Hi all,
I’ve been reading about co-washing (conditioner only washing) as a way to help treat my fine, curly hair, that’s also thin in places.
Has anyone tried it?
And if so, how did you hairdresser react?? My hairdresser always washes my hair without question before cutting, and while I love her, it’s clear that she doesn’t really know what to do with curly hair.
Also would love to hear how your hair responded and roughly how long it took to start feeling great.
Thanks!
Oooh a fellow curly! Waves . Cowashing can be great for curlies who need an extra moisture boost to hair as it doesn’t strip your hair and scalp of your natural oils. Having said that as I fine haired curly myself I can’t completely cowash as it is too heavy for my hair. I alternate between cowashing and using a low sulfate shampoo. There will be a time of adjustment when switching to cowashing as it can take a little while for your scalp to get the message about how much oil it needs to produce. I eased the transition by using sulfate free shampoos to start with and then gradually shifted to my current routine. For some who go straight in to cowashing the average seems to be about 3 weeks. This Is different for everyone. I’d highly recommend looking up the curly girl method and there is a fantastic fb page for Australian curlies with lots and lots of info. Sadly none of the @AdoreBeauty products are curly friendly as they all have silicones in them which is the natural enemy of curls. @KateMorrisCEO any chance you could look into non-sulfate and silicone free hair products? I belong to a Facebook page of over 3000 members who’d be incredibly grateful if you stocked them! Two brands that I feel would sit nicely with your company would be Innersense and Everscents (an Australian wholly owned and made brand). Lastly and I’m so sorry for the long post…
find yourself a curly trained hairdresser. If you’re in Melbourne check out Neel loves curls.
I’m a thick wavy-curly haired girl naturally but opt for straightening most of the time. I’ve only recently heard about co-washing… I just don’t know how I feel about it. I mean… doesn’t your scalp eventually get some sort of build up of grease?
Or is the idea that you co-wash a few times and then throw in a shampoo wash every now and then for a proper clean?
@christinedwhen you cowash you aren’t relying on the product solely to cleanse your hair. When cowashing you actually massage the scalp for a good couple of minutes and this action is what loosens skin cells etc. You can also get conditioners that have cleansing ingredients as well. Some curlies do a low sulfate shampoo from time to time (I’m one of them) which is more clearing off build up of styling products. When I cowash my hair is left clean, silky and shiny. Typically lightweight conditioners are used for cowashing. I hope that is helpful.
Thanks @tinamiller! My concerns are similar to @christined. I was worried about how lots of conditioner would affect my hair. I avoid all oily hair styling products as it is as they weigh my hair down way too much.
I need to look into my shampoo and conditioner though. My hairdresser uses/sells Keune products, so I’ve just been buying from her. Will have to do a bit of research into sulfate and silicone-free products.
Thanks also for the Neel Loves Curls recommendation! I’ve heard he’s amazing. I’m not sure I could afford to go there for every cut, but I’m keen to go and get a once-off cut.
When your hair is cut properly you actually need to have your hair cut far less often. I’ve gone from a cut every 8 weeks to 3 times a year. Your appointment at Neels also includes a lesson on caring for your hair. I actually spend less now. In regards to conditioner weighting your hair down that’s the silicones building up on your hair. So if using silicone free products your not going have this issue. Do check out the Australian curly hair group on fb as they have lots of picture files on curly friendly products.
very interesting @tinamiller! I didn’t know that products had to be silicone-free to do the co-washing. We do have a few silicone free conditioners:
Quite a few brands are doing “cleansing conditioners” now too - very low foaming shampoos.
Ooh I’m a big Dr Bronner body wash fan but have never paid attention to their conditioner @KateMorrisCEO. Might have to try this next time!
@KateMorrisCEO. thank you for posting those conditioners - I hadn’t noticed the Sukin and the Little Innoscents also looks promising. I’ll just clarify a couple of things: cowash cleansing conditioners - have no sulphates in them at all whereas the low foaming shampoos do have low levels of mild sulfates, they are two different things - I alternate using both. Just some comments on a couple of the conditioners that you’ve recommended. Firstly, Yey! for Sukin this brand is used by a lot of Aussie curlies. The Aesop has two ingredients (both start with Mehtyl towards the end of the ingredient list) that a lot of curlies avoid referred to as the ‘Itchy M’s’. This is an ingredient found in quite a few hair products as a preservative that commonly causes scalp itchiness, if someone told me they had a reaction to a hair product - this is often the culprit. The Dr Bronner product is a miss on two fronts for me - too fiddly and that level of citrus ingredients always raises a flag due to the irritation of citrus products to quite a lot of people. Once again I realise I’ve written another chapter of the Great Aussie Novel - but I feel there is so little information in the Australian beauty industry for caring for curly hair that I take every opportunity presented to me to pass on ‘curlducation’ . Hoping you’re all having a fantastic day.
I would love to see some more curl friendly products too. The Shea Moisture range is fantastic but unfortunately only select products are available in Australia. Also the Deva Curl range is huge overseas and gets fantastic reviews but again it is not available in Australia. There is a huge curly girl movement happening right now and it would be great if Adore Beauty could get on board and support us @KateMorrisCEO
Great suggestions @jenna, thank you!! I’ve passed these on to our buying team and we will see what we can do 
@tinamiller can you please let me know from how long you are are following this?? and did you find any side effects of that?? Because like @christined I am also a thick wavy curly haired girl. I am very much interested in co-washing but dint tried yet due to the fear of hair fall. Thanks in advance.
Hi @vaishaliyadav I’ve been following the method since December last year. The only real side effect in the early days was frustration! Learning what products were best for me. In regards to hair fall if anything, most curlies report an increase in the density of their hair because when co-washing you’re giving your scalp a really good massage which stimulates the hair follicles. It can seem like you lose a lot of hair to start with because you tend to wash less often and curly hair doesn’t shed like straight her - it tends to stay within your hair and only comes out when you wash - so it can LOOK like there’s more hair coming out at once. If you are actually losing hair due to hormones etc using the curly girl method isn’t going to change that.
If you’re interested in starting - my advice is: first join the Australian curly hair fb group. Stop using sulphate based shampoos and silicone based conditioners (joining that facebook group will help you work all of that out), concentrate on adding moisture to your hair initially and then gradually use different techniques and products to gradually learn what YOUR hair likes. Also, hunt around on YT to find someone who has similar hair to you and to see different methods like ‘squish to condish’ - it’s so much easier to see than to explain. Good luck!
Hi @tinamiller thanks for spending your time to explain me in brief. Really I am impressed by the way you made me to understand about co-washing. today for sure I ll give a try. And as you suggested i ll join the Australian curly hair fb group. Thanks once again.
