WHY I NO LONGER CO-WASH OR DEEP CONDITION MY NATURAL HAIR | My natural hair journey | AbbieCurls 

I stopped deep conditioning a long time ago when I saw that my hair was just as moisturized with a leave-in.

Agreed. I actually went to a professional natural stylist and she told me the same thing. No deep conditioning every week and she asked me why I felt the need to. That was the best stylist I ever went to. She does all hair types and had proven to help all types grow. Amazing!

Definitely team shampoo. I co-wash if I want to like re style in the middle of the week or something like that. My hair loves deep conditioning but I also figured out it wasn't necessary every wash day, but that my hair does need it

My hair hates co washing as well!!! It makes my hair sooo dry and limp, but I love me a deep conditioning session lol I enjoyed the sit and chat video💕💕

"Deep conditioners played me!" 😂😂😂 I'm a new natural & do deep condition weekly. But now you have me thinking. I'm going to start experimenting & see what happens. I never cowashed, because I didn't understand how not washing would benefit my hair. I love, love your videos. You give great info & are so freaking funny! 👏🏽👏🏽

Everyone's hair is different, you just have to do what works best for your hair. Deep conditioning and Cowashing actually help others. I personally shampoo, cowash(2nd cleanse that's less stripping), deep condition then style and my hair has been flourishing.

Sounds like a rational schedule similar to what I remember from the days of going to hair salons. Deep condish with heat once every 4 to 6 weeks. If I did something to damage or neglect my hair, deep condition once a week for 4 weeks in a row then back to the schedule. And you can't deep condition soiled, coated hair. So yes to shampoo. Your hair looks amazing here and is very dark and moist looking.

Girl I’m totally agree with you! I never cowash my hair and when I stopped deep condition weekly , my hair went into high change

agreed! No deep conditioning every week. I don't co wash but yes i so agree with cutting deep conditioning down. I experimented after you posted this and noticed a complete difference. Thank you!!

This is such a great video…I look at all of the products I have and those I used to use and it’s just too much. I think that our hair does speak to us but with so much advice out there I’ve taught myself to Ignore what my hair says and go try another product. My stash has been condensed now and I’m reconnecting with my hair’s voice. Your hair looks amazing and reminds me of how mine looked about 2 years post Big-Chop. Thanks for covering this🌹

Yeah I only deep conditioned and co washed because my fav hair influencers did it but once I stopped co washing I I realize hair looked/felt so much better 😭💯

I also never cowash and I haven’t DC’d in the loongeeessst time (at least not properly)! It has done me zero harm and has helped lessen the confusion of having over moisturised, limp hair etc

I stopped co washing my low porosity hair, 2 years ago, and my hair has flourished.

For me personnally i'll rather DC then do a one product braidout/twistout/wash & go than skip conditionner and coat with multiple moisturizing products for the styling. There are multiple DCs that have a nice moisture/protein balance and light protein DCs, you can just alternate them and make sure you're not over saturating your hair. But then again I have 4c hair so your hair prolly needs less moisture like mine

I enjoyed your video. It’s nice to see other women realizing that the hair will tell you what’s needed instead of over conditioning with moisture and or protein. Deep treatments never touched my hair until I put a relaxer in it at 18 years of age, and I never deep conditioned every wash day, only regular conditioner. Also back then I use to cowash in between shampoo day to rinse out sweat from exercising. Decades ago when I went natural I barely deep conditioned my hair because it wasn’t necessary with hair that’s free from chemicals. This last time when I returned to my natural hair in 2015 I fell for some of the methods on RU-vid as well and became a product junkie. After some effects from some of the methods I had to think back to how I’ve always taken care of my hair before RU-vid existed and immediately stopped the madness. Also I’ve always followed the instructions on the products that use. It isn’t necessary to sleep with conditioner on the hair overnight, etc. Then they wonder why their hair is doing crazy things. I see a lot of RU-vidrs having problems that I never experienced or heard of back in the day. People need to really be careful who they take advice from on RU-vid. 🙏🏾❤️

I'm new to the natural hair.Just shampoo & conditions my hair.Love your videos & advice.Thanks.

Really helpful video. I too tried co washing for my daughters hair and I hated it. This video has reassured me I’ve done the right thing!

Amén to all you said Abbie! I’ve been natural nearly 12 years now, and my hair didn’t like deep conditioners from the get go. So I thought it just HAD to be me and persisted with it because as you said we were constantly told you NEED to be DC’ing every week. Although they felt lovely on application and with the heat, when rinsed out I was like 🤔🧐🤨.... Anyway I’ve come to the conclusion it’s because my hair is very low porosity and doesn’t like any sort of build up. If you think about it logically, all these DC’s contain oils and butters and are quite thick, and even when rinsed out the residue is still there. So for me personally trying to apply anything afterwards is a no no coz there ain’t much space for it to go, hence the dryness. So now I just shampoo, and use a nice combo of herbal teas as my ‘conditioner’, and then apply my products with heat after it’s rinsed out. Hair is shiny (it NEVER was after rinsing out a Dc 😐), and my coils are poppin and SOFT 😊. Our hair definitely does speak to us. It. might be an idea to pre-poo with a D😅 I’ve tried before. It’s not cheap (£14.99), but I’d definitely recommend it. Btw your hair looks wonderful in this vid. Is it a wash and go?

Whew I couldn’t live without deep conditioning 😩😂 I try to do a balance between protein deep conditioners and moisture deep conditioners so it won’t get moisture overload I’m glad I didn’t fall into the co Wash hype I feel the way you feel about it

I can agree with you.. i also wash my hair once a week and i do a cowash in between, when necessary. I never understood why co wash your hair for soo long wouldn't the hair get moldy and start smelling.. because one the scalp is dirty, two the conditioner is a moisturizer and it sits there to moisturize so your hair never really dries.. and even tho it does.. it still has an eeky feeling😅. I did that and just the feeling alone just made me feel weird.. however i decided to do things my own way. I do deep condition every week😅🤧😪.. i should stop that..😢 and see if my curls would last longer than a week... thanks for enlighting us❤.

I shampoo weekly or biweekly depending on how it feels or how much product had have previously used. No cowashing, BUT, I will do a med/hot water wash mid-week or bi-weekly between sessions when/if needed. I use water soluable products so this has been working really good. My conditioner is either a DIY Amla & Avocado oil mask, the Not My Mother's Moonstruck conditioner 💖💖💖 or the briogeo don't despair conditioner (not a repurchase). Shampoo staple is the Trader Joe's Nourish Spa or Rhassoul clay. Took 8 yrs, but I finally got it 😁😀😂💡

I wash my hair every 4 to 6 weeks ( I get twist then wear a twist out). I wash my hair; rinse and use a leave in conditioner. I have not deep conditioned in 7 months! My stylist said I was taking great care of my hair. I did not need to do a deep conditioning. Too much deep conditioning can weaken your hair and cause breakage per my stylist (at least my hair). Too much protein is bad for your hair. I will deep condition my hair when my stylist tells me I need it. Do not be afraid to go to a professional and have them look at your hair. I probably see my stylist 2-3 times a year. It worth it to me to make sure I’m on track with my hair care.❤❤

When I started shampooing my hair every wash with no pre pooing and actually washing the length of my hair instead of just letting shampoo run down(and lathering twice), I saw a huge difference in my hair. I usually use a fairly moisturizing shampoo like keracare hydrating shampoo. My hair instantly became much easier to manage and appeared shiny and darker in color. My hair before throughly shampooing was very picky, probably only 15% of the products I tried worked on my hair but now, my success rate with products is more like 80-90%. I deep condition after every wash because I love the results, but I don’t step out of the shower to do it. I apply it, detangle and rinse it out and don’t do the whole cap and heat thing and haven’t in years.

Thanks Abbie, I had to cut down on the co-washes too, i rocks with the As I Am co-wash 🤘.. You’ve got me wondering about the deep conditioners though….I’ll have to listen to my hair more closely 🤔

I’m with you on the hair types… 🗑

I wish I could do that but my hair is colored meeh 😫 I shampoo weekly but I use natural or ecofriendly shampoo for my sensitive/dry scalp. Just started cowashing to help maintain my colour and get my curls to bounce a bit more (elasticity), my hair is moisturized as well. For my mum hmmm! She has greys hairs young appearance but has frizzy hair and shampoo isn't helping, she doesn't have scalp issues. So she kinda needs a cowash for her hair but not scalp to help reduce frizz. Deep Conditioning for me is only when my hair feels really dry due to my colour and I use conditioner more then deep conditioner. Also, I have to use specific conditioner that have tea tree or protein. I always listen to my hair, I just watch natural hair videos because it's beautiful to see someone looking like me now that we have people tired of their natural hair. I must say Team shampoo and Deep conditioner, can't say cowash yet because I started yesterday.

I stopped co washing on a whim. Within 2.weeks my hair looked and felt soooo much better

I started shampooing my hair more often a while ago and noticed a difference with doing that. Still co-wash tho when I need a refresh. My hair is soooooo dry these days so I don’t think I’ll be shampooing every wash day lol but maybe once I get it back to a healthy state it’s something I could consider

I do not co wash. It’s just irrelevant doesn’t do anything for me. I do deep condition because I have low porosity hair and my hair is actually naturally dry. but I support these findings!

I shampoo once a week and co wash in between and it works for me

what shampoos and rinse out conditioners do you use?

What eyeliner do you use?

What type of porosity are you?

You resemble the singer Samantha j

You just have to listen to your hair and give it what it needs. I can’t use commercial shampoos, but I cleanse my hair with clays and herbs. And my “deep” conditioning happens with Ayurvedic herbs.