The Official NW/SO Thread

[FrayedFire]

I am so glad that there's a brand new thread for this!

I should probably get some pictures on here so I can validate my credibility, but doing NW/SO - style care has made the biggest difference in my hair since I stopped dying it. It's like the ultimate in benign neglect, once you're through the transition period, and I'm glad I had already been stretching washes for so long beforehand.

This method may not be for everyone, or at least not fully, but even just trying it out or using bits and pieces can lead to profound improvement. If you have oily roots and dry ends, this is probably one of the best things to try.

ETA: Keep your tools clean. Once you've transitioned, you don't have to do a full SMP every day, but you're probably going to want to wear your hair up more. You can still wear it down if it's cooperative, but when is it ever? I find that this combines well with the inversion method (which combines well with yoga/stretching). There are many ways to preen, experiment. Same with scritching and massaging, both of which you can do while your hair is up. I use a combination of methods... the goal is to get the oil from your roots down to the ends. The first time you realize that your hair is acting like it has product in it is really weird. If it feels icky, CLEAN YOUR TOOLS, and be a little more thorough.

[proo]

I started with WO, it’s what brought me to the lhc-
My experience was similar to Bedhead’s:
Hair looked dull and felt coated for a couple of days after a rinse, then would sort of come around with some smp-
Eventually it was obvious that rinsing set me back, especially with manageability, so I began stretching out.
I’ve been in my 50’s for the whole thang, it helped with sebum reduction.
It’s been years now, I still rinse occasionally but not with plain water, making sure not to leave residue or strip my sebum.
Someone mentioned benign neglect- it’s been the opposite for me
Lots of trial and error, smp, hairdos, investigation, processes , the works.
It’s process over products; if something ain’t right I tweak how I’m handling my hair, not what I’m putting on it
It would have been cool to stay combined with WO imho,
We’re basically on the same path and could share helpful info.

[Bedhead]

Well said proo! Yep, haven't found this to be a benign neglect type of thing, not for the lazy. Tried it, made things more difficult for a while after. I believe NW/SO is what people who do benign neglect on purpose are trying to achieve.

I know, there is something nice about the merged NO/SO/WO thread, but in the end, there are differences, and people experience different forms of transitions and results. When I was figuring out what was best for my hair, I saw a very distinct difference between the two. After doing both, I can see where they overlap. You can still go and post in the other thread if you want.


FrayedFire, yes please to pictures! And good points!


One thing I'd like to add is, if your hair is feeling heavy and "dirty" despite your efforts in SMPing, try scritching your face in a hot shower. Works, every time.

[Bedhead]

So because of all this thread merging and a need for a new thread happened, it made me revive my BBB, something I haven't used since my first few weeks of NW/SO. What happened was interesting.

I know some people swear by these things, but for my particular hair, what it seems to do is rough up the second half of my length, to the extent that I know if i continued it's use, my ends would be fried. In saying that, however, the next day, the hair on my scalp lifted up more than it has since I began this regime, and I did like how it felt on my scalp (like a scritchy massage) while brushing with it. So, I think I'm going to do a little experiment and maybe use the BBB just on my scalp and the first 3 inches of my hair every few days, and see what happens.

[proo]

Interesting!
I continue to turban in soft cotton/silky scarves post smp-
It seems to allow sebum to absorb and spread, and generally spruces things up.
Lately, dealing with fridgid temps and dry heat, I’ve been experimenting with using a long, stretchy, thin plastic bag to turban.
Started a separate thread about it to which the consensus was “say what??”
Folks couldn’t understand baggying without product-
But of course sebum is the product ; there’s something about the plastic that boosts the turbaning effect.
Very moisturizing.

[Bedhead]

I can totally see how that would work! It might not be for me though. Unlike you, my hair produces a good amount of sebum, so I can only see my hair going limp, as if I've done an oil treatment. Ha ha! It would take me days to come back from, but, on second thought, would probably come back beautifully!

I love the winter days for my hair. It's always at its most glorious.... Here, anyway. I wonder if I moved back home if my hair would get past the extreme staticky stage? Perhaps the plastic bag turban would do the trick then, in the much drier environment?

Something interesting, I've noticed, is that the areas where my hair is only 5mm long, the sebum buildup is a lot thicker on my scalp. Protection from the cold perhaps? Amazing, these bodies of ours!

[FrayedFire]

Bedhead, what type of bbb is it? I have two - a stiff one I use on my scalp, and then I switch to a soft one for a few strokes down the length. I've been trying to use them and my TT less because I noticed that the ends of some of my strands were curling up, like what happens when you use scissors to curl a ribbon, and I can only assume that's the cause.

[FrayedFire]

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[valkyrie90]

So I decide to give SO another try . Hopefully this time I'm not gonna chicken out and grab my herbal tea bottle . I'm used to herbal wash weekly and on day 7 of SO . Everything seems fine . I spend 30 mins to 1 hour to smp with fingers and my horn combs . What I notice is on day 6 and 7 my hair sheds massively when being detangled . It must be the way I handle my hair always kinda aggressive still I feel like the more I smp he more my hair sheds . I also notice the further I stretch wash , the more my hair sheds . I've been washing weekly for a while and the excess shedding didn't bother me much as now . I love SO so far , my hair is soooo soft , the ends feel and look the best , my LWB can hold for forever . I just wanna make it work but I don't wanna go bald . And if possible please post what SO successful hair looks like . I wanna be inspired !

[proo]

Hi valkyrie-
Do you mean “shred” or “shed”?
In either case, sounds like you’re being a bit too aggressive so perhaps back off the smp somewhat.
In my experience this method requires constant tweaking with regard to what’s going on with your body, what’s around it and what you put in it.
I really like this aspect because I like tweaking my experience in all ways
And it requires a certain sensitivity about my body that I didn’t cultivate when I was out there trying to find another product to fix something