Trying Out Co-Washing
Okay, so I kept hearing about this “co-washing” thing. Basically, washing your hair with just conditioner. Sounded a bit weird, honestly. My hair can get oily pretty fast, especially at the roots, but the ends feel like straw sometimes. Shampoo just seemed to make the dryness worse, even the fancy moisturizing ones. So, I figured, what have I got to lose? Maybe skipping the harsh detergents would help.
First time, I just grabbed the conditioner I already had. Nothing special, just a regular drugstore brand. I got in the shower, wet my hair like normal. Then, instead of shampoo, I squeezed out a good amount of conditioner. Way more than I’d usually use just for conditioning after shampoo.
Here’s the important part I read about: you gotta scrub your scalp. Like, really get in there with your fingertips. I massaged it into my scalp for a good few minutes, pretending it was shampoo. It felt strange not having any bubbles or that super “clean” feeling you get from suds. But I kept scrubbing, working it through the length of my hair too.
Rinsing took a while. I wanted to make sure I got it all out, worried my hair would feel greasy or heavy. I stood under the water longer than usual, really making sure it was rinsed thoroughly.
First Impressions and Tweaks
Getting out of the shower, my hair didn’t feel squeaky clean, but it didn’t feel dirty either. It felt… soft. Different. I let it air dry like I usually do.
The result? Honestly, not bad! It wasn’t weighed down or greasy like I feared. It felt softer, and definitely less frizzy at the ends. My scalp felt okay too, not itchy or oily. But maybe it wasn’t quite as clean-feeling right at the roots as with shampoo.
So, I started experimenting.
- Tried different conditioners. Found that lighter ones, maybe silicone-free ones, worked a bit better for me. Some heavier ones did leave my roots feeling a bit coated.
- Figured out the right amount. Too little, and my scalp didn’t feel clean. Too much, and rinsing was a pain.
- Played with frequency. Doing it every single day was too much for my fine hair. I landed on doing it maybe every other wash, or alternating co-washing with a very mild shampoo sometimes.
The key really is the scrubbing. You have to use the friction from your fingers and the conditioning agents to lift the dirt and oil, since there’s no detergent doing the heavy lifting. Don’t just slap it on and rinse. You gotta work it in.
It’s not a magic bullet. Sometimes, especially if I used a lot of styling product or went a long time between washes, I still felt like I needed a regular shampoo to get a really deep clean. But for regular washes, especially when my hair felt dry? Co-washing definitely helped make it softer and more manageable without stripping it completely. It’s become a regular part of my routine, just not the only part.
