How To Co-wash Your Hair and Why EVERYONE Should be Co Washing

Co-washing is a method that I’ve heard about for a long time in the natural hair community. I tried it long ago and didn’t like my results, but tried it again a few months ago and have been a believer ever since *cue “I’m A Believer” from the Shrek soundtrack*.

WHAT IS CO-WASHING?

For those of you who don’t already know what co-washing is, it’s pretty much washing your hair without shampoo. The term “co-washing” is short for “conditioner-washing” and debatably, “conditioner-only washing”. It is the same thing as “No-Poo Shampooing”. Before I knew this however, the term still made sense to me because I know that some people, me included, co-wash between shampooing so it sounded to me like a partnership between shampoo and conditioner that work together on their designated days to give you the most fabulous hair possible. I wasn’t wrong.

As for how to actually do it, co-washing can be done by just using conditioner and massaging it on your scalp and throughout your hair, or be done by using a newer method of co-washing. Conditioners have been around forever but clarifying conditioners are a newer invention created just for co-washing purposes. They’re pretty much conditioners that were made to gently cleanse your hair while conditioning at the same time, and are NOT meant to be confused with two in one shampoo and conditioners, which are actual GARBAGE and should NEVER be trusted!!

WHY YOU SHOULD CO-WASH YOUR HAIR

So now that you know what co-washing actually is, lets talk about why it’s important. Here are some of the benefits of cowashing and the reasons why I have converted:

It’s much less drying to your hair than shampooing every time you want to cleanse your hair
It makes curls more curly and less frizzy (I can definitely attest to this one!!)
Your hair retains its natural oils which are necessary for its health, and prevents dryness
It makes detangling hair easier
Helps maintain your hair colour better (if you have dyed hair)
Keeps your scalp moisturized

WHO SHOULD CO-WASH THEIR HAIR?

Co-washing is big in the natural and curly-haired communities because these hair types require more maintenance and specific care in order to stay healthy. With curly and natural hair, it’s harder for the natural oils from your scalp to travel down the length of your hair, which tends to cause textured hair to be dryer. This is why people with these hair types don’t and shouldn’t wash their hair as often as those with straight hair and need to focus on conditioning more.

However, I believe that co-washing is useful for any hair type. I would recommend it especially for anyone who has hair that’s either natural, curly, wavy, frizzy, dry, permed, or colour treated. In these cases, the added moisture could be a huge make or break for your hair’s health and appearance. But no matter what type of hair you have, you definitely have something to get out of incorporating co-washing into your hair routine.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD SOMEONE CO-WASH?

The answer to this is up to you. Depending on hair type, people wash their hair different amounts, and I would recommend sticking to around that same amount of hair washing, but switch out every other shampoo day with a co-washing day instead. For example, I wash my hair twice a week since I have dry, coloured, curly hair, so I wash with shampoo at the beginning of the week to give it a nice clean, but it would be too harsh on my hair to subject it to that kind of detergent-stripping process again, so later on in the week, I co-wash it to give some extra moisture while I cleanse, detangle, and refresh my curls.

WHAT PRODUCTS SHOULD I USE?

I’ve tried out many products for co-washing my hair, so I gotchu, fam! Here are my favourites!

1) Pureology’s Smooth Perfection Cleansing Conditioner

This cleansing conditioner smooths your hair and improves elasticity. It’s also great for frizzy or colour-treated hair and leaves your scalp feeling clean and moisturized, which is what I look for in a cleansing conditioner. This is my favourite cleansing conditioner! It also comes in a larger size at a better price per ounce so I’d recommend trying it out and then if you love it, restock with the bigger size to get more bang for your buck!

2) SheaMoisture’s Coconut & Hibiscus Co-Wash Conditioning Cleanser

This is a cleansing conditioner by the brand Shea Moisture which is one of my favourite curly-hair companies. They have several formulas that have natural ingredients made to keep your hair as healthy as possible and never include sulfates that dry out your hair. This cleansing conditioner has coconut in it which is definitely a hair favourite!

VIDEO TUTORIAL

I have a Co-Washing Tutorial Video on my YouTube channel where I post videos about hair and other beauty related topics. You can get more information about the process of co-washing and how I do it by watching the video. If you like it, please subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos like this one. Following my blog will also keep you updated with new methods, products, and styles to try out. If you want to follow my blog, I recommend using BlogLovin’ which is the easiest way to keep track of all the blogs you love.

I hope you guys were able to get some use out of this post. If so, let me know in the comments if you have or will try out co-washing, how you liked the products, what your favourite products are, or any questions you have about co-washing that I’d be glad to answer!