CG Method Series: Co-washing

Since I stated before that the CG method usually doesn't involve shampoo, how do people wash their hair?

The lot of people who use the CG method conditioner wash, referred to by many as “co-washing”. Conditioner has much gentler surfactants, which cleanse your hair and scalp without stripping it like sulfates do. To anyone whose saying, “ewww, I can’t not wash my hair, that’s gross!” It’s really not gross. My hair actually feels cleaner and smells better than it did when I was washing my hair with shampoo. I was paranoid about it at first and had my mom constantly smell my hair. Never had a problem. And my hair gets less greasy even after 3 or 4 days of not co-washing it than it did after a day or 2 of not washing with shampoo. These days, I go about 2 days between co-washes in the summer and about 3 days between co-washes in the winter. And my hair has never looked better. 

For co-washing, a conditioner that is silicone-free needs to be used. There are a few options at the drug store for this. I co-wash with Suave Naturals Coconut conditioner. It’s cheap, easy to find, and it smells delicious. I probably will stay with this for a long time for those reasons. I use this the most and can’t imagine paying any more for something that I am rinsing out. This shampoo is very liquid-y in contrast to a lot of the rinse out conditioners that I use, which I will get to later, which make it easier to wash with. Like I said before, I use a lot of this. I use about a half dollar size dollop on each section of my hair (one on the front, each side, the nape of the neck, and the crown area). So that is a lot of conditioner. I put it on towards the roots and then scrub my scalp with my fingertips for about two minutes to make sure I get all the dirt and oil. Then rinse. It's as easy as washing with shampoo. 

Next in the series: Rinse Out Conditioner

CG Method Series: Introduction

First, before we get into it, here's some background on my hair.

I have had a love/hate relationship with my curls for the majority of my life. I have 3a/3b curls, with some 2c mixed in. For a little image about what that means, check this out. My mom (also naturally curly) brushed it into submission in grade school, creating a frizzy triangle shaped mess which I usually wore in a pony tail.  I was teased about it in middle school, because it was short and ridiculous. And middle school is miserable anyway. I didn’t know what to do about it in high school. I almost bought a 200 dollar straightener, but decided it wasn’t worth it in the end. I thought I had it under control in college but I still had more bad hair days than good. Then, shortly after college graduation, I discovered the curly girl (CG) method. 

The curly girl method is explained in full in this book and all over naturallycurly.com, but in short, it’s a method where you do not use sulfates, silicones, parabens, etc. Sulfates wreak havoc on hair. It strips the hair of all of its natural moisture. Silicones, parabens, etc. are a way to make your hair look better, but the problem is that they can only be washed out with sulfates. So it’s a never ending cycle. Therefore, people using the CG method don’t use any of it. And their hair thanks them by looking gorgeous.

Most people modify the CG method to fit their needs and don't adhere to the book exactly. Naturallycurly.com has forums full of different people with different methods. You have to experiment to find what's right for you. 

Coming up next in the series: Co-washing.