Co-washing has been a thing for a while, however, if you’re new to the natural hair world, you may have no idea what this means and if you should be doing it too.
Simply, co-washing is when you use conditioner only to ‘wash’ your hair. The idea behind co-washing is that it’s a gentler way to wash your hair. Some naturalistas shun shampoos, with their sulfates, because it can be too drying on our delicate curly tresses. The friction from lathering a shampoo also causes more tangles in our already fragile hair.
Co-washing had gained popularity over the years and became the sole way some curlies would clean their hair. The problem with co-washing is that it doesn’t clean your hair and scalp and contributes to product build-up which can lead to hair loss. Product buildup occurs when your products don’t get cleaned or rinsed completely from your hair. As products build up on your hair and scalp, hair strands get coated so that moisture no longer can enter your hair. Your scalp doesn’t get cleaned and this can cause a whole host of issues.
At Wonder Curl, we don’t suggest using conditioner only to wash your hair, unless it’s between your shampoos and only when you’re using natural, water-soluble products. Most commercial products have ingredients like silicones that don’t rinse from the hair with water. Natural ingredients tend to wash away from the hair more easily. Even then, you want something stronger than just conditioner to remove any dirt and pollutants from your hair and scalp.
We formulated the Detoxifying Clay Cleanser to take the place of your shampoo and eliminate the need for doing co-washes. The Detoxifying Clay Cleanser is a gentle, and effective cleanser that uses kaolin clay to pull away impurities from your hair and scalp.
Kaolin clay has many benefits to the hair and scalp. It works as a gentle exfoliator without drying your hair or scalp the way bentonite clay can cause dryness. It boosts circulation in the scalp and helps to strengthen the roots. Kaolin clay can also help to combat breakage in the hair. When you combine the benefits of kaolin clay with conditioners, you have an amazing cleanser for your hair and scalp that doesn’t strip your hair of its natural oils, which is the main reason curlies go for co-washing vs shampooing.
How do you co-wash?
As mentioned above, co-washing involves using only conditioner for your hair. Since our Detoxifying Clay Cleanser takes the place of co-washing, you would use the Detoxifying Clay Cleanser the same way as you would apply your conditioner.
You want to make sure your hair is wet, this works best in the shower. Section your hair and apply the Detoxifying Clay Cleanser to each section. You can leave it sitting on your hair for 5 – 10 minutes. This helps your hair to absorb the conditioners and your tangles will start to loosen.
To detangle your hair with the Detoxifying Clay Cleanser, you’ll need either a comb or detangling brush. Take your first section; start detangling with the comb or brush at the ends of your hair, once you can get through the ends without tangles, then move your way up the section of your hair until your hair is completely tangle free and you can run your comb/brush through your hair. Repeat steps through each section.
