First Co Wash feels weird

SereneCurls

So today I tried co washing for the first time, using cure care conditioner which I found at Sally's. I used AOHR on the length. My scalp responded very well, and the length is happy, but the front of my hair feels sort of like plastic. Did I do something wrong? How does hair usually feel after co washing?

Firefox7275

Might not have massaged or rinsed sufficiently, could be that product is too protein rich for your virgin roots. Don't reinvent the wheel - stick with something simple and plain like Suave Naturals, V05, Tresemme Naturals or Inecto.

SereneCurls

Thanks. You could be right. I only chose this because I've had a ton of trouble finding any of the usual co wash conditioners in my part of Canada. I do think I've seen the Tresume naturals, perhaps I'll try that instead.

BotticelliBrit

I've never co-washed, so I can't really say. But not everyone's hair gets along with co-washing and some prefer to low-poo instead

SereneCurls

This is true, I just hoped my hair would respond well since it's quite dry. Maybe it's just a case of the wrong conditioner, but for now I washed it again with a no poo and it's happy enough.

chloe92us

Are there trader joes in Canada? If so, the tea tree tingle conditioner is amazing for cowashing. Do you have v05 available there? Any of their conditioners would work. I also like As I Am coconut cowash which is available @ Sally's, it's pretty rich but since your hair is coarse it would probably work.

sixelamy

I second the As I Am cowash, that stuff is great. Do what works for your hair - I was strictly cowashing for a while and it just didn't work for me. I can do it in between low poos, but not exclusively.

SereneCurls

We don't have trader jo's, and those v05 conditioners that are silicone free aren't available here apparently. Sally's in Canada also doesn't sell any of the generic value products, but I'll ask them about the as I am. Thanks guys. I still think co washing might work, I could easily have chosen the wrong conditioner for my hair. I'll keep trying.

Wavygirl1

I tried to cowash with a different AO conditioner and had the same results. I think it was too thick. I plan to order CJ daily fix when I have some extra money.

SereneCurls

Yeah I think the AO conditioners would be a bit much for my scalp too.

SereneCurls

I got some of the Tresume Naturals, and I'm going to try that next. Should I try it without my rinse out conditioner first to make sure it won't be too heavy, or should I just leave the rest of my routine the same?

chloe92us

I always use a RO even when I cowash, but I haven't tried Tresemme so I don't know how heavy it is.

wavydaze

SereneCurls wrote: »

So today I tried co washing for the first time, using cure care conditioner which I found at Sally's. I used AOHR on the length. My scalp responded very well, and the length is happy, but the front of my hair feels sort of like plastic. Did I do something wrong? How does hair usually feel after co washing?

I know I've seen curlies on the board use Cure Care for a cowash. If your hair is fairly coarse, you probably shouldn't use something with protein for a cowash though. I'd look for something protein-free. Try the TN, see if that works for you. Otherwise I can maybe suggest Giovanni TTTT conditioner... I know they sell it in liter sizes. It's hard to get cowash conditioners outside the US; if you're struggling to find one (and on a decent budget) you might just settle a better low-poo. Better a good low-poo than a bad cowash conditioner IMHO. I'm saying all this based on my experience outside the US, almost impossible to find any conditioner that can be used as a cowash. You might have more options in Canada. Good luck!

SereneCurls

I did try co washing with the tresune, and used the AOHR as a rinse out. I like these results much better, but I'm still curious about something. Do people generally have to use a different styling routine after co washing versus after using a no poo? I feel like my hair reacted differently to my stylers. Sorry for the questions, I appreciate the input.

Geek_Chic

How did your hair react differently? Limp curls, greasy or coated feeling, or... ? Which of your stylers did you use, and did you seal with an oil? Did you use a LI, or skip it? Cowashes, even though they're typically lighter conditioners, will provide more moisture to the hair than a typical sulfate free shampoo (I assume that's what your Live Clean Green Earth is).

If you plan to stick with cowashing, you might find you need less moisture in your styler or that your RO doesn't need to be as moisture packed. It's possible the Tresemme is more moisture than you need in a cowash. Hard to diagnose definitively without more info.

SereneCurls

Thanks for your help. So I co washed with the tresume, then used the AOHR. Then I styled the way I've been doing for a while; I added a pee sized amount of Giovanni direct and brushed it in with the denman. Next I brushed in a similar amount of re : coil. Finally I scrunched in a quarter sized amount of kccc. Once my hair had dried there was some surface frizz so I smoothed on a drop of argan oil. The differences I'm noticing are that though my hair's a lot smoother than usual, my curls don't seem to have the definition they usually do when I style this way. I'm wondering if the extra moisture retention means I have to style a bit differently, to focus more on definition. Maybe I should forget the leave in for instance?

Geek_Chic

When you say you don't have the usual definition in your curls... would you say they're looking droopy, less curly than normal? Or are your curls simply less clumped than usual? If it's droopy /less curly hair, you may be overconditioned. If it's a case of less clumping than normal, you might just need a technique change. I'll throw some ideas out there.

On the technique side...
You might try a wide tooth comb instead of the Denman. A wide tooth comb should be enough to distribute product but not disrupt your clumps as much as the Denman. If you detangle in the shower with RO conditioner in your hair, you may not need additional brushing /combing at all. Instead, you might try raking in your LI and Re:coil, then scrunch to restore the curl pattern /clumps, or you can rake in LI /Re:coil, then scrunch in KCCC to help restore any lost curl from the raking.

What happens if you just use your fingers to distribute product after your shower routine? (I comb my RO through in the shower, then do the rest of my product application with my hands. Combing leaves me with flat top and droopy curls, but my hair is fine, not coarse).

Are you applying stylers to soaking wet hair? If not, you might try it. The additional water should help distribute product, and you can scrunch out the excess at the end of your styling process, which should help your curls bounce up some.

Since you already use a Denman, you might try the Super Soaker method. It's supposed to promote clumps. In a nutshell, you Denman brush, then apply your LI /curl cream, then scrunch extra water into your hair in order to reclump your hair. Lastly, you scrunch in gel. The thread on it is here: http://www.naturallycurly.com/curltalk/general-discussion-about-curly-hair/81176-super-soaker-method-promoting-clumps-updated-video-link.html

On the overconditioned side...

You might skip the LI, or skip the Re:coil. Re:coil does have magnesium sulfate though (a salt), which does help enhance curls, but can dry hair out. If you're overconditioned, the mag sulfate pulling some extra moisture out of your hair might not be a bad thing intially, but watch for dryness since it can creep up on you if you're using a product with a salt in it.

AOHR might be too much moisture when you cowash. You might need to switch to something lighter (try the Tresemme) as a RO if you don't want to switch up your stylers.

KCCC is fairly moisturizing. You might not need as much moisture as it provides if you want to continue cowashing. Maybe try a different jelly product.

Instead of changing a bunch of things at once, I'd change one product or technique at a time, so you know what is or is not fixing the problem.

Lastly, I know you have coarse hair, and you probably already know to go light on protein if you use it at all. However, you might find this blog post helpful. It's written by Redcelticcurls, who's a member here and also has coarse hair. Protein vs Moisture « Pittsburgh Curly

SereneCurls

I do already comb in the shower, the reason I got the denman was because I found once my hair dried there were a lot of pieces not lined up with their neighboring curls, so I thought I needed better distribution. The hair isn't really drooping, the curls just aren't staying together as well as they used to. I have been applying everything to soaking hair, but I think I'll try the super soaker method. If that doesn't work, I'll skip the denman and see if that helps. Thanks so much for helping me troubleshoot.

SereneCurls

Excellent, the super soaker method seems to have solved my problem.

Lady_Creole

SereneCurls wrote: »

So today I tried co washing for the first time, using cure care conditioner which I found at Sally's. I used AOHR on the length. My scalp responded very well, and the length is happy, but the front of my hair feels sort of like plastic. Did I do something wrong? How does hair usually feel after co washing?

it depends on the conditioner you use to co-wash. Make sure it doesn't have any of the forbidden ingredients and that it is not too "heavy" for your "type" of hair. Shea butter is too heavy for my 3B/3C hair because my hair has natural oils.

I absolutely love Tressame' Naturals for co-washing and works great with my hair. I tried two others but they were too thick and felt terrible afterwards. I put it on thickly in sections, then squeeze it out, then lather the remainder scrubbing my scalp.

When I first did the BC and went natural, I used Deva Curl products and the No-Poo to cleanse my hair. Once I was comfortable with that, then I started the co-wash method.

Hope this helps...:icon_smile:

SereneCurls

I'll keep trying the Tresume and see how things go.Thanks very much.

Geek_Chic

Happy one little tweak fixed your issue.

SereneCurls

I know, I'm relieved. Thanks also for that link to the blog post, I found that helpful.