CO-ing tips?

[orchid]

Hi! I only found LHC yesterday and am still trying to get a handle on some of the terminology and methods being used.

I figured out that CO means Condition Only and it seems very popular among LHCers. Do you have any tips for someone attempting this for the first time? I'm hoping it will help with the humidity frizzies.

Is it better to gradually transition to CO by COing every other day between days of shampooing and conditioning?

Are some conditioners better for this than others?

Are there styling products which should be avoided when COing (like 'cones)?

Thank you for any suggestions you may have.

[cichlid]

I've been COing only since February and I am not really an expert of it yet. But I'll try to help!

I started COing and just stopped the whole S/C routine. Not nasty transitional phase. I got used to it easily but I sarted washing twice as often until I felt my hair had gotten used to it and then I started COing as often as I had been S/C.

For me personally, I like VO5 and hated Suave. Every Suave was pretty drying and left me with a waxy feeling. Carolyn I believe it was had it in her journal about this. There are more wax fillers than the other cheapie brands. Also depending on what you want...try various conditioners. Kiwi Lime Squeeze by VO5 is almost as good as shampoo. While I didn't experiance a difference between the richer VO5 flavors. I also like Tea Therapy and SKR. They are supposedly more rich than KLS.

I avoud cones completely so I dunno the effects other than they can build up fast if you are not shampooing. I have found alternative things to use. Like an aloe vera/jojoba oil mister spray. Aloe Vera gel is a great way to calm frizzies. Jojoba oil adds moisture. It's all good. I'm still playing around with what works for me but a good bas is 4 oz water, 2 tbsp Aloe Vera gel, and I think jojoba oil can be pretty optional. I usually add a little less than 1 tsp of jojoba oil.

[Alley Cat]

Hi I regularily CO . Basically you use whatever conditioner you like most people use cone free [ I think] . The idea is to leave it in for at least 15 -20 mins . I leave mine in for as long as an hour or more . Massage it into your scalp for cleaning and rinse it out. You can put another conditioner on again if you like sometimes I add a cone one to the ends and wash off straight away. Some people take a while to adjust or find they don't like it and stick to CWC [ condition , wash , condition]. Hope that helps.
I add it from scalp to the ends of my hair and don't be afraid to use heaps and heaps , you can add it to wet or dry unwashed hair. Have fun experimenting:whoohoo:

[snowbear]

Seconding the advice given above, but be sure to rinse really well! I found that was my biggest problem when COing.

[kimberlily]

I CO with VO5 Kiwi Lime Squeeze. It is my holy grail for CO, which I thought wasn't for me until I found KLS. My routine is do CO every 2nd or 3rd day. Slap the KLS on my scalp, put my good condish on the length, and let it sit while I do everything else in the shower/bath. Then I comb it through with a seamless comb, and scritch my scalp a little. Add some water and make it lather (yes, conditioner WILL lather!) and rinse for ages.

[peripheralvisionary]

When I first started COing, I did alternate between S&C and CO in the beginning. It took a couple of weeks of doing that till I was able to exclusively CO. At first I had to CO every day, then every other day, now I CO every 3 days and it's working really well for my hair. Each change to my routine too about 2 weeks of adjustment time. I've recently discovered that if I do a WO (water only) wash on day 2/3, I was able to extend my time between CO washes to 4 days.

[golden_gal]

When I first started COing, I COed every other day with one normal S/C every week. I started out with a cone conditioner (big mistake) and had horrid buildup issues.

CO with a cone-free conditioner. It's not a must to avoid cones... it depends on your hair. My hair typically loves cones on the ends and I solved my problem by using cone free on my scalp and cone on my ends. I also alternate my CO washes with baking soda washes.

CO can remove pre-oilings so thats not really a problem. I'm not too sure about styling products though.

Hope that helps!!

[curlsgirl]

I gave up on CO the first time because of scalp-itching issues. Now, I have been doing it again (cone-free) for about 3 weeks and I really love it! I did find that it is important to leave it on for a few minutes at least and massage well into the scalp. My hair really loves CO so I am really glad I gave it another chance. Another thing I am doing this time is putting it on dry hair and saturating it and then leaving it on for a while, wetting hair, massaging and then rinsing VERY well. Good luck! BTW, I always use either VO5, Suave or Nature's Gate jojoba. At first I thought my hair missed the cones but then when I got used to it, I can't tell that much difference except I don't get the yucky buildup and my hair is more consistently moister.

[Sidani Anai]

I've been CO'ing for a little over a month now and my hair loves it! I went cold turkey from SC to CO and it made no difference to my hair. I also add honey to my CO. I've got just about every flavor V05 puts out and they all work well, all cone free. I put gobs of that on my hair as soon as I get in the shower and work it in well, then I get my honey bear and squeeze a handful of honey into my hand, get it on both palms then work it in from roots to tips. I add honey as I go down the length to be sure it's all well covered. Then I let it all sit about 15 minutes while I do all the rest of the shower stuff.

I love to use coconut oil the night before then CO it out the next day... my hair feels like silk. It's funny, when I SC'd only, my scalp was way more oily, I had to shampoo almost every day, now that I'm CO'ing I can go for up to 5 days with no oily scalp. Go figure. :huh:

Good luck in your experimentation! :happy:

[curlsgirl]

I've been CO'ing for a little over a month now and my hair loves it! I went cold turkey from SC to CO and it made no difference to my hair. I also add honey to my CO. I've got just about every flavor V05 puts out and they all work well, all cone free. I put gobs of that on my hair as soon as I get in the shower and work it in well, then I get my honey bear and squeeze a handful of honey into my hand, get it on both palms then work it in from roots to tips. I add honey as I go down the length to be sure it's all well covered. Then I let it all sit about 15 minutes while I do all the rest of the shower stuff.

I love to use coconut oil the night before then CO it out the next day... my hair feels like silk. It's funny, when I SC'd only, my scalp was way more oily, I had to shampoo almost every day, now that I'm CO'ing I can go for up to 5 days with no oily scalp. Go figure. :huh:

Good luck in your experimentation! :happy:May I just say your hair is gorgeous! Do you post on LHC?

[Sidani Anai]

I wanted to jump back in here and show you this picture. I'm so proud of this. :whoohoo: This is the difference in my hair after CO'ing for only one month. It's soo cool. :cheesy:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h247/Sidani/sig.jpg

[Sidani Anai]

May I just say your hair is gorgeous! Do you post on LHC?
Wow, thank you! I really appreciate that. :happy: I didn't see your reply before I posted again. I've only been at LHC for around two months now. There is sooo much to learn there and my brain is definitely not as spongy as it used to be. ;) lol But I have seen such a wonderful change in my hair in that short time that I will use these same secrets I've learned from LHC for the rest of my life. And I find myself telling everyone else about CO'ing and LHC anytime I'm around other women. :D

Seriously folks, we need to make some business cards. :D I'll design them and we can print them out on our own printers. ;)

[Buddaphlyy]

I alternate between co washing and a CWC routine. I use Suave as my first conditioner in my CWC, but V05 Champagne Kisses for my co washes. I've been doing this for about 2 months and my hair loves it.

[walkinglady]

I've been doing CO a few months now and love it. When I first started to CO I had to do it every day. If my hair felt oily I would either do a baking soda rinse or vinegar rinse. Now I CO every couple of days. My hair likes Vo5 products better than the others. I have found that the thinner my conditioner is the better off I am. I usually mix conditioner and aloe juice 50/50 and apply it to dry hair. Let it sit as long as I can then rinse really well. Sometimes I apply a heavier conditioner to the ends and then rinse again. It took about 8 weeks for my hair to adjust but I'm really glad I hung in there. Also, my hair never looked really bad even on my worst days in the adjustment period.

[orchid]

Thank you for all of your responses!

I started my first day by using Neutrogena residue shampoo (to get rid of any buildup) and VO5 Milk conditioner (passion fruit scent). The only product I used was Aussie's Tizz no Frizz.

But my hair looks a little dry/frizzy (how do you tell the difference??). Tomorrow I will do a CO in hopes that some of my natural oils will help.

I must admit, I also bought a bunch of products I read about here and on LHC, including the ingredients for the aloe/jojoba/glycerin leave-in - but I am doing my best not to try all the new things at once!

Am I the only one who was a little scared trying this new routine??

I need to read everything over again and check out the newer threads on COing. Sidani Anai, I totally understand your "sponginess" comment :) And your hair is gorgeous! I first thought your # of posts (at the time it said 13) was your age - and I believed it! Although I think your hair was just as beautiful in the before picture. I find I think that about many of the before pics I see posted.

Thank you again.

Oh, ps, with COing is that "dirty hair" feeling ever a problem??

[Rini]

The only CO method that has ever worked for me is: slather on heaps of CO onto dry hair, wrap in plastic and put a warm hat on, leave for 20 minutes (or more), get in shower and add a little water, lather, rinse and follow with an ACV rinse.

This has worked so well for me when no other CO method would.

Good luck! :flower:

[Shermie Girl]

I have been COing for a few months, now. My hair really likes it. I am an occasional shampooer. I like to shampoo well once or twice a month before I henna, to clarify my hair. Sometimes, my hair just craves a good shampooing, so I give it one. :happy:

My preffered method is to wet my hair, slosh on three big hanfuls of VO5 conditioner, add a little water and wash away as if I were shampooing. I massage my scalp well and gently cleanse my length and ends. Then rinserinserinserinse. Then I repeat.
After that, I apply a thick, rich finishing conditioner, comb gently with a wide-tooth shower comb, clip up and leave it until I finish all my other showerly duties. Then rinse, again.
I usually spray on a home-made leave-in and lightly oil or use Fox's Shea Butter Conditioning Cream. :happy:

[orchid]

Oh, my hair is much happier today than it was yesterday!

I used much more conditioner this morning and kept it on for a longer time. I didn't even rinse it out until after I got out of the shower and brushed my teeth. With only the Aussie Tizz no Frizz gel it's looking pretty good.

Does anyone one know if glycerin will be ok with COing?

And I'm almost afraid to ask...what is plopping?? How do you do it? What does it do to your hair? Is it legal (hee hee hee)?:happy:

Thanks again for your help!

[orchid]

Oh, someone described plopping in this thread here: http://chatter.thebeautybottle.com/showthread.php?t=156

I never would have guessed that that was plopping! There are some very creative people here!

[Shermie Girl]

Orchid, do you mean mixing glycerine in with your conditioner to get more moisture? That sounds like a good idea. Glycerine is good stuff. I use it in my leave-in and spritz. It is a natural humectant. It draws moisture out of the air to your hair. Just be sure to use small amounts of glycerine. If you use too much, it can gunk up your hair. :grinhappy:

[curlsgirl]

Just wondering, does the Aussie Tizz no frizz gel have cones? I am on a no-cone regime and was just wondering. I just figured most Aussie products had cones.

[orchid]

I don't think the Tizz no Frizz has cones in it. Here are the ingredients:

Water
Laureth-23
PVP
Guava Fruit Extract
Apple Fruit Extract
Apricot Fruit Extract
Eupjrasia Officinalis Extract
Sage Leaf Extract
Fragrance (it smells like grape!)
Carbomer
Triethanolamine
Benzyl Alcohol
DMDM Hydanton
Polyquaternium-4
Disodium EDTA

It offers a "flexible hold". I don't get crunchies from it and I'd rate it a 7 out of 10 for frizz control. But some of my frizzies may be from my head rubbing on the headrest in my car as I drive to work...

[Gladtobemom]

Wow--Rini,you are the first person who CO's on dry hair like I do. It was my daughter's idea because it reminded her of my deep treatments.

I put gobs of conditioner mixed with red palm oil and honey (usually suave toasted vanilla sugar these days) then I put on a shower hat and do other things for about a half hour.

I put a water filter on my shower which made a huge difference. I get in the shower, add water, lather and massage scalp, rinse well, ACV (2tbs-3cw) rinse.

I usually end with Elucense moisture balance and put it back under my shower cap while I wash the rest of me.

I rinse rinse rinse rinse, Aquis Turbie.

My curls are back!!!
---------------------------
I discovered that using a childs size 7-8 t-shirt works great for plopping.

The shirt neck fits around my hairline and I just lift my hair into it while I'm bent at the waist.

Then I stand up and drop in the stragglers.
Pull it tight and anchor with a big OXO Chip clip (because they're strong).

Gives my fabuous waves and some height on top.