Hair washing
Some of us use shampoo and conditioner, some baking soda, some just water...let's chat this out!
I always used s & c until a few months ago when I used baking soda. I liked it for a few months, but then my hair just couldn't decide how to be-it was sometimes oily, sometimes dry, sometimes weird. I learned, however, that it's not normal to have my hair coming out so much. Apparently, shampoo (all different kinds over the years) made my hair come out. Not a ton, but way more than was coming out with just a baking soda scrub. I went back to s & c for a short time, but now I'm trying the water only method. It's quite annoying to have such oily hair right now, but not a huge deal to wear it up/braided...which is usually what I do anyway.
P has only used water for a few months now, and says his is way less oily. I'm going to try to see how this goes! My hair doesn't feel dirty, and smells just like water..so that's fine. It looks fine as well, just oily on top! I just rinse well, then try to scrub really well all over my head, rinse again.
I keep two plastic cups in the bathroom for my shower. In one, I pour some baking soda in it; the other, I pour some Apple cidar vinegar. First I dillute the BS a bit, rub it all in my hair... Then I split the ACV between the two cups, add water all the way up and then use them both as rinse. FIN!
My hair is always clean and nice! :) I wish you all the best with your hair issues
I was relieved to find this thread last night, and have read every page except 3-7ish. (31 pages of thread is more than I thought!) But I think I'm in desperate need of advice. ::)
I have been WO washing for 2 weeks, as of today. I was 'poo'-ing every other or every 2 days, so I've tried to WO wash about as often, and slowly decrease frequency. My scalp is terribly oily/heavy and the oils have just reached my ends in the last day or two (my hair extends 2-3 inches past my bra in the back). It's very heavy and oily feeling and looking. My boyfriend thinks it always looks wet.
BS/ACV helped a little, but I just tried this for the first time last night, after feeling encouraged by this thread. I had to re-rinse w/ ACV this morning because my attempt to use starch to 'un-flatten' left my hair looking as though I have the world's worst dandruff! (I made sure to lightly coat my fingers and stay close to the roots! :-\ Maybe starch just doesn't work for me?)
Mostly, I was wondering if anyone's had great success with WO washing? If so, how long before you were comfortable wearing it down? What other alternatives did you try? What worked and what didn't? (I do recall reading about the lemone/sugar mixture as 'hairspray', and that sounds like it smells heavenly!!) I've heard success stories of those WO washing for 5+ years, but among this thread, it seems as though there were a lot of good hair days, but maybe more bad hair days?
Also, I was wondering if anyone had experience with chlorinated pools and WO washing? I want to avoid it altogether, but I can't help my love for swimming and the pools open soon! :P I heard that I should saturate my hair with tap water first and maybe braid it, but I'd like to leave it down (I do enjoy long loose hair while swimming). Does anything bad happen (chemically) if I rinse with BS or ACV afterward? Is there something that my hair might benefit from use after swimming?
Sorry this was sooo long! And full of questions! :D Thanks, in advance, for any help you give! I think this will be the worst of it, but not knowing when it'll begin to improve is getting to me.
i wore it down from day one because i just didn't give a shit. but it started getting less greasy after like 1 or 2 months. but as winter came along my hair was SUPER greasy, so i started using BS and ACV every so often, maybe like once a week.
Washing it often with just water makes it greasy, so try to go maybe a week or at least 3 or 4 days in between. i've been doing this for 8 months now and i will never go back to shampoo.
i'm not sure about chlorinated pools though, sorry! but over the summer last year, when i had just started WO washing, i would go in the pool with my summer camp kids and my hair was fine.
Good luck!
i wore it down from day one because i just didn't give a shit.
Thanks for your response! I can't wear my hair down at work! Otherwise, I can. I'm more uncomfortable because my boyfriend seems hesitant about accepting this new 'lack of' habit. It definitely feels oily. Does your hair tangle more? Is it more stiff or more difficult to style?
nope! it's actually less tangled and smoother and more gorgeous! :D just give it some time, it'll definitely get kess greasy
I've always had mine down too.
I think washing less often is better. I water wash every 2 or 3 weeks.
nope! it's actually less tangled and smoother and more gorgeous! :D just give it some time, it'll definitely get kess greasy
I'll definitely give it more time! Maybe I'll feel better about it in a couple weeks. I easily forget how little time has past, because it feels like sooo much sometimes... It didn't feel too bad today though! :)
So am I understanding this right, that you just get up from bed and not do anything to your hair? My hair is SO messy and bed-headed when I get up. I don't get how you can do that. I would at least need to wet it down. But I am reading that wetting is not good?
well i have curly hair, so when it's messy it doesn't really look any different than when it's not messy. lol. wetting it down just makes it greasy. can you brush it, maybe?
my hair's straight-ish, and I comb it in the morning. I only wet it when I'm washing it in the shower, every few days or so depending on my exercise schedule.
I straighten mine and comb it.
It usually feels gross if I get it wet. If its a day that I REALLY feel like it needs something, I use a drop of conditioner (Just because I still have some leftt)
This thread inspired me not to wash my hair in the shower today. Haha. Even though it's been about 4 days... :o
I've always had mine down too.
I think washing less often is better. I water wash every 2 or 3 weeks.
I'm trying to wash it less often. Currently trying twice a week and hoping to be once every 1-2 weeks within a month or two!
I straighten mine and comb it.
It usually feels gross if I get it wet. If its a day that I REALLY feel like it needs something, I use a drop of conditioner (Just because I still have some leftt)
I rarely straightened my hair to begin with, but enjoyed an occasional blow drying. Now I'm afraid to blow-dry for some reason since wo washing... :P Does your hair feel better/worse after heat has been applied?
If you still like an occasional drop of conditioner, even when you run out, you could try a tiny bit of coconut oil. It's great for food and skin/hair care!
I like it better with heat. I've just used a blow dryer to style it. I always blow dry it when I water wash it.
@Theodamus
I have tried water washing tonight and will report my findings. I am use to washing every day with shampoo and sometimes conditioning. But al that washing is not good for one's hair as it strips the hair's oil.
I was reading a book written in 1910 or so and they suggested rubbing salt into your hair and leaving it all night, and then brushing it out in the morning. Wouldn't that get your bed all full of itchy salt grains, though?
I'd imagine in 1910 they wore caps to bed to keep the mice from eating their hair while they slept.
Or to keep the drafts and evil night air off. My MIL lived in a south-facing apartment in this hellish climate and STILL refused to run a fan because of "drafts!" How she survived I have no idea.
I just want to say. My hair, in the past month or so, has started to get EXTRA awesome.
It is fantastic.
I guess it peaks after not washing for like 7 or 8 months or however long it's been. Haha.
dang girl. extra details on the level of awesome?
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