What is CO-Washing?
Co Washing stands for “Conditioner Only Washing”. Traditional shampoos contain detergents, a kind of surfactant, that do their job of cleaning very well — almost too well. This means that they tend to also wash off our natural, protective oils from our hair, leaving our hair stripped and in need of a pile of chemicals to replace sebum’s protection. The good news is that conditioners also contain surfactants, but not detergents, so they offer mild cleansing and extra hydration without stripping your hair of its natural protective oils.
What are the Benefits of CO-Washing?
CO-washing began in the natural and curly haired communities, and it can be especially great for curlies and coilies. Very coarse hair can be much more fragile and much drier than other hair types. If you have fragile hair, whether due to its natural texture or from heat or chemical damage, you might want to give CO-washing a try. CO-washing can help put a stop to future breakage, since damaged hair tends to be dry and benefits from the added moisture.
Some with hair that is naturally oily have found that CO-washing helps calm their scalp’s sebum production. By not stripping the hair of all its natural oil, the scalp seems to start adjusting and producing less sebum. This is very much a case of YMMV – if you tend towards oily hair or scalp you may find you go through a period of adjustment – without shampoo to remove the oil, not regularly washing out that oil could weigh down your hair even more, leaving it flat and extra greasy. However, many find this reduces after a few weeks and the oil production settles down.
How do you CO-wash?
It’s simple, really. First, choose a co-washing product, like our upcoming Cleansing Co-Bar (launching in July), which gently cleanses your hair while boosting luminosity with camellia seed oil. Fully wet your hair, and rub the co-bar between your wet hands to start activating the conditioner. Start by massaging the conditioner on your hands it into your roots as you would a traditional shampoo. You may also want to rub the bar directly onto you scalp with a bit of extra water. Massage it in well (this massaging action helps to loosen excess sebum and dirt), then smooth the bar through to your ends. Squish the conditioner through your hair and let it sit for a few minutes. When you’re ready rinse thoroughly and that’s it, you’re done. It really is as easy as that, and the best part is, you don’t need to follow it up with any extra conditioner.
Does CO-washing totally replace shampooing?
The short answer is, no, CO-washing is not meant to completely replace shampooing. The long answer is a bit more complicated. If you’re using a traditional conditioner to co-wash, you may want to occasionally shampoo your hair. Build-up can happen and no conditioner, however vigorously applied, is going to remove silicones and some polyquats. This is because the surfactants in conditioner can often leave some build-up behind. Build-up can put stress on the individual strands of your hair, causing weak points and breakage.
How often you should shampoo depends on your hair type and texture as well as the type of conditioner you use to CO-wash, since cleansing conditioners work better on buildup. If you have loose curls or waves, you might find that a once a week shampoo works best for you while tighter textures usually call for less frequent shampoos, maybe once a month or every six weeks. At the end of the day, the frequency really will depend on trial and error. Listen to your scalp and shampoo infrequently, but accordingly.
The Best Conditioners for CO-Washing
There are a few general rules when it comes to CO washing (you’ll find you start to read ingredient lists carefully). In terms of ingredients, look to avoid certain alcohols (which can be drying), silicones (which sit on top of the hair and cause buildup), and sulfates (which strip the hair of moisture). That said, there are some types of sulfates and alcohols that are actually worth seeking out when selecting a CO-washing conditioner, due to their hydrating, sealing, and gentle cleansing properties. Herbilis will always point out which products and ingredients are designed for CO washing, and which may be problematic.
Here are the ingredients to look for or avoid in cleansing conditioners.
Alcohols to avoid: Ethanol, specially denatured (SD) alcohol, SD alcohol 40, denatured alcohol, propanol, propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and alcohol denat.
Silicones to avoid: D4, D5, D6 and dimethicone. Generally look out for ingredients ending in ~cone, ~xane and ~conol.
Sulfates to avoid: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate/Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate (SLES)
Good alcohols (these are fatty alcohols that condition): Lauryl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, and behenyl alcohol.
Good sulfates: Behentrimonium methosulfate, cetrimonium chloride, polyquaternium 11, 57, 10, 37, and stearamidopropyl dimethylamine. (Though be aware that some hair types can experience build up with some polyquats.
Generally speaking, when it comes to picking a co-washing conditioner based on texture, the drier your hair, the richer the conditioner you can use. If you know your hair’s porosity, the same rules for conditioners and hair masks also apply to cleansing and CO-washing conditioners. High-porosity hair will soak up moisture while low-porosity hair won’t absorb it as quickly or thoroughly meaning there’s a potential for more build-up. If you have low-porosity hair or if your hair is closer to wavy than curly, you’re going to want to lean more towards cleansing conditioners vs. using a regular conditioner.
What comes next?
Once you’ve kicked off your co-washing routine, expect the unexpected, and enjoy your experiemntation. While some will see big, hair-smoothing results in just a week, others can find it takes more time. If you have very thick, very dry hair, you might want to add a few extra nourishing steps. We recommend treating locks to a simple serum or balm like these.
Happy co-washing…
