Recently, I have been trying out a few different methods of washing my hair, namely water-only(WO), conditioner-water-conditoner(CWC), conditoner-only washing(CO-ing) and finally oil-water-conditoner(OWC). Here's my take on each of the above mentioned methods:
WO didn't work for me at all. My hair was a tangled mess after washing with water, and i couldn't run my fingers through it while it was still wet. So, I toweled dry and waited for it to become damp before trying to detangle again. However, even after applying leave-in conditioner and oil, there were still masses of tangles that took me very long to carefully pick out. This is definitely something I will not try again.
CWC was much better compared to WO. In fact, it is one of my favourite methods, other than OWC, but more on that later. I used a rather cheap conditoner for the first C, coating my hair from ear down and massaging in to loosen dirt and buildup. Then I shampooed my scalp and washed both shampoo and conditioner away at the same time. For the next C, I used my usual conditioner, once again coating from ear down, and rubbing the leftovers lightly over the scalp area. This method keeps my hair tangle-free and much less dry than a normal shampoo + conditioner wash would do.
Following my success with CWC, I decided to try out CO-ing, where only conditioner and no shampoo is used. This did not work for me as I have a oily scalp and the conditioner could not clean it properly, thus leading to and itchy scalp. Also, the conditioner built up on my hair very quickly, leaving me with white flakes whenever I brush.
Lastly, i tried a modified version of CWC, the OWC. I applied coconut oil liberally to my hair from ear down, and left it in for at least an hour before proceeding to wash. During the wash, I shampooed my scalp and let the suds flow down to the rest of the hair when I rinsed. After that I followed with conditioner as per the method in CWC.
Both CWC and OWC left the best results, but I think I would probably use OWC more often, as I like to use coconut oil in my hair as a deep treatment.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Labels: Coconut oil, Conditioner-only, Conditioner-water-conditioner, Dry hair, Oil-water-conditoner, Oily scalp, Prevent tangles, Wash methods, Water-only1 comments
Washing your long hair daily may result in unnecessary damage and dryness, and yet some of us(especially those with an oily scalp) must wash daily or risk having greasy, limp hair and even scalp pimples.
Thus, it is beneficial to be able to wash one's scalp without washing the rest of the length, but how does one go about doing this?
There are many different methods of scalp washing, one of which is to wrap the length in a plastic bag or shower cap before proceeding to wash the scalp. However, I find that water always somehow seeps into the plastic bag, and I end up with a tangled mess. Therefore, I will be introducing a different method which I personally use, and find more effective, albeit a little more complicated.
Details of the full scalp wash method can be found here, where a highly useful article complete with pictures guides you through the steps required. However, I did make some minor modifications to the routine in order to make it more convenient for myself.
Firstly, I find it impossible to handle a shampoo bottle with only one hand (the other being busy holding the braid up), so i pour some shampoo into an old drink bottle beforehand, fill that up with water, and shake vigorously to get a sort of shampoo-mix. This is also useful for those who prefer to use their shampoo diluted.
Secondly, I prefer to use a squeeze bottle with a nozzle to wet my hair. I find that I can get my scalp thoroughly wet quicker and with less manipulation this way, as I can position the nozzle on my scalp and squirt to wet the inner layers first before moving outwards.
Lastly, I do a scalp wash daily (when not doing a full wash including length), but only use shampoo on alternate days. On other days, I do a water-only wash using the same method, except that I skip the shampoo and simply massage the scalp after wetting it down.
Do try out and perhaps even create your own method of doing a scalp wash, one that works for you. Feel free to post your method under comments!
Thus, it is beneficial to be able to wash one's scalp without washing the rest of the length, but how does one go about doing this?
There are many different methods of scalp washing, one of which is to wrap the length in a plastic bag or shower cap before proceeding to wash the scalp. However, I find that water always somehow seeps into the plastic bag, and I end up with a tangled mess. Therefore, I will be introducing a different method which I personally use, and find more effective, albeit a little more complicated.
Details of the full scalp wash method can be found here, where a highly useful article complete with pictures guides you through the steps required. However, I did make some minor modifications to the routine in order to make it more convenient for myself.
Firstly, I find it impossible to handle a shampoo bottle with only one hand (the other being busy holding the braid up), so i pour some shampoo into an old drink bottle beforehand, fill that up with water, and shake vigorously to get a sort of shampoo-mix. This is also useful for those who prefer to use their shampoo diluted.
Secondly, I prefer to use a squeeze bottle with a nozzle to wet my hair. I find that I can get my scalp thoroughly wet quicker and with less manipulation this way, as I can position the nozzle on my scalp and squirt to wet the inner layers first before moving outwards.
Lastly, I do a scalp wash daily (when not doing a full wash including length), but only use shampoo on alternate days. On other days, I do a water-only wash using the same method, except that I skip the shampoo and simply massage the scalp after wetting it down.
Do try out and perhaps even create your own method of doing a scalp wash, one that works for you. Feel free to post your method under comments!
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