Cowashing 2 or more times/week? Why is that good?

[Researching]

Hi Ladies,

I was just wondering... What are the benefits of co-washing two or more times each week. I've noticed a lot of you ladies are cowashing a lot, even daily. I started co-washing once a week and DCing and my hair is loving it so far. But wouldn't increasing my co-washes increase manipulation due to a need to detangle with each wash? I have 4b/c relaxed supper thick hair. Also I’ve also been wondering if I’m not supposed to be DCing (on dry hair over night) since I’m co-washing. Will this cause moisture overload. I also moisturize with S-curl and baggie every night. Thinking maybe I’m overdoing it. I'm just curious and want to learn as much as I can to have a successful journey. Thanks!

 

[Nonie]

If what you're doing is not causing you any harm, don't change your regimen just to keep up with what everyone is doing.

Some people CW often because they wear WNGs so need to wet their hair and shake it for the style. Some use minimal products so CW is a way to get moisture in their hair.

Whether something will cause moisture overload really depends on the person. When your hair is overmoisturized, it'll get mushy so just listen to what your hair is telling you and alter your regimen according to its needs. If DCing at night then CWing in the AM hasn't seemed to hurt your hair, why change it?

Increasing CW could increase manipulation depending on how you do your CW. When I wear twists, I CW more than any other time because I find my twists are easier to style when damp and if I'm not styling, hang better if left to drip dry. There's hardly any manipulation because I do not undo my hair and no detangling is necessary. Just smooth conditioner on the twists, and squeeze then rinse. So for more, the extra CWs don't cause my hair any unusual stress.

 

[smitmarv]

I don't always CW that much but some weeks when I have been working out a lot I will do it that often. I sweat like crazy so I find myself CW at least once a week and then washing with a pre-poo and DC once a week as well. That seems to work for my hair. Like Nonie said, id depends on what works for your hair.

 

[godsflowerrr]

I don't cowash. I find that the less I manipulate my hair, the more I am able to retain length. I may consider it more if i worked out very heavily.

 

[~NanCeBoTwin~]

I cowash multiple times a week, as a personal preference. In the end like Nonie said, you have to do what works for you. I have 4b coarse medium (in my opinion, thick to others) hair.

When I started my journey last year I learned how much my hair LOVES moisture. I started out cowashing once a week, but then I decided to try it more and notcied how happy it made my hair. It felt even more moisturized, it looked better and felt better to the physical touch. My hair loves water and moisture products.

You'll have to experiment with some things to find out what works best for you.

 

[Ms.Christ3n]

I cowash daily and because I do (and wear my hair in a bun at night) I don't have to detangle. The pressure from the shower head detangles for me. So I have very low manipulation when it comes to cowashing and it is working for me so far.

As long as you include protein in your hair when it's needed you should be fine. Add one extra thing at a time maybe one per week or every other week to see how your hair will respond. The most important thing is that you don't have to do everything that everyone else is doing because your hair may not respond as well to it. Just listen to your hair and if it becomes to mushy....your hair cannot handle that much moisture and you need to incorporate some protein. I really hope that helped you!

 

[MonPetite]

I co-wash or shampoo daily because it fits in with my regimen. It gives my hair a moisture boost 7 days a week which negates the need for deep conditioning. If your current regimen works, there's little need to change it, however.

 

[lilsparkle825]

I began cowashing once a week right after I discovered LHCF and heard so many people raving about it, but it didn't get good for me until I started using my conditioners as leave-ins. I DC'd maybe twice before the big chop. After I BC'd (maybe 2 months after joining), I quickly got into the habit of cowashing every day or every other day. It was just so easy to keep my hair moisturized like that, and it was relatively short so I didn't have to worry about detangling. Now that my hair is longer and I have to detangle more, I cowash only maybe 3 times a week max in the spring/summer. In the winter, I just try to DC once a week or every other week instead. It's still the best way to keep my hair moisturized in warmer weather.

 

[Nayeli]

Co-washing twice a week would kill my hair dead dead dead! Like you said, that manipulation would bury me. One of the things I learned on here is to not force something on your hair because it's by and large effective among the masses.

 

[Researching]

Thanks for the info. I learn so much from this forum! I guess I'll stick with what I'm doing since it's working and if my hair changes I have yet another stategy in my bag of tricks!