Hair rinsing TESTIMONY

[QT]

Well I have tried the rinsing daily technique and the conditoner washes (on the 3 month cowash challenge) for the whole month of May and I must tell u ladies. It was well worth it! I will be straighten my hair in August to see my full length however, I can tell from now my hair has grown!!!!!

Well I would like to know if any of u ladies that are rinsing daily have any testimonies as well or is it just me that is receiving all this length and added thickness.

 

[QT]

Hello ladies am i the only one??????

 

[joyandfaith]

I'm not going to straighten my hair until September, but I'm soooo excited. I can tell that the frequent co-washing has done WONDERS. My hair is thicker, softer and longer.

 

[lolo2470]

I haven't noticed any extra thickness but it definitely has grown. I've been cowashing since April.

 

[CreoleBelle]

What's exactly the technique to co-washing? Do you just dilute conditioner in a bottle and put it in your hair while in the shower? I've been thinking about co-washing, but I just want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

 

[ajoyfuljoy]

What's exactly the technique to co-washing? Do you just dilute conditioner in a bottle and put it in your hair while in the shower? I've been thinking about co-washing, but I just want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

I don't think there is a right or wrong way. I just squirt a bunch of Suave Naturals Coconut into my hand, mush it into my scalp and massage my scalp, then get it through the length of my hair, let it sit while I shower, then rinse it out and style (I add products then do a wet twist bun).

I was doing this everyday for the past 1.5 week but I'm trying to cut down to every other day. I luv it and my hair feels soft and happy. I still have to do light protein treatments every 2 weeks or so to make sure it stays strong and balanced (between moisture and protein).

 

[CreoleBelle]

Thanks ajoyfuljoy! What do you use for your protein treatments. I use DuoTex. I wonder if that would be sufficient.

I don't think there is a right or wrong way. I just squirt a bunch of Suave Naturals Coconut into my hand, mush it into my scalp and massage my scalp, then get it through the length of my hair, let it sit while I shower, then rinse it out and style (I add products then do a wet twist bun).

I was doing this everyday for the past 1.5 week but I'm trying to cut down to every other day. I luv it and my hair feels soft and happy. I still have to do light protein treatments every 2 weeks or so to make sure it stays strong and balanced (between moisture and protein).

 

[tiffers]

I don't think there is a right or wrong way. I just squirt a bunch of Suave Naturals Coconut into my hand, mush it into my scalp and massage my scalp, then get it through the length of my hair, let it sit while I shower, then rinse it out and style (I add products then do a wet twist bun).

This is exactly what I do! Except I use a bunch of different conditioners

 

[Cleve_gryl]

I've been rinsing/cowashing daily for the last 2 weeks, and was able to get to 16 weeks post with ease . My roots are so thick right now, but would never be able to tell since its damp and slick most of the time.

 

[Tallone]

And the smell that it leaves on your hair all day is divine!

 

[mscocoface]

Love love love the daily cowashing.

Will be doing this for the rest of the year and maybe longer.

My hair just loves it!

 

[Ms.TahNai]

Ladies,

Thanks for starting this thread about cowashing! I have no idea about it. So as was stated earlier, I just would wash the hair with conditioner and use the conditioner like shampoo? I have 4a/4b type hair and my hair is relaxed. How do I figure out
1) How often to cowash?
2) Which one to use?
3) What cowashing actually do for the hair? Does it add moisture and/or clean it?
4) How do you dry your hair after a cowash?
5) Also, what is a prepoo?

Any replies would be fantastic ladies! Love you all!

Tahira

 

[temfash]

Ladies,

Thanks for starting this thread about cowashing! I have no idea about it. So as was stated earlier, I just would wash the hair with conditioner and use the conditioner like shampoo? I have 4a/4b type hair and my hair is relaxed. How do I figure out
1) How often to cowash?
2) Which one to use?
3) What cowashing actually do for the hair? Does it add moisture and/or clean it?
4) How do you dry your hair after a cowash?
5) Also, what is a prepoo?

Any replies would be fantastic ladies! Love you all!

Tahira

I'm not relaxed but I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.
answers
1) You can cowash as many times as you like it all depends on your time constraints and how you like to style your hair.
2) There are loads of conditioners to choose from you could try V05 or Suave most ladies like these brands.
3) cowashing allows most ladies to retain and increase the moisture levels in their hair by washing without using harsh shampoos just try to stay away from conditioners with cones.
4) Most ladies air dry with twists or braids or buns experiment to see what works for you.
5) Pre poo means adding oils conditioners or other custom-made blends e.g honey yogurt mayonaise e.t.c to dry hair leaving it in for a while or overnite then washing out with shampoo or conditioner cuts down on deep conditioning time. HTH

 

[QT]

Thanks ladies for chiming in ….. This info will help ladies that are weary about cowashing.

Temfash, I couldn’t have said it better myself. In addition to the #3 question that Ms.TahNai has about does conditioner clean the hair? IMO as a mild clarifier after I cowash I do ACV (apple cider vinegar) rinses (THANKS NONIE). I take 2 parts distilled water (I have hard water in my area) to one part ACV, I also add 15-20 drops of lavender and rosemary EO. My techniques on dunking my hair is, get a large bowl w/ the mixture and a stand high enough and places the bowl on top of the stand and places it close to my bed. I then lay backwards and submerge my head in the bowl. I then massage my scalp for several minutes (until my fingers winkle) and your hair should come out refreshed and clean. I don’t do anything after that, you can add moisturizer of whatever you choose, or nothing at all. Nonie gave me this wonderful recipe b/c I had an itchy scalp, it has worked wonders for my hair AND scalp.

 

[Ms.TahNai]

Thank you Temfash and QT for your responses! I am now clear on cowashing and prepooing and will give it a try soon! I can't wait to add some moisture to my hair!

Tahira

 

[CreoleBelle]

What are the ACV rinses for? What do they do for the hair and/or scalp?

 

[RedVelvet310]

Most definately. I have been COwashing my hair everyday since I BC-ed back in January. I have TONS of shrinkage so I didn't really think that it was doing too much cause my afro wasn't getting any bigger. A couple weeks ago I was getting a sew in put into my hair so the night before I asked my mom to just blowdry it out... mind you I have thick course EXTREMELY curly hair so when she blew it out I knew it wasn't at its full unstretched length.. BUT I was SHOULDER LENGTH! I was SOOO happy! My hair before my BC was broken, scraggly SL... NOW its thick... healthy SL... I truly think its because of CWing =D

 

[chebaby]

i have been co washing daily for the last two weeks and i can tell already that my hair have thickened up ALOT. im not sure about the growth but we'll see at the end of the summer. thats when i will straighten my hair.

 

[Christa438]

I do daily co-washes. My hair smells so good after. One day I felt my NG, it was about 4 months worth, and it felt the same as my newborn baby cousin's head of curls--just so many soft curls/coils all over. My hair is more moisturized and I haven't seen dandruff in a long time.

 

[Nonie]

What are the ACV rinses for? What do they do for the hair and/or scalp?

I hope this post answers your question.

Just wanted to add, when you relax hair you use an alkaline product which does the opposite of what ACV does ie it raises the pH of the hair thus lifting the cuticle so the relaxer can penetrate the strands, because it's necessary for the chemical to get inside the hair strand to break the bonds and change the texture of the hair. After relaxing, you use a neutralizer which is acidic to bring the pH of the hair back to normal thus closing the cuticle and smoothing out the strands. Hope that helps clarify why using acidic products is good for your hair.

 

[MizAvalon]

I've been CW for the past 15 months and I love it. My only regret is that I didn't start sooner.

 

[CreoleBelle]

Thank you so much Nonie! That was a very helpful post. I have another question though. If ACV works like a neutralizing shampoo, wouldn't a neutralizing shampoo be just as effective with less effort?

I hope this post answers your question.

Just wanted to add, when you relax hair you use an alkaline product which does the opposite of what ACV does ie it raises the pH of the hair thus lifting the cuticle so the relaxer can penetrate the strands, because it's necessary for the chemical to get inside the hair strand to break the bonds and change the texture of the hair. After relaxing, you use a neutralizer which is acidic to bring the pH of the hair back to normal thus closing the cuticle and smoothing out the strands. Hope that helps clarify why using acidic products is good for your hair.

 

[Nonie]

Thank you so much Nonie! That was a very helpful post. I have another question though. If ACV works like a neutralizing shampoo, wouldn't a neutralizing shampoo be just as effective with less effort?

I don't think a neutralizing shampoo is the same as the rinse. The shampoo has cleansing properties and whatnot in it, like a lot of acidic shampoos that are not referred to as neutralizing shampoo. But an acidic shampoo is definitely better for your hair. (I also don't know if neutralizing shampoos mightn't be too acidic since they are supposed to counteract a very alkaline product. I know too much acidity can damage the protein in hair, so I'd do some research first to find out if neutralizing shampoos are safe to use regularly. You'll forgive me if my concerns are dumb but I don't know much about relaxing products so I may be way off the mark.) Also since after the shampoo, you do the conditioning step, I personally find that the ACV rinse is a sure way of concluding my wash knowing my scalp has no conditioner residue left on it. It also gives hair a natural sheen/shine which is a nice conclusion to the process.

If you aren't using a filter or have hard water, even ever so slightly, and you just finish your wash with a regular rinse, then you end up undoing the acidity you just put in with your shampoo when you rinse. Hard water raises the pH again opening your cuticles which you do not want. So unless you're using distilled water to wash your hair, you may end up with rough strands after you rinse the shampoo and conditioner off. That's why I like ACV to be the final step. I leave the shower with a clean, fresh scalp and I know my hair's pH is acidic and right.

Note: it is better to err on the side of caution so just trust that a little ACV is better than none. Too much acidity (like if you don't dilute it enough) can damage your hair.

 

[QT]

Thanks Nonie.... Any more ladies that has a story to tell on rinsing/ cowashes?

 

[so1913]

This (frequent rinsing/cw'ing) is the key to keeping my hair moisturized.

 

[naturalgurl]

I DEFINITELY see a difference. My hair is growing like crazy and it's softer. I can't wait to straighten in for the holidays. I'm so sure I will be very close to waist length. YES, I believe!!!!