Co-Washing is the act of cleansing your hair with conditioner rather than using a shampoo. Some have made it out to be the “Curly Girl Method” meaning us naturally curly haired girls are the only ones that should be using this method. That is FALSE! Everyone should be co-washing their hair because it allows your hair to retain moisture. Shampoos strip your hair of its natural oils and can be deemed harsh to your hair when done on a consistent basis. Also, since textured hair tends to be drier than straight hair shampoo definitely doesn’t help.
Personally, I am one of those people who knew all of the benefits that came along with co-washing but preferred to shampoo my hair every week. This way I knew for a fact that my hair was getting squeaky clean after each wash. Especially since I enjoy using shampoos and conditioners with tea tree oil, the tingling sensation was something I loved. After being natural for over 3.5 years I realized my hair was growing, but it wasn’t growing as fast as it should have been in my opinion.
So, I set out to research how to grow my hair faster. Everywhere I looked co-washing weekly was being recommended and thoroughly cleansing with a shampoo once a month. I began co-washing immediately after and I haven’t looked back since. Now, I do use shampoo if I see that I have a lot of product build up on my scalp and hair, but for the most part co-washing is what I stick to now. My hair is so much softer, it has a much lighter feel to it, and my curls are so springy too.
You can test out co-washing your hair and see how your hair reacts to it. Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t, but you will never know until you try it. I shampooed my hair weekly for years and my hair grew and grew and grew, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized that my hair was stuck in a rut that co-washing has gotten it out of. Either way make sure to learn what YOUR hair wants and needs because it is only then when you will begin to see your hair truly flourish.
Happy Co-Washing!
-HCxo