Wait..Why do we rinse conditioner with cold water again?

[Amber_moon]

I always rinse and detangle with warm water first and THEN quickly let it run under some cold water.

Otherwise my hair gets hard.

 

[ravenmerlita]

That's how I do it. But there are people who do it after the shampooing before the conditioner and have good results too. So try either and see which one works for you. Conditioners are generally acidic so they leave your hair in that smooth state that an ACV rinse would. I just like it at the end of my wash because I dunk my head in the bucket and give my scalp a good massage so that there's no conditioner residue on my scalp that might make my head itch. I do it with lukewarm water so there's no fear off washing off the conditioning properties just received from conditioner.

I know a lot of permies who use ACV rinse in their regimen. If I'm not mistaken, Allandra has had a lot of good success with them. I believe she does hers before the conditioner.

I do mine between the shampoo and conditioner as well. I use a commercial/modified ACV treatment that claims to be designed to close the hair cuticle and the directions say to use after shampooing but before the conditioner. It's actually called "Close".

 

[kiesha8185]

Cold water does the opposite for me . Makes my hair hard. I always rinse with warm...cold water never gave me any extra shine either.

This used to happen to me, too. But someone told me that either that water was too cold, or my cuticles were already closed because I used an acidic conditioner.

To be honest, I am now completely confused Theoretically, the idea that cold water closes cuticles/locks in conditioner/gives shine sounds like it makes sense. I do it, and I actually do see a difference in my hair as opposed to when I use warm water. The difference is noticeable when my hair is dry. It is a little more shiny and a little softer. I also remember a thread where someone said her hair was stronger over time from doing cold water rinses.

This is my .02. For the people that cold water rinses have no effect on, maybe your cuticle is already closed. It could have been the conditioner you used to help you achieve this, ACV rinse, or the pH/porosity of your hair is already where it needs to be.

ITA. I wash and condition my hair in the shower. I just can't be that uncomfortable. I wonder if it would work to put some ice cold water in a spray bottle and spray my hair when I get out?

I know some people keep a spray bottle filled with distilled water and ice on hand while roller setting their hair. I do this when I roller set my best friend's hair

 

[pistachio]

For me, by rinsing with cold water my conditioner always had left over residue, so I rinse with warm water first and when the condish. is rinsed out I do a final rinse of ice cold water( yes, even in the winter time!!)

 

[LABETT]

I am still debating if my hair likes cold water rinses vs warm water.
My hair feels weird after cold water rinse sometimes and when I airdry my hair seem to be dry.
I have never had any problems when rinsing with warm water.
I notice a huge difference when I use distilled water with cold water rinse, hair seem to be softer and more moisturized.

 

[BeautifullySo]

Haha, I've been washing and rinsing my hair with the shower dial turned as far over to the "H" as possible, thinking I was doing a good job. Gotta love being a .

 

[SleepyJean]

This used to happen to me, too. But someone told me that either that water was too cold, or my cuticles were already closed because I used an acidic conditioner.

To be honest, I am now completely confused Theoretically, the idea that cold water closes cuticles/locks in conditioner/gives shine sounds like it makes sense. I do it, and I actually do see a difference in my hair as opposed to when I use warm water. The difference is noticeable when my hair is dry. It is a little more shiny and a little softer. I also remember a thread where someone said her hair was stronger over time from doing cold water rinses.

This is my .02. For the people that cold water rinses have no effect on, maybe your cuticle is already closed. It could have been the conditioner you used to help you achieve this, ACV rinse, or the pH/porosity of your hair is already where it needs to be.I know some people keep a spray bottle filled with distilled water and ice on hand while roller setting their hair. I do this when I roller set my best friend's hair

I agree with the bolded. I tried this last wash, and my hair turned out a hot(or should I say cold) mess. Not doing that anymore.

 

[kweenameena]

The same way that humidity makes my hair puffy...hot water makes my cuticles expand (or open)...when I rinse with cool, not cold, water....my hair feels thicker, heavier, and silkier. It's a lot easier to detangle as well.

I love rinsing with cool water.

 

[EMJazzy]

For me, by rinsing with cold water my conditioner always had left over residue, so I rinse with warm water first and when the condish. is rinsed out I do a final rinse of ice cold water( yes, even in the winter time!!)

You just described my morning routine.

 

[OrangeMoon]

I'm still not decided on this issue of cold water closing cuticles. I was challenged to do an experiment and haven't gotten round to it yet, so until I do, I can't comment. For now, I'm not convinced. What I'm SURE about is that the pH of the hair determines whether cuticles stay opened or closed. What I think cold water does is not rinse out the conditioner completely so that some coating is left on the hair to protect the strands. That's my 2 cents--until I do my experiment when I might sing a different tune.

Why is it important to have closed cuticles? Because closed cuticles mean smooth hair strands which means less tangling and less likelihood for damage to occur. Here are diagrams to explain.

The top layer of your hair strands is the cuticle which looks like overlapping scales not unlike what you see on fish:

That's kinda how your hair looks towards the base of the hair strands, where the hair is fairly new and so hasn't endured much wear and tear.

Further up along the hair strands, towards the ends, the scales are slightly lifted, due to normal manipulation that causes friction between strands:

The more open the cuticle, the more easily it is for the scales to be ripped off as in the pic below of a cuticle damaged by backcombing heavily sprayed hair:

You can imagine if you have strands that are in that shape, they'll hook onto each other and tangle like no one's business. Also any manipulation to hair that looks like that leads to the scales being yanked off exposing the cortex.

In the pic below, some of the cuticle has ripped off and the protein strands of the cortex (the central part of hair strands) can be seen:

Continued damage leads to:

And then the cortex starts to split apart (split ends):

So you see, a closed cuticle is a safeguard against hair damage. Hard water whose pH is high opens hair cuticles and makes the strands rough so that they exert more friction on each other (damage) and also tangle more easily. What's more, raised scales make the hair dull as it doesn't reflect light properly so it doesn't appear to shine. So it's worthwhile investing in a shower filter, an acidic shampoo and good conditioners to coat your hair and further ensure that strands glide smoothly against each other. Did I mention an apple cider vinegar rinse is a good way to ensure that your cuticles close?

The one time it is necessary to open the cuticles is when relaxing our hair. It is necessary to open the scales for the relaxer to go inide the strands and break bonds to get the hair straight. That's why relaxers (eg lye) are alkaline. But after the processing, a neutralizer is used to close the cuticles again and bring the pH back down to it's normal acidic one.

(The pics are courtesy of the P&G Beauty Science website. You can read more about cuticles and how they get damaged in this chapter on the site.)

That's great info!!!

 

[darkangel25]

Sealing the cuticle with cold water looks like an excellent idea, but for me it would require ending my shower with a cold blast of water. I personally think I'd hate it unless I did it during the summer months.

Oh, I know. I tried it, but I can't take that cold water... I'll freeze.

 

[Arcadian]

I can't take straight cold water (though I really tried), I keep it as close to tepid as I can. I use either porisity control or Nexxus ensure for the final rinse. After I work out I always rinse with either one of these (depending on what I have handy)

Most cons that specify acidifier are between 3.0 to 4.5PH

If I'm relaxing I use an ACV mixture to neutralize the relaxer prior to washing.

I also use an ACV mixture when I'm stretching. This helps quite a lot with detangling.

My mixture is 3 tablespoons to 1 gallon of water for a straight rinse. To neutralize its a little heavier mix.

Vinegar has a PH of 2-4 depending on what kind you use, and I think ACV has a PH of around 3(ish) White I think is the lowest number, like 2.

-A

 

[fluffylocks]

Smooth cuticles are achieved when hair is at its normal pH which is slightly acidic. So assuming hair is at its normal level (acidic) then neutral water keeps it that way so cuticles stay closed. Water filters remove compounds in water that would make it hard/alkaline so that it isn't opening your cuticles when you rinse out your hair, especially after rinsing out conditioners. Using acidic shampoos helps keep cuticles closed, although most shampoos are alkaline. Conditioners are acidic so regardless of what shampoo you use, they are an important part of your wash and should not be skipped. They also leave a thin coating on your hair to provide slip. Doing an ACV rinse at the end of your wash is also a good way to ensure your hair is left in an acidic state ie with cuticles closed. When I said cold water doesn't strip your hair as much as hot, I wasn't talking about pH but just the coating and moisturizing properties that the conditioner leaves on your hair. I imagine hot water would wash it away more easily than cold thus removing the benefit it is supposed to provide. But I don't like cold water on my head so I use lukewarm because I believe it too would not strip the hair either, the way hot water might.

Everything else I didn't highlight is basically what I was trying to say.

Yeah thats what i was thinking.....i think people mean to say final rinse with cool water or cooler--not freezing icecube water.

I Believe that heat can def. open up cuticles---like with deepconditoning treatments under the dryer or hot oil treatments,
And alot of people follow up with just rinsing with hot water as well, so i believe you should then rinse with cooler water to close them back up and thats where the orginal context comes from (thats what im thinking anyway)

Cold freezing water from my experience doesnt rinse as good as hot either...i dont know why that is.