Any tips for a CO newbie?

[Bonny]

I am thinking about trying CO. I found an article here which gave the basics on how to do it, but I seem to remember from some old LHC threads that you have to leave it on for quite a while. How long should I start with?

And I remember some talk about a transition period. How long does that last, and what does that involve?

Thanks, anyone who would like to share!

Oh, and here are some cookies too, just because...

[artemis]

I hardly had any transition time at all from switching from CWC to CO. Switching from washing every day to washing once or twice a week was the real killer for me, but since I'd already made that switch before I went CO, it wasn't a big deal any more. I do rotate conditioners.

Everyone leaves the conditioner on for different lengths of time. Some (like me) just leave it on for five minute or so while they finish the rest of their shower. Others leave it on for an hour. I've tried both and didn't see any real difference (for me), so I stick with five minutes. Try both and see what works for you.

General Tips:
(1) CO isn't for everyone. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work for you.
(2) CO might take some adjusting. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work right away. Give it some time, of go back to your old method and try CO again some other time.
(3) If your hair doesn't immediately take to CO, ease into it. Alternate between shampoo washes and CO washes, wash your hair more frequently or less frequently... listen to your hair and do what makes it happy.
(4) Choose a scent of conditioner that you really like... you're going to have it sitting on your head for a long time and no results are worth smelling something you hate for an extended period of time
(5) Rinse your hair well. Then rinse it again. Rinse a third (or maybe fourth) time just to make sure. After you've been CO for a while, you'll know how long to rinse.
(6) Don't expect the "real" world to respond well if you tell them you don't use shampoo You might get some stares, horrified lookes and/or unsolicited advice
(7) Have fun and find what works for YOU!

[Patrycja]

the couple of times that I've had time to try it-I left the first conditioner on for 20-30 minutes and it was a real runny one.I think I used Sauve Strawberry...which is a cone.And of course,use a thicker condtioner for the second one.I saw results immediately.It left me with the softest hair and my waves came out to play for once in a long time.

I've been thinking about going back to CO after I finish my poo bar.Or at least do it untill my new poo bar comes in.

[ChloeDharma]

I never had any transition period, but i started when my hair was really fried and could never look oily even if i added oil to it.

How i do it is (bear in mind i always have a heavy oiling on when i wash) i wet my hair, massage in the conditioner, bun my hair while i shower then rinse at the end.

Most people find they need a light conditioner for the cleansing then use a 2nd heavier conditioner. I've not had to do this, even the treatment conditioners clean off a heavy oiling for me.

[Carolyn]

I didn't have a transition period. My hair loved CO from the start. I'd been doing CWC and went to mostly CO washes. I use VO5 or WR conditioners. WR seems a little thicker if you are having issues with it being too runny. I prefer a long CO soak. I glob it on dry hair and cover with a plastic conditioning cap and then a turbie twist towel. I leave it on anywhere from a half hour to several hours. It just depends on what I am doing that day. I find this gets out rather heavy overnight oilings. I always use a second conditioner. I don't know if I have to use it but I like to do it. My hair eats up conditioner and can't be conditioned too much, but I also like heavy weighed down hair. The VO5's and WR's are cheap so don't be afraid to use a lot of conditioner. A bottle lasts me about 5 washes. They are about a buck a bottle so that's only 20 cents a wash. Don't be afraid to experiment. Change things if you aren't happy with your results. If you have a miserable failure (and we all do at times) just put your hair up that day and wash again the next day.

[AJoifulNoise]

I hardly had any transition time at all from switching from CWC to CO. Switching from washing every day to washing once or twice a week was the real killer for me, but since I'd already made that switch before I went CO, it wasn't a big deal any more. I do rotate conditioners.

Everyone leaves the conditioner on for different lengths of time. Some (like me) just leave it on for five minute or so while they finish the rest of their shower. Others leave it on for an hour. I've tried both and didn't see any real difference (for me), so I stick with five minutes. Try both and see what works for you.

General Tips:
(1) CO isn't for everyone. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work for you.
(2) CO might take some adjusting. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work right away. Give it some time, of go back to your old method and try CO again some other time.
(3) If your hair doesn't immediately take to CO, ease into it. Alternate between shampoo washes and CO washes, wash your hair more frequently or less frequently... listen to your hair and do what makes it happy.
(4) Choose a scent of conditioner that you really like... you're going to have it sitting on your head for a long time and no results are worth smelling something you hate for an extended period of time
(5) Rinse your hair well. Then rinse it again. Rinse a third (or maybe fourth) time just to make sure. After you've been CO for a while, you'll know how long to rinse.
(6) Don't expect the "real" world to respond well if you tell them you don't use shampoo You might get some stares, horrified lookes and/or unsolicited advice
(7) Have fun and find what works for YOU!

She pretty much said it all. I especially second the rinsing. Rinse until you think you got it all then rinse some more. And also, #6- people just don't get it and (for the most part) trying to explain it to them is useless. For the longest time I kept a bottle of shampoo in the shower just so no one would ask questions.

[icydove]

Here's my CO troubleshooting guide from my old journal:

CO Troubleshooting Guide
If your hair is getting greasy very quickly, try the following:
1) give it time. Most people have an adjustment period to CO washing. I think 2 to 4 weeks is average.
2) start with a cold rinse before applying conditioner
3) if it is greasy at the crown, part your hair in half in order to rinse that area better
4) use more conditioner. I use 3 handfuls on the scalp, so don't be afraid of too much.
5) leave the conditioner on longer. Max benefits seem to come in the 15 to 30 minute range. FYI I put the conditioner on prior to showering because I can't spend that much time in the shower. Just put in on and go eat breakfast or something
6) try a different conditioner. If your conditioner is too moisturizing, you'll be a big grease ball. You can save it for a 2nd conditioner if your hair needs one. You also might try a conditioner with citrus, but use care because they seem to be very drying.
7) distributing the oil. Dependent on your hair type, you can try a BBB or scritching with a horn comb (or both) to try to move the sebum off the scalp to the dryer areas of your hair.
8 ) gradually switch to COing. Some people get to CO washing best by making a gradual change but cutting down the amount and times they use shampoo. You can also do this by alternating CO and CWC. Some people do best by cold turkey, though. I'd try to stick out cold turkey first for at least 2 weeks.
9) ACV or citrus juice rinses

If your hair is too dry, try:
1) Using a second conditioner for the length
2) Adding a leave-in conditioner (aloe vera gel and jojoba oil is great, and many like to shea butter their ends)
3) A light pre-wash oiling, or a heavier overnight pre-wash oiling.
4) Use a more moisturizing conditioner for "washing"

If you have the itchies, try:
1) rinsing longer, more thoroughly
2) changing conditioners. Some seem to bother me more than others. Protein seems to be particularly irritating for me.
3) try leaving the conditioner on for a shorter amount or longer amount of time
4) vary the amount of conditioner from a little to a lot
5) do aloe vera gel scalp massages

[xrosiex]

I had no problem transitioning to CO. I really never had to leave it on very long. I just got in the shower, wet my hair, put on a ton on conditioner, massaged it into my hair really good, cover my hair with a pastic cap, finished washing myself. Then rinsed my hair and rinsed somemore. I always finish with a 16oz. cup of distilled water. My hair loves distilled water.

[Bonny]

Wow, I wasn't expecting to get this much response! Thanks, everyone!

artemis, thanks for the great list of tips. I like your #7! It's a good one for me since I often get too caught up in trying to make things work.

ilovemycop, good to hear that you got good results with a cone conditioner. The conditioner I have on hand has cones, and I didn't want to buy a new bottle just for this.

ChloeDharma and Carolyn, I haven't yet started oiling my hair, but I'm glad to know that the CO can get the oil out.

AJoifulNoise, luckily I've got a DH and DD who also keep their shampoo in the shower so I can pretend I'm using one of theirs. Protective camouflage.

icydove, your troubleshooting tips look really helpful. It looks like we have similar hair types! However, it will be years before my length is anywhere close to yours.

xrosiex, thanks for the tip on rinsing with distilled water. I've been meaning to try that for a while. This looks like a good time to try it out.

[BlndeInDisguise]

I'm going to hijack the thread a bit....

For those that CO and tend to have oily hair, do you still let the conditioner sit on your hair for a while before rinsing it out? I'm afraid that my "teenager scalp" (aka VERY oily) would end up disgustingly greasy if I did that.

Another hijack: xrosiex, I love your hair! It's beautiful!