Co-Wash, Hair, No-Poo

Hair Peace

It’s been a long time since I talked about how my co-wash/no poo hair system was going, so let me do an update.

FUCK THIS.

I’m tempted to just say, “The End” now, but because seriously, FUCK THIS. But, I’ll spill my guts. You guys already know I have a dandruff problem, so we have no secrets.

Things were pretty ok for a while; I was doing the original plan of Suave conditioner as a cleanser followed by an apple cider vinegar rinse. My hair was pretty shiny at first, and my dandruff seemed to be clearing up. Then, things started to get dry. So, I tried several different sulfate free conditioners to try and give my hair more moisture. I went through salon brands, health food store brands, and back to salon brands before I found something from Pureology that seemed to work ok. Since we have terribly hard water, I also picked up a purifying shampoo from Pureology to use once a week. I figured this wasn’t a deal breaker on my plan since their products are all free of sulfates and the other harsh ingredients usually found in shampoo.

That was sort of semi ok for a while too.

Do you see the pattern?

I started to realize the Suave conditioner, on its own, was not going to work for me, that I probably needed something a little creamier and heavier to get through my thick, color treated hair. Enter L’Oreal Paris EverCreme Sulfate-Free Moisture System Cleansing Conditioner.

loreal evercreme

Amazon, $5.97

This had great reviews, and despite the AWFUL (burning plastic!) smell, it, too, seemed to work really well for me at first. But, guess what?

Did you guess this didn’t work out?!

If you did, you’re right! If you didn’t, you’re not paying attention to the theme of this post!

Besides my never ending issue with the HUGE amount of product I have to use to cleanse my hair with conditioner, it always took me forever to finally work it all the way through my scalp; I was having to section my hair off to get all of it, and that was a huge pain in the ass. My hair went right back to getting dry, and, like, matte feeling. Does that make sense? It looked and felt so dull. My roots felt different from the length of my hair, and that felt different from the ends of my hair. My dandruff got worse and worse, and my hair seemed like it was all just wanting to fall out. My hair is always falling out anyways, but this felt really different. This felt wrong.

*OH SHNAP! I was just writing this, and it was making me angry, then iTunes radio played “No Diggity,” and I’m starting to feel a little better. It’s ok, Sarah. Play on, player.*

The final straw came when I looked down at my shoulders over the weekend and I was totally disgusted by the flakes. I just can’t do this anymore. I really gave it a shot, and don’t think it’s for me. Maybe I was doing it wrong? I don’t fucking know. I don’t even care anymore. Dull, coarse, heavy, dandruff, DONE. I’m so happy I was smart enough to not throw away my last bottle of real shampoo in a fit of hubris. I broke out that bottle of Head & Shoulders, and went to town on my head. I conditioned with my Pureology conditioner, and my hair is so, so, so much better today. It’s softer, shinier, and sleeker. From root to tips, it’s all the same texture. See, kids? This is what happens when you’re never satisfied. There wasn’t really anything wrong with my hair to begin with, I was just bummed about using dandruff shampoo for the rest of my life, and I got caught up in the hope of a brighter, easier future. It was not to be. I was chasing a pipe dream. I’m back to washing my hair like a regular person. Head & Shoulders might not be the most glamorous shampoo out there, but dammit, it works for me. I gotta say, that one with the pink cap, the Smooth & Silky one? It’s a pretty nice shampoo. It gets my hair clean and shiny and it doesn’t smell like it might be burning my brain cells.

So? Who is this system for? I would say if you have curly, or frizzy hair, this will probably work for you better than it works for me. That L’Oreal cleansing conditioner has fawning reviews on Amazon and Ulta, so it works great for some hair types! If you have heavy, or mostly straight hair, you might want to stick to shampoo. But, everyone has a different head, different scalps, and whatnot. You never know! I wouldn’t want to discourage someone else from trying this, but if you do, and it doesn’t work, don’t feel bad. Play on, player!

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