Co-washing... your hair will thank you

Yet another fun, new term from the beauty industry. The hair cleaning gods have finally figured out that daily shampooing and shampoos in general are *gasp! bad for your hair. If you have greasy hair, you're actually making your hair greasier because when you wash out all those natural oils on a daily basis, you're triggering your body to produce more. If your hair is naturally dry, you're drying it out even more. While I can't personally stop washing my hair (some have! brave souls...), I have gotten it down to shampooing twice a week. 

Introducing co-washing! It's a simple concept. Instead of washing your hair with shampoo (soap), you wash with a moisturizing, soap-free product. It's like conditioner, but it doesn't have all the silicons in it that make your hair soft, but also cause build-up if you apply it to your scalp. Another thing about co-washing is that it's free from sulfates, which creates those lovely suds in shampoo, but also contribute to drying and stripping your hair. 

While you could just skip the shampoo and use conditioner instead, I do not recommend that. First, because conditioners are made to be applied to the middle and end of your hair, not the roots. Conditioners are full of silicons, which seal and fill whatever they're applied to. Now, your hair strand is dead, so it's ok to seal those, so as to prevent split ends, etc. However, your scalp is your skin, and if you applying a sealing agent to it and never exfoliate, you're going to create a lot of build up over time, dandruff, and itchiness. So don't use conditioner on your scalp. Instead, find a silicon and sulfate free co-washing product.

I recently tried one from Amazon that I'm obsessed with. MopTop Cowash Cleansing Conditioner, $11.00. This stuff!!! If you're at all into natural products, or if you want to take better care of your hair, or if you're interested in trying co-washing, this is ah-mazing! And it smells lovely if you like citrus/grapefruit smells.

Here are the ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Glycerin (Vegetable), Cetyl Alcohol (Cocoanut), Stearyl Alcohol (Cocoanut), Cetrimonium Chloride, Olea (Olive) Oil, Behentrimonium Chloride, Glycereth-26, Hypnea Musciformis (Red Alga) Extract, Gelidiela Acerosa (Red Seaweed) Extract, Sargassum Filipendula (Brown Alga) Extract, Sorbitol, Hydroxypropyltrimonium Honey, Silk Amino Acids, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile) Flower Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, Butyro-spermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Panthenol, Essential Oils (Lemon, Lime, Orange & Grapefruit), Hydroxyethylcellulose, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid.

I use it once a week for one of my two weekly shampoos. You just rub it into your scalp like a normal shampoo, only there are no bubbles. Then you work it through your hair strands. Leave it in for a bit and then rinse. If you want to use conditioner on the ends of your hair to detangle or for extra moisture (I have to), you'd do that next and rinse as usual. My hair feels so soft and smooth after!