I'm thinking of CO washing

[GabrielleRose]

Can someone please give me more info on it? The CO thread I found is a little over whelming. The reason I'm thinking of COing is because I suffer from HORRIBLE tangles and I ALWAYS end up getting splits no matter what! Is CO good for splits and tangles? Can I use Aubrey Organics as a CO wash, or maybe Giovanni smooth as silk? I really don't want to use products that are tested on animals. I was also thinking of maybe trying Tresemme for CO, because I don't think they test on animals. Any suggestions on conditioners to try? How do I CO anyway, do I need more than 1 conditioner? I'm sorry for so many questions, but I am going CRAZY as to how to deal with my hair. I did wash my hair with Aubrey Organics GPB Lavender Ylang Ylang shampoo and conditioner but the conditioner only seems awesome. But I'm scared it might make my hair look thin and stringy. Can CO give the appearance of thick hair? I know when I use Aubrey Organics shampoo and conditioner my hair seems thicker. Ahhh... must stop questioning everything lol!

[Copasetic]

There's a pretty big CO thread on the LHC that might be of help to you.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...ead.php?t=2898

[McFearless]

Are you cone free? Use a diluted with water cone free conditioner to massage your scalp with like you would shampoo, but don't rinse it out. Apply your regular conditioner to your length, clip your hair up and go about your shower duties. When you are finished, rinse your scalp and hair thoroughly and thats about it.

Some people need to give this method a little bit of time before their scalp adjusts to not being stripped with shampoo. You might have to experiment a little with how many minutes you leave the conditioner on, but its all worth it to me. My hair has never been more soft.

[spidermom]

For me, the simplest conditioners (few ingredients) worked the best. My best routine was to slather dry hair with conditioner, put on a shower cap, put a wool cap over that, and let the whole thing marinate for about an hour. Then I'd step into the shower, briefly wet my hair, then step out of the spray and massage my entire scalp until the conditioner got sort of a foamy consistency. Then I'd rinse-rinse-rinse and rinse some more.

I'd only get good results from doing this once, though. If I did it twice in a row, I'd get limp, dull hair. CWC with diluted shampoo gives me consistently good results.

[Mairéad]

Clarify before starting.

1. Select the conditioner you will use for cleansing. This one should be cone free. Cheap ones like VO5 and Suave are cult favorites around here.


2. Take a couple globs (this is where the cheap part comes in handy) of your light conditioner and work it into your hair. I prefer to do it on dry hair. Since the cleaning ingredients are mild, take a minute or two to massage the product into your scalp to loosen dirt and grease. Leave this conditioner in your hair while you do your other shower-ly duties.


3. Now that you’ve finished up the other parts of your shower, tilt your head back in the shower stream and quickly bring it back out. This should bring the foam in the conditioner up. Use your fingers again for a few moments to work this foam into your scalp again.


4. Rinse and rinse well.


5. Use a conditioner you like on the lengths of your hair as you normally would. It’s recommended you use one without the silicone based ingredients like mentioned before, but success has been reported using them as well in this step.


6. Clarify as needed.


Also, I have used Giovanni's Smooth as Silk as my second conditioner and really liked it, but I have heard they changed the formula. I've also used the Tresseme Naturals as my wash and it was really good so if they're cruelty free that will be an option for you. Right now I use VO5 as a wash and Yes to Carrots on my length.

[Cainwen]

I know what you mean about the main CO thread being overwhelming.

I've only recently starting CO washing, so take this with a grain of salt perhaps. I use a clarifying conditioner to marinade and clean my hair, then when thats all rinsed out I use a second moisturizing conditioner on the length, since my hair is super dry. I've been using VO5, becuase they are cheap and silicone free.

I have wurly hair, so CO makes my wurls more curly and defined, but I can't speak to thickness.

[GabrielleRose]

Are you cone free? Use a diluted with water cone free conditioner to massage your scalp with like you would shampoo, but don't rinse it out. Apply your regular conditioner to your length, clip your hair up and go about your shower duties. When you are finished, rinse your scalp and hair thoroughly and thats about it.

Some people need to give this method a little bit of time before their scalp adjusts to not being stripped with shampoo. You might have to experiment a little with how many minutes you leave the conditioner on, but its all worth it to me. My hair has never been more soft.

Thank you McFearless and yes I am currently CO free though 2 washes I did use some cones. What conditioners do you use for your CO? So, use a lighter conditioner on scalp and then possibly a thicker one on the length?

Also, I've always seemed to have pretty soft hair so would CO leave me lank?

[GabrielleRose]

For me, the simplest conditioners (few ingredients) worked the best. My best routine was to slather dry hair with conditioner, put on a shower cap, put a wool cap over that, and let the whole thing marinate for about an hour. Then I'd step into the shower, briefly wet my hair, then step out of the spray and massage my entire scalp until the conditioner got sort of a foamy consistency. Then I'd rinse-rinse-rinse and rinse some more.

I'd only get good results from doing this once, though. If I did it twice in a row, I'd get limp, dull hair. CWC with diluted shampoo gives me consistently good results.

What exactly is CWC?

[spidermom]

Also, I've always seemed to have pretty soft hair so would CO leave me lank?

That's what happened to my hair. One nice thing about it - less fly-aways. That being the only nice thing about it, I abandoned CO.

[GabrielleRose]

Clarify before starting.

1. Select the conditioner you will use for cleansing. This one should be cone free. Cheap ones like VO5 and Suave are cult favorites around here.


2. Take a couple globs (this is where the cheap part comes in handy) of your light conditioner and work it into your hair. I prefer to do it on dry hair. Since the cleaning ingredients are mild, take a minute or two to massage the product into your scalp to loosen dirt and grease. Leave this conditioner in your hair while you do your other shower-ly duties.


3. Now that you’ve finished up the other parts of your shower, tilt your head back in the shower stream and quickly bring it back out. This should bring the foam in the conditioner up. Use your fingers again for a few moments to work this foam into your scalp again.


4. Rinse and rinse well.


5. Use a conditioner you like on the lengths of your hair as you normally would. It’s recommended you use one without the silicone based ingredients like mentioned before, but success has been reported using them as well in this step.


6. Clarify as needed.


Also, I have used Giovanni's Smooth as Silk as my second conditioner and really liked it, but I have heard they changed the formula. I've also used the Tresseme Naturals as my wash and it was really good so if they're cruelty free that will be an option for you. Right now I use VO5 as a wash and Yes to Carrots on my length.

Thank you so much for the step by step instruction. I really hope CO will work out for me, shampoo and conditioner seem to work ok but like I said maybe the CO can combat my crazy tangles and splits.

I will have to double check on Tresemme to see if it's cruelty free, and what do you mean that Giovanni changed? Did they add some bad stuff in their product? I have a bottle of the tea tree triple treat and smooth as silk, do you think those will work well together? I remember using both of those with a CV bar and the results were ok, but maybe the CV bar hindered some possible good results.