The Official NW/SO Thread

[Emissary2ornj]

I've been struggling a bit lately. My theory is stress and less-than-optimal nutrition choices were main factors. Also I've started having frequent hot flashes w/mini-sweats (could it be? could it be?!... perimenopause????), and when I probably would have benefited by intensifying my scritch sessions, I got lazier. In the last week or so I've ramped those up again, and am revisiting the BBB. I gave it up for being too harsh; this time around I'm using fewer and slower strokes. I think I need the cleaning action, and the sebum-spreading action right now. And it matches my current patience/overall energy levels - I don't know that I have the patience these days for my full comb-cleaning routine, and it seems like my hair wants extra attention. So I'll adjust. My hair definitely feels better with the increased care.
It's funny - I've never been a big sweat-producer, and I was a bit envious when I read that sweat is a great hair conditioner. So, yay! I'm going to find out. My mini-sweats/flashes haven't lasted long. If circumstances allow, I enjoy scritching a bit right after, and preening the first few inches from my roots.
There's a song for everything, right? "After changes upon changes we are more or less the same," Mr. Simon sang, and I'm curious to see how my scalp reacts to this new wrinkle.
Have definitely had thoughts about mixing up a gentle (is there such a thing?) scalp scrub for a maximum exfoliation.... then I'd need to clean it out and I haven't had a clear direction on what I'd like to do for that yet. It would be a single event then back to normal SMPing. Just in the very early thinking about it stages right now.

[fancynancy]

hi everyone! I'm new here - so grateful to have found this group to share my SO secret <3

I have tons of thick low-porosity (mostly straight) hair and I've been SO for 6 weeks. I transitioned accidentally over the course of roughly the last 2 years. I started off having to wash my hair up to twice a day using traditional shampoo. I did a clarifying wash and moved to daily "low-poo" washes for about a year and gradually started extending time between washes. Finally took the plunge to do WO washes mid/late 2023, which was tolerable for a bit until I noticed my hair would become an oil slick immediately after a WO wash and balance out the day after a wash. Naturally, I stopped washing entirely!! lol My last WO wash day was Nov 25, 2023 and my hair has not missed it's washes in the slightest.

My tools are my fingers for scritching/scalp massage, a simple wood comb to help distribute oils, and occasional BBBing. But I felt the BBB was too rough for my hair and I juuuust got a baby denman- I hope it'll help me distribute the sebum more gently. Time will tell!! I SMP daily for maybe 10 - 15 minutes but noticed that I had an oily day after over-SMPing so I am planning to experiment with stretching out the time between SMP to every other day and seeing how my scalp/hair responds.

I enjoy trail running a few times a week so dealing with sweat has been interesting. I'm currently experimenting with the idea of airing my hair out ...

I don't wear braids or buns often, choosing instead to let my hair loose to breathe. My friends say I have "princess hair"- they have no idea and would probably be horrified if they knew. I wish I could link a picture. I honestly cannot believe how amazing my hair looks sans the wash. SO felt so extreme and was not at all my goal when I started low-poo years ago, yet here I am.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences and learnings- excited to keep the conversation going!

[embee]

Brave, to try it on your own. It goes so against the normal modern hairwashing culture. I found that airing my hair after working outdoors worked quite well, but of course I had to have it loose to do that and I prefer a bun, especially in summer when I do most outdoor work. Decisions decisions!

[Emissary2ornj]

Woohoo! Glad you're here, fancynancy.
My scalp prefers my hair down, too, though I go for a braid more and more as it grows longer.
Hope you find more happy hair surprises with this!

[Emissary2ornj]

Ooh, I mixed up a scalp scrub today and used it. It felt so good! I've been lax with dedicated SMPing - I scritched daily, but skipping massages and preening. Felt like I got far enough behind that I needed to Do Something. 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon jojoba oil, and 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar later, I was wetting my head in the shower and applying the scrub. Tried to be as gentle as possible. Rinsed it out only, no 'poo. Will wait till tomorrow to see how that goes. Right now (5 hours later), my hair has some more drying to do (had to put it up while I cooked/ate/cleaned up) but feels so nice. It's hard to be more specific while it's still damp. Definitely a bit wurly!
My hair hasn't been this intentionally wet for a long time. Looking forward to tomorrow's assessment!