We’ll I’ve decided to see what the fuss about conditioner only washing is all about, and of course I thought I should share my experience with you.
I have slightly longer than waist length, straight blonde hair, and when it’s dirty it looks brown, so I’ve been really hesitant to try this experiment, since it is so obvious when my hair is dirty.
My hair is flat, it has some damaged ends, and it can get pretty flyaway in the wind and cold so common in MN in January.
This morning Istarted the conditioner only experiment, and I “washed” my hair with a palm full of VO5 Moisture Milks Conditioner in Strawberries & Cream. I didn’t have enough at first to throughly wash my scalp, so I added a little bit more conditioner, to make sure that I got the scalp covered.
After rinsing that out I washed the length of my hair with Suave Naturals Conditioner in Juicy Green Apple.
Apparently the conditioners have enough surfectants, that if you use a lot you can actually clean your hair with them…and apparently VO5 and Suave are two of the brands that usually work well with conditioner only (aka CO) washing.
The main thing everyone says when they are talking about CO’ing is to make sure you rinse all of the conditioner out of your hair. Rinse, rinse, rinse…and then rinse some more.
Of course if you’re like me you’ll relish being able to stay in the shower a few extra minutes each morning, without feeling guilty for wasting water.
Today my hair dried in about the same time it always dries…isn’t that helpful?
I always air dry my hair, so I don’t usually notice when it’s dry.
My hair was a little flatter than usual, and it looks more brown than blonde.
Of course most people say that it takes a while to see the benefits of conditioner only washing, so I’ll keep up the experiment, and let you know how it goes.
January 12th, 2007 - 10:51 am
Hi Sarah, hope you had a wonderful new year!
I only use COW method of washing on my daughter Sarah’s hair too! Her hair is crazy, and every six months or so I have to chop off about 5 to 6 inches of it! It’s past her bottom too and super duper curly. This method works perfect for us (but her hair is a very dark brown). I use a regular shampoo about once a month on her hair.
In addition to the conditioner, I add some honey and some aloe vera gel and some shea butter and nuke it all together for the COW wash.
Maryam
January 12th, 2007 - 8:18 pm
I never tried this experiment.Do you wash your hair daily? I was curios how it looks after a day or so…I guess flat and greasier than usual.But surely it’s more efficient as hair treatment.I will stay tuned!
January 17th, 2007 - 5:27 pm
Hi Maryam, how are you?
Thanks for sharing the method you use on your daughter, I’m glad it works for her.
I’ve been wondering if I could add the honey and aloe vera to my conditioner while I’m CO’ing too, but I think it might be a little bit too heavy for me now. I love doing that when I’m using shampoo though!
January 17th, 2007 - 5:31 pm
Hi Maddie, thanks for stopping by.
So far I’ve been washing my hair every other day, which is what I did when I washed with shampoo.
Surprisingly, when I wash with CO my hair isn’t noticeably oilier or flatter on the second day, although it usually is oilier the second day when I wash with shampoo.
I CO’d my hair for the fourth time today, and it’s actually got more volume at the roots than usual.
I’d heard that increased volume was a side effect of CO’ing, and that’s one reason that I tried it.
Now I’m off to write my day 2 and day 3 updates.
September 28th, 2007 - 5:27 am
hey,
I need help. my hair is dry which is not oily, straight and damaged. I never washed it only with conditioner. So can u advise me what kind of conditioner shall i use?
kuki
September 28th, 2007 - 11:26 am
Hi Kuki, if you have access to Suave and VO5 conditioners you can use use them - just make sure to condition your hair once with 2 separate conditioners, and use lots of conditioner.
You can also use one of the cheaper conditioners first, and then use a more expensive conditioner to follow up with.
As long as you use conditioners that aren’t made for oily hair, I think you should be good, but you might have to experiment some to see what works for you.
If you have a few conditioners lying around the house you can start with them, and see how you like the results as well.
I hope this helps! If you have any more questions please ask.
March 7th, 2008 - 4:48 am
I live in Australia, and recently our local paper had an article about using conditioner only, so I decided to give it a go. Wow its great! I do not use heaps of conditioner or do it twice, just a nominal amount, and make sure its well distributed. leave on while i do my body wash and rinse out. I use Garnier fructis. I can recommend this method to anyone. It seems to settle down after the first two times of CO only. I am now getting comments on how nice my hair looks. Scalp feels clean, and hair nice and shiny. And no more itchy scalp!!
Gilly
March 9th, 2008 - 12:05 pm
Hi Gilly, I’m glad that CO washing is working for you.
It’s interesting that you are having success without using heaps of conditioner - almost everything I’ve read says to do that.
Thanks for sharing your success with us!
March 10th, 2008 - 11:15 am
I was advised that this type of washing would do my 7 year old son’s hair good. At two seperate occasions ( weeks apart) I have seen flakes in his hair. He has allergies and dry skin, had eczema and cradle cap till he was three 1/2. I was also advised to stay away from dandruff shampoo, too harsh. Does this method of CO washing sound like an answer. ( He has really short hair). Do I use kid friendly condit. or adult strength? Any help is appreciated. Thanks so much, Joy
March 11th, 2008 - 7:41 am
Hi Joy, I’m glad you found us.
I haven’t had much experience with CO washing short hair, but I don’t think it can hurt to try.
If you are currently using a conditioner on his hair now, I would stick with it, if you aren’t I think I would try the mildest conditioner with the smallest amount of perfumes or dyes that I could find, since that would probably be less likely to cause a reaction.
You might have to experiment a little to find the right method that works for your son - most people I know use a palmful of conditioner, and then follow with another conditioner, but Gilly is having luck using a regular amount of conditiner once.
Good luck! I’d love to know how it goes if you try it, I’m sure this must be frustrating for you and your son.
March 11th, 2008 - 10:46 am
Sarah, Thanks so much for your help. I am neither using conditioner nor the correct shampoo ( so I’ve heard). I had no idea baby shampoo was so hard on a kids hair. I thought I was using the gentlest shampoo there was. Do you have a suggestion on how many times a week to do the CO washing?
Thanks again, Joy
March 12th, 2008 - 11:23 am
Hi Joy, You’re welcome.
I would suggest just doing a CO wash when your son’s hair starts to look dirty, or when it otherwise looks like he needs it.