Not Shampooing My Hair Made It Healthier

Never washing your hair? It sounds gross right? But believe it or not, when you’re a girly hair girl like me, then it’s actually a genius move.

Back in the 80s, there was this thing called shampoo and conditioner together. In a way, cowash is kinda the same thing, except it’s more focused on the conditioning angle and it doesn’t actually lather up.

Before I turned to “no pooing” or rather cowashing my hair, I stopped buying shampoo and conditioners with sulfates in them, because they damage the hair. I got on that “fad” early in the game and jumped on the “no poo” bandwagon about midway through.

I read an article about literally not washing your hair, but only running a mixture of baking soda and water through a couple times a week and then rinsing with apple cider vinegar. Believe it or not, apple cider vinegar softens the hair. SheaMoisture (a product I recommend below) actually was recommended if a person couldn’t handle completely not having clean hair (i.e. the baking soda cleaning method).

If you want to do cowash, I recommend getting a scalp scrubber to help get the cowash through to the roots. Because you don’t have as much lather, you think it’s not really getting as clean, but really lather isn’t necessary and a byproduct of chemicals. If you want additional moisture, you should probably include a leave-in conditioner and possibly a weekly conditioning mask.

Here are my favorite co-wash products:

As I Am: The Co-Wash itself comes in a jar. There is also a leave-in conditioner, which I highly recommend. You can also buy them together if you wish. I just purchased their curl clarity shampoo, which is sulfate free, and I am looking forward to trying it. This line can be used by ladies of multiple races and curly hair of varying textures.

SheaMoisture: I absolutely adore SheaMoisture because I used them on my hair, because they are sulfate free For traveling, I like the SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus Co-Wash Conditioning Cleanser, because I can put it into smaller containers that are TSA certified. I usually also use a leave-in conditioner, such as Shea Moisture Strengthen & Restore Leave-In Conditioner. Unfortunately, it appears as though SheaMoisture is getting out of the cowash game. I recommend their other products in this section to be used with As I Am’s cowash. I also like to use the SheaMoisture Hair Masque for Dry Curls, Jamaican Black Castor Oil Strengthen, Grow, and Restore Hair Serum, and Virgin Coconut Oil Leave-in Treatment.

Cantu: I used the Cantu Shea Butter for Natural Hair Complete Conditioning Co-Wash and the amazingly thick leave-in conditioner. Additionally, the line features a curl revitalizer for next day hair, dry shampoo, and cleansing shampoo. Cantu also has a full set of products for kids with curly hair. Some of the products can be bought in a set. It’s very affordable and great at reducing frizz.

Deva Curl: I’m hesitant to recommend this because of the price. Some people either love it or hate it. I didn’t really like it. Unlike the other above listed products, you have to use it almost daily or your hair will dry out, which doesn’t happen with the other products.

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