Do you believe in cowashing?

mscurly

Well-Known Member
I may get shut down for this but.........

I was wondering what you ladies thought. I have heard some YTers and bloggers say there is no purpose to cowashing and conditioners should not be left on the hair, ect

I have to admit I like the way cowashing makes my hair feel, but now I'm wondering if it changes my hair ph balance or prohibits growth.

What do you think?
 
Personally, I like shampooing my hair and feel that cleansing the scalp/hair is absolutely necessary for healthy hair. But, I still cowash in between shampoos to avoid build up.

As for conditioners being left on the hair well, it depends on what conditioner it is...I have some that I don't think are moisturizing enough in the long run to be left on my hair, or some have cleansing ingredients and I wouldn't want them on my hair either, or some have too much protein.
 
I co-wash and love it. I have seen a big improvement with my hair. Can't attribute it all to co-washing, but I know it play a part in my hair's health and growth.
 
I would give it a try, but my hair doesn't believe in it and acts really strange if I do not use shampoo.
 
I'm not a huge co-washing person, I'd rather just shampoo and condition but I have don eit before and I liked it for my hair. I just have to do it in moderation
 
I wasn't a believer but now I am...

Its a mind thing and unless ur rolling around in dirty u should be ok...

Just shampoo or clarify once a month bc of cones

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Long Hair Care Forum App
 
I love cowashing too but, lately all this science hair info on how shampoo and conditioners work in different ways got me to thinking that maybe cowashing is not such a good thing.

I dont like to poo every week I prefer to poo once a month and then cowash every week in between. And my hair does well on it. This winter I'm trying to maximize on my growth potential and didnt want to do something that would stop that.
 
It all depends on you and your hair. There is a member here, CelinaStarr, and I believe all she really does to her hair is cowash. No DC or anything fancy and her hair is a thick and full tailbone length. My hair does not like cowashes. I tried it with several different kinds/brands of conditioner. I personally have a very oily scalp, but dry hair that is difficult to get wet. If you have hair that easily soaks up whatever you put on it, cowashing may work for you. If cowashing is benefiting your hair, you should continue. What it does to other people's hair is their issue.
 
i need to shampoo my hair. my scalp needs to be clean and conditioners simply don't get the job done. i prefer to shampoo my hair use a conditioner and use good moisturizing leave ins through out the week.

cowashing could only work for me if i did it 2 or 3 times a week. even at my current length once a week in my hair is already time consuming. i couldn't imagine doing any more.
 
I tried it, I loved it, but my hair did not like it so much, plus my scalp was very itchy. I did us a clairifying shampoo to. I used V05 or HEHH!
 
I wish it did work for me. There are times I just want to rinse my hair and give it a new..... smell. But I like to cleanse my scalp with shampoo. I get an itchy scalp if I don't.

Co-washing tends to make my hair dull after a while. I guess what works for some doesn't work for all. Of course the product makes a difference. Most of the beautiful heads I've seen on here co-wash often so it obviously works for them.
 
co-washing and never ever using shampoo...no I wouldn't do that to my hair.

co-washing as a way to moisturize my hair with water and stretch the time between using shampoos...yes, I do this and it works well.
 
that's like asking me if I believe in breathing air.

lol okay I see your a fan of cowashing

I would give it a try, but my hair doesn't believe in it and acts really strange if I do not use shampoo.

How does your hair feel after cowashing?

I tried it, I loved it, but my hair did not like it so much, plus my scalp was very itchy. I did us a clairifying shampoo to. I used V05 or HEHH!

I use V05 or treseme to cowash, it makes my hair soft. I need to just listen to my hair not jump on any bandwagons
 
I see co-washing as a way to moisturize my hair, not cleanse it. So yes, I love co-washing. I do not put conditioner on my scalp, I simply condition my hair. There's no person or scientist or youtuber or blogger that can tell me to stop co-washing because it isn't beneficial. I only shampoo once a month but my hair loves and need to co-wash every 1-2 weeks.
 
I do believe in CWing as a way to add moisture and conditioning to hair. I just cannot do it at the exclusion of shampoo because I do not believe in putting conditioner on my scalp (which is the highlight of my shampoo) and I don't believe CWing can get my hair and scalp clean the way shampoo can.
 
I think that people get thrown off by the fact it's called cowashing. no it does not get your hair squeeky clean but the benefits for those who have hair that soaks up moisture like a sponge can't be denied.
 
I recently realized that cowashing is not for me. Too much manipulation. If my hair is feeling chronically dry I will go ahead and give it a cowash, but it is no longer apart of my regime.
 
For me and my TWA co-washing is a must. I co-wash almost daily for moisture and Shampoo once weekly to actually cleanse my hair.
 
Actually, most of the stuff I see (and have tried) is extra and unnecessary. I couldn't cowash when I was relaxed. I tried it, but I used serum to rollerset, so I needed a cleanser to prevent buildup. Now, I don't need shampoo as often, so I use it when I feel my hair needs it.
 
Not daily cowashing your hair, because constantly wetting and letting your hair airdry over and over again weakens your hair.

Now, going without shampoo, heck yeah! If you are using water based products then there is really no use in using shampoo imo....
 
I'm on the water qualtiy tip right now, so with that said, I think for some wetting the hair if you have poor quality water is probably not beneficial to dry or damgaged hair. I do believe if your water isn't too corosive, wetting it (with conditioner=cowashing to me) can improve the feel and behavior of your hair. I like cowashing, but must use poo at least twice a month. I apply it diluted to the scalp with a squeeze bottle.
 
Cowashing has its advantages. For me, it's just a way to clean and moisturize my hair when I don't have time for a full hair-washing session (shampoo, DC etc). I wash my scalp about every week with a sulfate shampoo. My scalp gets itchy with some build up if I don't shampoo weekly. So my routine is to shampoo every 7-10 days, and cowash maybe once a week. It's weird that what works for my hair annoys my scalp and vice versa :)
 
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Cowashing turned my hair around. Before I found out that it was okay not to shampoo it would take days for me to regain my moisture after washing it. Even stylists would comment on how much product could disappear into my hair like it was never even applied after a wash.

Every single liquid poo I've used strips my hair so badly that I only use these when I touch up. But I do need to wash my scalp - I use a bar soap/poo - periodically to prevent it from getting all itchy and remove build up. I found a few wonderful conditioners that would suds up just like a poo and I can use those regularly with no issues but they aren't available where I live so had to find a poo instead.


ETA: Oh and and I used to leave lots of conditioner in my hair all the time in my 2nd and 3rd year of growth with no problem. I used to do this instead of dcing.
 
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Cowashing in the summer is the GOAT for my natural hair

Shampoo has a place in my regimen.. but cowashing is hair's bff
 
I am a believer :lol: Seriously though, I started co-washing at the beginning of my journey and my hair reached APL from SL in 4 months. A few months later BSL! I actually don't deep condition much anymore. Oh, and I haven't used shampoo in over a year!
To clarify, I use ACV rinses or conditioner and baking soda mix.
My hair loves co-washing (ps: it's VO5 all the way!)
 
For my hair, no.
Too much manipulation.
My weekly 4+ hours DC a week gets my hair very moisturized.
 
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