The Archives: The Merged NW/SO/WO Thread

**frizzinator** · April 16th, 2008, 01:05 PM

Everybody experiences a different transition.

Forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but it is extremely helpful to wear the hair up everyday, and avoid looking in the mirror except for when you make the updo. Transitioning is not forever, but looking at it will try your patience for a long time; it may be impossible to fully transition without learning how to forget about how your hair looks.

I wear my hair up everyday not only because it doesn't look good down, but also because my fine hair breaks at every opportunity, and wearing it up is protective plus the sebum helps you create the perfect updo.

**ruthietoothie** · April 16th, 2008, 01:20 PM

I agree, wearing the hair up and forgetting about it helps to get through it. I can do that. When I am home, I couldn't care less what my hair looks like (and I am home most often). It's when I go out (I go out frequently, and in situations where unkempt looks are not prefered). That's when I get self-conscious. I couldn't care less if my kids see my greasies! Or even my DH....

**freznow** · April 16th, 2008, 06:25 PM

Hey, question for all y'all!

I've been accepted into a 3 week residential academic camp this summer. That'll be 3 weeks with at least one roommate, in a setting where I will be doing who knows what, probably lots of outdoor activities and possibly sitting in some hot, stuffy rooms. What would you do, hair wise? Keep going NW, change to WO, bring a bottle of conditioner 'just in case'? I don't really want to worry about scritching/etc., so I'll probably go WO at least, and I also don't want to worry about being a greasy mess, so idk...

**WritingPrincess** · April 16th, 2008, 07:19 PM

Ruthietoothie, I think your hair looks fine! It looks like mine after a light oiling, and I like it.

**MerryKat** · April 17th, 2008, 03:30 AM

Hairytale - thanks for the encouragement. I used a little coconut oil last night and it all looks better today. I still have a few flakes but not as many. Did you find your scalp got worse (much itchier & loads of flakes) before it settled down to a few flakes?

Ruthie - there is no denying your hair is sebumy but it is no where nearly as bad as you have told us. If the wash cloth helped a little then maybe add it into your daily routine. I wonder as you have plenty sebum production if you should stop massaging and only scritch as needed to prevent over stimulating your scalp? Just preen to pull the existing sebum to the length and rub with the cloth.

Freznow - I would be prepared to WO and take a small bottle of conditioner incase you need to wash something out of your hair that WO can't handle. This is what I do when I go to the coast on holiday and most of the time the WO handles everything, but once I needed to CO.

**ruthietoothie** · April 17th, 2008, 07:23 AM

Thank you for not thinking it is *terrible*! (though I still can't wear it down at this point.) I am really trying to make it to 5 months. If my hair still looks like this then, I will probably go back to WO. It's just not something I can live w/ long term.

MerryKat, thanks for the suggestion...I"ll try not scritching as much.

Last night (right before bed) I felt like my hair was actually kind of OK, even down! It was amazing! So, maybe there really IS hope for me that SO will work for me! This morning it again showed a tiny bit of hope. (still not good enough to wear down, but a bit better)

So, I am still here, and I will be for a while longer at least! Thanks again for all the encouragement! I am trying to take this one day at a time and not look at my hair!

**movie zombie** · April 18th, 2008, 10:58 PM

ruthie, i think we have the same hair type......

i want to encourage you to make it to 5 months or as close to it as you can. i think you'll know then if you want to continue or not. one thing that helped me was to do my major grooming routine at night and only comb my hair out in the morning. worked for a while. or grooming it several hours before i was to go somewhere, then tilt my head down and comb my hair towards the floor, flip it back as i stood upright again. it seemed my hair would be acceptable. i will admit that in a few hours it didn't look that great to me but by that time i was so busy with my activities, it didn't matter too much.

have a good weekend, ruthie! may the SO power be with you!

movie zombie

**pepperedmoth** · April 19th, 2008, 08:46 AM

I've looked and looked, but haven't found one!

I'd love some Water Only support. I stopped using all commercial products on my hair on April 1, mostly because my hair is dry as dry can be, but also because I'm cheap and eco-conscious. In the past I'd tried a baking soda/apple cider vinegar routine (disastrous), and also Conditioner Only (no success- just dry and FLAT hair).

So far this is my routine: hop in the shower (I like HOT showers), rinse out my hair under the water while massaging my scalp a little to dissolve the oils, then perhaps pour another rinse over it all before I hop out again. So far I've tried green tea, an infusion of rosemary, and now I'd like to to try apple cider vinegar (my water is pretty hard, and I think the vinegar might help my hair).

Anyone else? What do you do? General advice?

**freznow** · April 19th, 2008, 09:03 AM

I thought I'd tell you all that I rinsed last night.

I was curious; I didn't want to have to need a rinse one day and have it turn out badly, and so it was more of an experiment than anything. My hair looks pretty much the same as before hand, though it does feel a bit less greasy.

So yeah, I'll probably be NW again for the 2 months until camp. I wonder if I'll have to go through the transition again...