

[cmg]

since co washing my hair, it has never looked better, but i have noticed my head itches more? does anyone know why? or how to fix it? i seem to rince well enough as i never have any other problems

There could be various reasons for that, some of them might not even be haircare related. Your hair/scalp might have a build up from oils, or petroleum products or other stuff in the condish you use or from the tap water. Try shifting products and se if this works better. Sour rinses are also a good idea. ACV actually makes buildup for some people, but this isnt reported very often.

/ CMG

[dwell_in_safety]

Tea tree oil may also help the itchies. Try Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle conditioner, if you haven't already. My girlfriend is going to switch to CO washing because that specific conditioner works for her, with the tea tree oil. Others don't at all; she always gets an itchy scalp after about a week of not using shampoo, if she tries.

[cmg]

Yes, Tea tree is great for that! I can recommend it also.

/ CMG

[Tawnylioness]

thankyou everyone ^^

can i add a spoon of tea tree oil to my condish bottle? how much should i dollop in?

and i have acv here, i will try it out also ^^

[afu]

thankyou everyone ^^

can i add a spoon of tea tree oil to my condish bottle? how much should i dollop in?

and i have acv here, i will try it out also ^^

As far as im aware with EOs in general, the amount of essential oil should never exceed 5% of the total mixture. I would suggest mixing it up in a cup first rather than adding it to the whole bottle - you might regret it and have a whole ruined bottle of conditioner on your hands! Personally I can't stand the smell of teatree - reminds me of headlice shampoo!

[Tawnylioness]

As far as im aware with EOs in general, the amount of essential oil should never exceed 5% of the total mixture. I would suggest mixing it up in a cup first rather than adding it to the whole bottle - you might regret it and have a whole ruined bottle of conditioner on your hands! Personally I can't stand the smell of teatree - reminds me of headlice shampoo!

oh i agree, but maybe i can add some mint or something to it? if the acv doesnt work first. i am in australia so we dont have a huge range of cool hair stuff...no trader joes and all the other cool stuff the rest of the world uses :P

[afu]

oh i agree, but maybe i can add some mint or something to it? if the acv doesnt work first. i am in australia so we dont have a huge range of cool hair stuff...no trader joes and all the other cool stuff the rest of the world uses :P

Don't worry, I'm in Wales hours from the next town so I totally know what you mean! Luckily CO works really well for me using supermarket, cheap own brands and other than that I use a couple of oils which I buy online, honey and aloe vera for facial regime and lemon juice to balance scalp and skin pH. I add peppermint to my coconut oil which gives a wonderfully fresh scent. Just try experimenting - but remember no more than 5% total of Essential oil (so if using teatree and peppermint maybe 3% teatree, 2% peppermint). Good luck and let us know how you get on

[Freija]

Well, I started CO on Sunday! I started by shampooing with Aussie Miracle Moist, to give my hair a final cleanse of 'cones and buildup, and since then I've been washing my hair every other day, using Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moist to scrub my scalp and then Biolage balm for the lengths. My scalp is a little bit itchy right now, but so far it isn't too bad. I'm relieved, because I was worried about how it would respond (I had huge problems when I tried going sulfate-free: I seem to react very badly to coco-betaine as the main cleanser in anything). My hair doesn't seem to be getting greasier either, at all, or having any problems with buildup. My curls seem more defined and my hair looks and feels like silk ribbon.

I think I'm going to use my favourite PH-balanced sulfate shampoo once a week, or I really might start having scalp problems, and then CO every other day the rest of the time.

ETA: Maybe I'll try a tea tree conditioner on my scalp. Does anyone know of a cheap, 'cone free one available in the UK?

[brave]

So I think my hair is starting to not to like protein. It's not entirely unexpected (I have fairly coarse hair) but I was really loving the combination of Mane'n'Tail and Shea Moisture. Alas, both have proteins and today I found a scarily coarse hair and found that shed hairs snapped easily.

I'm going to buy the trader joes tea tree one -- as much as I can afford/carry home with me, since I am a student far far away from trader joes -- and use that, since I tried it and love it. But until then, suave. Yuck. Not my favorite. But it feels softer so that's good.

Edit: I've been thinking recently of trying to find a lotion that might work for CO washing. Does anyone have any experience with that?

[Suze2012]

Suze2012 don't worry about it, I've got some but still have a wash or so of Tesco coconut left so I'll finish that this week, then i'll clarify, do a coconut oil deep condition and then start on the morrisons jojoba. p.s. It's horrid weather here too so I totally understand where you're coming from!

Firegypsy - my hair has gotten curlier since I started to CO, I get much more ringlets now than before

I hope you get on with it OK afu..the weather is rotten here also!!
Mine just about stood up to the weather yesterday with adding some oil to the conditioning after my co wash and with some aloe vera gel when it was wet.
Today is going to be worse..I think I will be embracing a frizz day! lol!

Me too Firegypsy!

Brave Do you mean a lotion as in a body lotion or lotion as in a more runny conditioner/hair lotion?