Sometime last summer, I stopped shampooing my hair. I didn’t stop cleaning it though…. I stopped using sudsy shampoo that strips all the oils from your hair and scalp, and also adjusted the conditioner and hairspray that I use.
At the time, I had been searching for hair care tips and somehow came across something called “no poo”, and also the “curly girl” method, and something called co-wash (conditioner-only washing). Co-wash, or cowash, products are basically conditioners or something conditioner-like that wash your hair, leaving it clean and soft.
Now, my hair isn’t really curly at all, it’s pretty darn straight – but the part of the curly girl methodology that appealed to me was the focus on ingredients in hair care products and which ones to avoid in order to lessen product build-up and eventually result in a healthier scalp and fuller hair. The part of “no poo”, or “no shampoo” that appealed to me was avoiding stripping all the natural oils from your scalp and hair, causing a backlash reaction of oil over-production and greasy hair! For myself, I wanted less frizz and softer, smoother hair with possibly some natural wave to it. If you have curly hair, following the Curly Girl method even more closely might especially be something you want to look into. The term “Curly Girl” was coined by Lorraine Massey in her book Curly Girl: The Handbook.
The main ingredients I started avoiding in hair care products were 1) silicones & waxes that cause build up which dulls hair, and 2) alcohols, sulfates & certain cleansers which can dry out hair. The site curlsbot.com has a great list of ingredient names that their Ingredients Analyzer uses to recommend products. You can copy/paste a list of ingredients into the Ingredients Analyzer on the main page in order to get recommendations – it’s been an extremely helpful and time saving tool when evaluating the new hair care products I wanted to try out.
Another side note: I currently am using temporary hair color on my hair about once every 4-6 weeks. So I was also interested in products that would be hair-color friendly as far as not washing or fading it out too quickly. This also includes a strategy of not washing every single day and thus stripping the color more rapidly, but every 2-3 days instead.
Products
The main products I was looking for were hairspray, a wash/co-wash, and a conditioner/detangler because I have long hair past my shoulders. There are a bunch of different cowash and “curly girl approved” types of products out there and everyone’s hair is different, so you’d probably find that different items might work better for your hair. Here are the main products I am using right now and that I love, if you want a recommendation:
- As I Am Coconut Cowash Cleansing Conditioner – It comes in 16 and 32 oz. sizes, I like to get the larger 32 oz., though this size sometimes seems difficult to find. The 16 oz. size seems more readily available. The larger size lasts me for about 2-3 months. You can also check the As I Am website for other stores where you might find this product. This stuff smells awesome with a light tangerine scent and rubbing it into the scalp gently with my fingertips & leaving it on for just a couple of minutes in the shower leaves my hair soft but squeaky clean! Search: As I Am Cowash
- Tresemme Botanique Nourish + Replenish Conditioner – This is a wonderful conditioner that is free of silicones, parabens and dyes. I find I only need to use a little bit (about a large spoonful) even on my longer hair and it softens and detangles wonderfully. These bottles last me a long time.
- Nature’s Brands Herbal Choice Mari Organic Hair Spray – Finding hairsprays that meet the ingredient requirements and that I like has actually been the most difficult part. So so many hairsprays out there use silicone ingredients and others on the “no no” list like drying alcohols. I am currently using Mari Organic Hair Spray and really like it though. It has a somewhat strong scent (which I like) when first applied but it seems to dissipate quickly. Check out the all-natural ingredients like brown sugar and vodka (!), but it works!! I don’t use hairspray very often and use it pretty sparingly, so the bottle will last a while for me.
- A final mention, I purchased the combo of As I Am Leave-in Conditioner 8 Ounce and Coconut Cowash Cleansing Conditioner 16 Ounce to try out the leave-in conditioner. I found that I also really like this product and will sometimes use it after showering especially on the ends of my hair if I want to avoid frizz. You can buy the leave-in conditioner on its own, or find more information on the As I Am site, including different places you can purchase.
Results
I’ve been using these products for about 8 months now and I am definitely pleased with the results that are showing in my hair, which is why I continue to use them! My hair feels softer and silkier than ever, and my scalp feels so healthy with no irritation, itching or flaking. Right now I typically wash and condition about every 2-3 days. In between washes my hair does not look greasy or weighted down. I keep the hairspray use light.
Perhaps most amazingly, I believe switching to this different system from how I have been washing and conditioning my hair most of my life has actually helped to thicken and grow new hair! I am 50 years old now and at that age where one can notice their hair noticeably thinning. Over the past couple of years I had certainly noticed this. About 4-5 months after switching to these new hair products I started seeing weird 2-3 inch tufts of shorter hair sticking out and growing around my hairline. I eventually realized these were the result of new hair growth which is exciting!
Pics
Not sure how much you can tell any difference visually – and I don’t tend to take a lot of close up pics of my hair alone – but I’ll try posting a few pics here.
These are some of the best “hair” pics I could find from just before I started doing the cowash and the whole method:
This photo taken around the holidays – about 5 months after starting – seems to me to show some of those new growth hair “tufts” (around the hairline especially up top):
Here is one photo taken about 2 months after starting the cowash, and one taken in March 2022, with more hair focus, so about 8 months:
Other Notes
A couple of other things that I thought I’d note since they are related to hair and hair health…. When I started doing the cowash, I also did start using a boar bristle hairbrush, a “mixed” nylon and boar bristle one actually (BESTOOL Hair Brush), because it is supposed to help stimulate the scalp and distribute oils throughout the hair more evenly. I also have been taking a collage and biotin supplement (Left Coast Performance Collagen Capsules with Biotin) since shortly after my gastric sleeve surgery in October of 2020, because hair thinning is one concern with large quick amount of weight loss and these supplements are suppose to help alleviate this problem. Certainly either or both of these changes could also be beneficial to my hair health at the moment (instead of? along with? the cowash change).
To me, my hair and scalp now look and feel so healthy, especially for someone “of my age” – and I am certain that I am going to continue following this system and methodology for the rest of my life. Maybe that enthusiasm is enough to get you to consider trying it out 🙂
