I was just reading about growing long hair at hairboutique.com.  It says that applying conditioner to the scalp can clog hair follicles slowing hair growth.

I have wondered about this before.  Do any of you who CO worry about this?

I have never CO washed before, in fact have never even heard of it until here, does that really get the hair and scalp clean?  I have a hard time imagining.  ???

The type of conditioner used can be a factor with CO washing.  It is usually recommended that a light, inexpensive type conditioner be used for the washing.  This would be less likely to clog the pores or irritate the scalp.  Heavier conditioners would only be used on the length of the hair.

So, I'm thinking that this would be good to try on a day when I would like to shower off, but not necessarily put my hair through another washing.  I shower and wash my hair every morning before work, and usually like to shower again when I come home -sometimes I just need to wash the "day" off of me, if you know what I mean!- and subsequently end up washing my hair again.  Washing hair twice a day can't be good for it, not unless you're working in the coal mines, I suppose!  I'm going to put this on my 'to-do' list along with vinegar rinsing, I'm gonna get to it...I swear!  :P

maybe you should try to wash it only every two days. i wash them every three days although i have very oily hair ... but i won't give in: i wear my hair into a ponytail the last day before washing cuze by then you could bake french fries in them  8)

You're funny styg, I have never imagined baking french fries on my head!  That's a pretty funny thought!  I feel too self-conscious if I don't wash it every day, I get very oily and I would never want to be misconstrued as a dirty person because my hair was greasy, I would die!  I also have kind of an obsession with being, looking and smelling clean.  Have you ever noticed that odor that comes from someone who hasn't washed their hair in a while, I call it "head smell", yucky-yucky!  I guess that's my fear in not washing every day, I just get too greasy too quick, I don't think I could pull it off.  

I know what smell you mean, Maggie. It's that funny sebum smell...

I have a relative who grows hair like you wouldn't believe and her fingernails are fabulous. But she tends to get this sebum smell very quickly if she doesn't wash regularly. The price she pays for having the luxury of fast growing hair/nails!

Just a reminder that your body is constantly reacting to what you do to it.  When you wash your hair, you are removing the oil (sebum) which causes the body to react and create more oil.  You can "re-train" your body to create less oil by gradually extending the amount of time between shampooing.  

I used to shampoo my hair every day or else it would look like a grease pit.  I now shampoo once every 5 days (except when doing long bike trips and get excessively sweaty).  I will rinse my hair during those five days, and sometimes use a bit of conditioner on my hair, but only shampoo every 5 days.  My hair does not look greasy until late on the 5th day.

I worry about the "smell" thing, too.  I keep a spray mister with distilled water and a couple of drops of rose oil and lavender oil.  Lavender is supposed to be somewhat antiseptic I read somewhere.  I'll sometimes spray it directly on my scalp and massage it in to freshen it up.

About the conditioner clogging the pores: I did CO for 4 months and my hair and scalp never felt oily or like it needed a shampoo.  But I worry about hormone secretions in the sebum causing hair loss so I shampoo.  Sometimes just shampoo and condition; sometimes condition, shampoo, condition.  Then I often add a little of my regular conditioner to my outer layer and ends.  I know thinking I need to shampoo is perhaps all in my head, but it is what I feel most comfortable with and I've got to make the inside of my head as comfortable as the outside.

5 days!  That is great, Bikerbraid!  I can't imagine ever getting mine to go that long.  

I've also heard that just water itself cleanses if you
don't have a lot of product in your hair.   I shampoo
once a week with Nioxin to keep my scalp healthy
and shampoo once a week with a sulfate free 'poo
like Creme of Nature or Avalon Organics making a total of twice a week of shampooing.
The other days I just rinse with water and then put a leave in conditioner
(or rinse out) from the ears down.  I'm working on
shampooing every 5 days like BB.  I used to shampoo
every other day, now I'm trained for every 3 days-trying
to go longer.  Sometimes a rinse with water helps my
hair feel clean, unless my hair is very dirty or I have a lot
of product in my hair, which I try to avoid these days.

I think the water rinse thing might work for people who don't get oily hair, but I've found that my hair is just as oily after the shower as before if I don't use something to wash out the greasies.

I used to need to wash my hair every day, but I washed it every third day. Now it's reached the point where I can go two days without stringy roots, but I still often go three days, even though my scalp is happier when it is scrubbed clean.  

CO wash didn't change this for me.

About 10 years ago I noticed that I was getting an itchy scalp with greasy buildup on my second or third day after wash. On the theory that conditioner was causing this, I carefully stopped applying conditioner to my scalp. This had no effect on the problem. I later found that a vigorous scalp massage during the washing process (when the buildup is softened most) will allow any buildup to be lifted off and washed away. At the same time I found that my facial skin also has some flaky buildup, and by removing this buildup in a similar way (gentle abrasion during a shower) I was able to eliminate what looked like eczema around my nose.

Bikerbraid wrote:
Quote:

I now shampoo once every 5 days (except when doing long bike trips and get excessively sweaty).  I will rinse my hair during those five days, and sometimes use a bit of conditioner on my hair, but only shampoo every 5 days.  My hair does not look greasy until late on the 5th day.

Yup... That's my average nowadays too, only I don't condition in between. Maybe a rinse every now and then. My record is 8 days! And that's also where perfume oils come in.  It's definitely the super-gentle shampoo, and definitely the cold weather these days.

eKatherine wrote:
Quote:

I later found that a vigorous scalp massage during the washing process (when the buildup is softened most) will allow any buildup to be lifted off and washed away.

Ditto also on eKatherine's super scrubbing method. That's solved my scalp itch and gunky sebum buildup problems by 99.99999999%

wrote on Nov 17^th, 2004 at 4:43pm:

I feel too self-conscious if I don't wash it every day, I get very oily and I would never want to be misconstrued as a dirty person because my hair was greasy, I would die!  I also have kind of an obsession with being, looking and smelling clean.  Have you ever noticed that odor that comes from someone who hasn't washed their hair in a while, I call it "head smell", yucky-yucky!  I guess that's my fear in not washing every day, I just get too greasy too quick, I don't think I could pull it off.

lol ... i am not sure though i would do it if i din't have dark hair. somehow it fits, but it has to be in a ponytail. and i don't think (hope) i smell like an homeless person yet
;D

wrote on Nov 17^th, 2004 at 8:10pm:

I've also heard that just water itself cleanses if you don't have a lot of product in your hair.

yeah, heard that too! tried and oh no ... maybe if your hair wasn't greasy it works, but for french fries hair: i don't think so since water still desn't disolve grease.
i do rinse the roots if i have the idea i sweated up there (i put my hair in a very high bun and just rinse the roots)

wrote on Nov 17^th, 2004 at 10:14pm:

Ditto also on eKatherine's super scrubbing method. That's solved my scalp itch and gunky sebum buildup problems by 99.99999999%

i scrub with jojoba before washing cuze i don't like to scrub too much with shampoo. although: both methods seem to cause more hair loss than no scrubbing at all but well, maybe it's just loose hairs cuze i seem to lose less hair afterwards while combing.

Wow! What a response!  I guess we all have the methods that work best for us, it's neat to see how different some of our routines are.  I think my hair would definetly benefit if I could skip a few washings here and there, so this is my newest mission now.  Am I up for the challenge?  We'll just have to wait & see!  8)

Styg wrote,
Quote:

maybe it's just loose hairs cuze i seem to lose less hair afterwards while combing.

I agree. I lose more hair the longer I wait before a hairwash. IMHO, a certain % of hairs are "on the verge" of shedding but need that "extra little push" from the shampooing/CO process. Frankly I love ALL my hairs (yes you too, hair #67,004), but with dandruff that sticks to the scalp I don't have much of a choice but to scrub. :-/ Darn...

ok ... tonight is the night. i'll try to wash my hair with CO ... and do a vinegar rinse  8)
i've got this light timotei Co for long hair with orange extract (and no cones). i suppose it's ok for that purpose. if my hair's still greasy, at least it will smell like orange  ;D

OK, well I tried to not wash my hair today, I told myself I would just do a water or co rinse in the shower this morning....but I couldn't stop myself  :-[, I had to wash. BUT...I did use some restraint, Instead of lathering up my entire head of hair like usual, I used less shampoo and only tried to wash my just scalp (so no french fry head!) and just let the remainder of the suds rinse down thru the length of my hair.  Then I conditioned as usual, *AND* I even used a leave-in conditioner today.  I must say, my hair feels very nice and soft, It's been pulled up all morning, so it's not quite dry yet, but it's an improvement...it's a start!  Day by day, my friends...day by day... ;)

when i shampoo i predelute a tiny amount of shampoo in a glass ... even with nearly no scrubbing the hair is clean (and i even put jojoba before washing). the same trick doesn't work with almond though, to remove it you really need to scrub.

Ahhhhh......yet another trick, I'll try that one tomorrow when I try not to wash....

Still never tried any oiling yet, though.  That's a whole other venture, I guess!

well i did CO wash and i am quite surprised!! it's not toally dry yet but it seems clean without being totally degreased like when washed with shampoo (which i find annoying cuze i have to put aloe vera to control my hair)
well i am happy.

and the vinegar didn't smell either he he
:D

now my hair is dry i really think it feels and looks as clean as after shampooing.  8)
i used a lot of CO though, cuze i find it annoying to get it everywhere on the scalp.  i should have deluted it as well.