Co-Washing for Natural hair. What you need to know.
28th March 2020 Hair
Every heard of the term Co-Wash?
Co-Wash means conditioner only washing. It means washing your hair with only a conditioner no shampoo. This gives your hair a very light cleaning not as good as your shampoo but enough to give your hair some extra days of moisture.
Why would you ever want to Co-Wash?
Co-Wash is a way to help maintain the moisture level/content of your natural hair, by not constantly striping your hair oils with a shampoo. “Since unshampooed hair retains more of its natural oils than shampooed hair, the conditioner’s moisturizing agents will now leave strands even smoother and silkier than usual,” says Nicole Tresch, a senior colorist at the Rita Hazan Salon in New York City.
Co-Wash leads to a more stress free combing and detangling and styling for natural hair. When you Co-Wash, your hair has good supply of moisture and good circulation of its scalp oil.
With Co-Washing you have less shedding, breakage and split ends to deal with. Since the hair is able to retain more moisture, you have less tangles and knot to deal with which translates to less split ends, less breakage and more length retention.
Who can benefit from Co-Wash?
If you have very dry or supper dense hair, chances are you’ll benefit from co-washing.
Color treated hair can also really benefit from Co-Washing.
What are some of the best product ingredients to look out for Co-Washing (especially for type 4kinky, coily natural hair) ?
-Products that moisturize and soften the hair (contains ingredient like Shea butter, castor oil)
-Products with ingredients that help to reduce frizz and add shine (Palm Kernel Oil, Rosemary)
-Product that contain humectant (Honey, Glycerine)
How Often should you Co-Wash?
The frequencies of your Co-Wash varies from person to person. You can start Co-Washing every other week to help your scalp and hair adjust to the change and prevent buildup. Some low porosity hair can easily get buildup from Co-Washing because their hair is no longer able to absorb moisture. Buildup will also block your hair from absorbing any other forms of moisture, causing it to become dryer and more brittle. Buildup can also affect fast hair growth.
Suggestion for Low Porosity Type 4 Natural Hair who want to Co-Wash
Try Co-Washing with the Adepa Naturals Deep Conditioning Mask.
Mist your scalp and hair with water or Aloe Vera, Massage your scalp with the Hair Rescue oil.
Apply the deep conditioning mask to the length of your hair but not your scalp
Cover with a plastic bag and apply heat for 30mins and rinse out.
When rinsing it out, use your fingers to work the deep conditioner into your scalp and hair as you would with a shampoo to help loosen up any dirt from your hair and scalp.
When then do you Shampoo?
Depending on the products you use after your Co-wash, you can get excessive build which means you have to wash your hair. To reduce build try using less heavy butter frequently and more water based product to reduce build up. Excessive build up will affect the health of your scalp and slow down your hair growth.
If you Co-Wash; smelling hair, dullness, less absorption and itching scalp are all indications that you need to wash your hair.
Co-Wash may not be for you, if you;
Already have scalp issues like eczema, dandruff, etc.
Already have thinning out hair.
Co-Wash may not be for everyone but if your hair is supper dry and breaking or super dense and unmanageable, Co-Wash may be beneficial. You can try it every other week to see how your hair feels about Co-Washing. Remember to maintain protein moisture balance while you Co-wash.
Our recommended best conditioning products for successful Co-Wash for Natural Hair are;
The Hair Rescue Conditioner
The Deep Conditioning Mask
The Hair Rescue Oil
All product mentioned are organic Natural Hair products handmade in Accra, Ghana, West Africa for Natural hair people looking for the best products to grow healthy and long natural hair.
The products are available on Adepa Naturals online shop for natural hair.
Leave a comment below on your experience if you have tried Co-wash on your natural hair.
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