My Current Routine In Summary.

I've been asked by a reader to summarize my current hair routine and treatment program in one post. So of course, I'm going to do that. Now, I know how drastically different every head of hair is, even people with hair of my own hair type, but I'll do the summary of my regimen for the record. I'll be making a page with this summary for ease of access.

Washing: Every 2 or 3 days (I try to stretch it to 3): I wash my hair using the CO method. I am currently using cone-free conditioner, usually the inexpensive Suave Naturals.

I then rinse with a mild apple cider vinegar rinse. I use about 5 or 6 tablespoons of vinegar to 2 litres, or approximately 8 cups of water. I use that as a final rinse right before getting out of the shower.

I leave the towel on my hair for no more than 10 minutes and then I add a pea-sized amount of conditioner to my length as a leave-in. I'm currently using Burt's Bees Super Shiny Grapefruit and Sugar Beet conditioner.

I do not comb or brush my hair when it is wet or damp, with the exception of my bangs, which are short. I let my hair air dry and then I begin to finger comb it as it dries. Only after my hair is dry will I comb it with a horn comb.

Nightly: I put my hair in a bun on the top of my head after a short session with a boar bristle brush. I secure it with a scrunchie or a clip.

Oiling: I use a total of 6 drops of jojoba oil to my hair from the ears down when my hair is almost dry. I put 2 drops in my hands, rub them together and smooth the hair from one side of the head between my hands. I repeat with the other side and then repeat with the back.

I use the same amount of oil again right before bed, and lightly brush it through with a boar bristle brush. I do that each night until the next wash.

Deep Oiling: I like to do a deep oil treatment once every 2 weeks or so. I soak my hair in either extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil for at least an hour, sometime for several hours. About an hour before I wash, I put conditioner on my dry, oiled hair, bun it up, and leave it until I wash. This ensures that the excess oil comes out. Because oil and water don't mix, it's best to add the conditioner first, rather than wetting the hair and trying to shampoo it out.

Protein Treatment: About once a month I do a protein treatment. I like Joico K-Pak. I like to leave it on my hair for an hour before COing.

Deep moisture treatment: I also do this every two weeks or so. I use one part honey (I microwave it for about 30 seconds so that it doesn't lighten my hair) to 2, 3 or 4 parts of conditioner, depending on how I make it that day. I put that in my dry hair (sometimes I dampen it lightly with spray bottle of distilled water), and completely saturate my hair with it from root to tip. I cover it with a plastic grocery bag and then cover that with a towel. I leave it in for at least an hour. When I get into the shower, I add some water to my scalp, work it in well, and treat the mixture as a CO. I rinse it out as I would a usual CO.

Occasional treatments: When my ends feel crunchy or velcro-like, or if my hair is getting very dull, I will clarify my hair. The shampoo I use for that is Herbal Essences Drama Clean. I always moisturize my hair very well after clarifying.

Sometimes I do a coconut milk soak. I soak my hair in full fat coconut milk, cover it with a plastic bag, and cover that with a towel. I use CO to remove it.

Once in a while, I do a mayonnaise treatment. This would be in the place of a deep oiling, and has the added benefit of protein as well as being a very good pH for the hair and scalp. I use full fat mayonnaise and I wash it out with conditioner only.

Colouring my hair: My hair is dyed, and I touch up my roots only every 4 to 6 weeks. I always coat my hair in coconut oil overnight or for at least two hours before the touch-up, in order to help prevent peroxide damage.

I think that's pretty much it. It sounds like a lot when all written out, but really, it's not a lot in terms of actual time spent or dollars spent.


Well, we had quite a storm last night, and it brought on a major migraine. It will be early to bed for me, as I try to banish this latest bout, which is a real blaster.

I am happy to say that despite this migraine, my spirits are much better in general today than they had been for a couple of weeks.

'Til tomorrow, my friends. Much love to all.
xo

Going Cone-Free After 2 Years

I was cone-free for two years before I lightened my hair back to blonde, but after repeated dying to get the blonde shade that I love, I've had to use silicone-based conditioners in order to be able to detangle my hair at all.

While I have nothing against cones, I do find it easier to use cone-free conditioner, as that way I can  CO with one conditioner. When I use cones, I really don't like to CO with cones on my scalp, so I only use it from the nape down.

After my last clarifying and deep moisture treatment, I thought I'd try to do a CO wash with cone-free conditioner and see what would happen.

I knew I could always put in a coney leave-in if I needed to afterwards, but I didn't have to. My hair was tangle free and I just used my Burt's Bees cone-free conditioner as a leave-in. I thought that perhaps after a couple of weeks I'd really need to use cones again, in order to give my hair some slip, but it didn't happen.

I'm happy that my hair is in good enough shape not to have to use cones if I don't want to. I was quite surprised. I guess the remaining damage isn't that bad.

I do have to say that if it wasn't for silicones, I'm sure that I would have had to cut my hair to nape length after the big dye jobs two years ago. Cones really did save my hair, and allowed me to maintain my hair well below shoulder length as I cut out most of the damage.

So I'm feeling pretty good about the condition of my hair and I'm feeling hopeful that once I've trimmed out the remaining damage to the point where I have breakage, my hair will look and feel almost as healthy as someone who doesn't use hair dye.

This is a very good hair day for me, and yet another mini-milestone.

'Til tomorrow. Much love to all, my friends.

A Nice Cone-Free Conditioner

I've mentioned before that I used to use cone-free products exclusively, but for the past two years I've used silicone conditioner on my ends when COing to keep my hair tangle free in the damaged areas.

For the two years before that, I was completely cone-free. At that time, I experimented with many cone-free products. I came across Burt's Bees Super Shiny Grapefruit & Sugar Beet Conditioner. It's a moderately rich conditioner that is moisturizing and contains humectants. I found it to be very good for the ends of my hair, but because of the price it really wasn't suitable to use for COing. In my opinion it would be too expensive to use in the quantities necessary for a conditioner only wash.

However, I loved the consistency and it is very moisturizing. I took to using it as a leave-in on my ends, and it made a big difference to how my ends felt. I remember that it saved my ends, as at that time, my ends felt so dry that I almost had a big trim. Using the Burt's Bees conditioner solved my problem.

Since using cones, I had forgotten about my Burt's Bees conditioner. However, I ran across it again the other day, and I used a pea-sized amount on my ends after removing my after-shower towel, and my hair feels softer than it has in a long time.

Of all of the conditioners I've used, whether with or without cones, this is by far the leave-in that works the best for me. I do remember recommending it to someone else at LHC who had success with it as well.

I am so happy that I rediscovered this conditioner. I had been using a coney conditioner as a leave-in on my ends, and I think that using cone conditioner in the shower and then using more as a leave-in left my hair feeling too built up. I think that may be what caused what I described as my hair feeling like doll's hair. This way, I get the benefit of a really moisturizing leave-in without adding more cones to my hair.

Of course, just because this works for me, it doesn't mean it will work for you, but I did want to share my experience with it because I'm really excited about how my hair feels right now, and has for the past few days since clarifying and using this conditioner as my leave-in.

'Til tomorrow, my friends. Love to all.

Sometimes You Do What You Have To Do

I’ve been reading articles and topic threads for a long time, and the consensus seems to be that it’s optimal to stretch out the time between washing one’s hair to as long as possible.  Some long-haired people go four, five days, or even a full week or more between washings.

Some of these people do rinse their hair with water only every few days.  This is not for me.

While I do try to do the best I can for my hair, I’ve only been able to go from daily washing to every other day.

I did wash daily for years, and it took a bit of adjustment to go every second day, but I can’t seem to go beyond that.  On Day 3 after wash day, I can only go without washing if I know I won’t be going anywhere.

I do know that many women my age have less production of the sebaceous glands in their skin in general and on their scalp. I am not one of those women.  My facial skin still produces a lot of oil, and so does my scalp. Even trying to brush my hair with a boar bristle brush, as is often suggested, is not enough to prevent my scalp hair and beyond from looking very oily by the third day after a wash.

Additionally, with my hair so fine and straight, there is no hairstyle, updo or braid that can hide that. I don’t see any practical way around this.

So I do wash my hair every other day. I have changed my habits, such as using conditioner to wash my hair, and I’ve made a lot of other changes in the handling of my hair, but I really don’t see a time in the near future in which I will be able to go regularly for more than two days between washes.

I don’t let it bother me.  I have to do what works for me and what is practical in my life. Sometimes that just means not following the best advice.

So it’s good to remember that while there’s a world of hair care advice out there, sometimes you just have to find your own way, and be good with that.

Conditioner Only Washing Method

I never knew until less than four years ago that I could wash my hair with conditioner and no shampoo and still get my hair nice and clean. 


It wasn't until I read some information in some of the long hair forums that I heard of Conditioner Only or CO washing.


The surfactants in conditioner will clean the hair and scalp just as well as shampoo, if used properly.  


The real benefit for me is that my hair never feels stripped or dry, and I rarely if ever get tangles. My hair doesn't look greasy as you might expect when thinking about washing your hair with conditioner.


There are a few things that are necessary to know if you want to CO wash.


It's really important to let the conditioner sit for a few minutes on your wet head in order to allow the surfactants to do their work, so applying the conditioner is the first thing I do in the shower.


Before applying the conditioner, make sure that your hair is very wet, just as you would do before applying shampoo. Then take a good handful of conditioner and work it into the scalp.  I like to use a conditioner without silicones for the scalp area.  My preferred conditioner for this purpose at the moment is Suave Naturals.  It has just the right consistency for me.  It's not too rich, but it's not too thin.


Then I take another handful of conditioner and work it throughout the length of my hair.  In the past, I used to use the Suave Naturals for my length, but since I'm still nursing a few inches of damage on the ends of my hair, I do use a conditioner with silicones. Right now I'm using Tresemme moisturizing conditioner for this.


After I have gently worked the conditioner right through to the ends of my hair, I gather it with care and pile it on top of my head, secured with a big claw clip.


Once I have secured my hair on top of my head, I complete the rest of my showerly duties. By that time, my hair is ready to be rinsed.


Rinsing well is another very important key to successful COing. I like to rinse for about 3 minutes. When I have finished rinsing, I like to take a pitcher of cool water with a couple of tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in it to both remove any excess conditioner residue and to smooth the cuticle of my hair, which has the bonus of boosting my hair's shine.


It sounds as though it would be expensive to use so much conditioner. However, Suave Naturals is very inexpensive, so I don't find that I spend all that much on it. Whenever I see it on sale, I stock up on a few bottles. I always seem to have several bottles of conditioner on hand.


For the silicone conditioner, I do find that Tresemme is one of the best conditioners of its type for the price. The large bottle lasts me quite a long time.


I do shampoo once a month or so, when I feel the need to clarify, as I discussed in this entry. Other than that, I never use shampoo, and my hair is very happy.


If you're looking for a new, gentler method of washing your hair, give COing a try. It may not be for you, but it can't hurt to test it out for yourself.