Could your dry natural hair be the result of misinformation from the natural hair community? Misuse of natural hair products could be the reason you’re experiencing excessively dry hair.
I have been an admirer of Afrobella has a natural hair diva and blogger. We both feel the same about the misinformation circulating within the Natural Hair Community. She recently published a post, 5 Hair Blogger Falsehoods, Debunking by a Professional Cosmetologist with expert advice from Camille Reed.
One myth in particular that I would like to address is co-washing. Camille E. Reed, the creator of Noire Design Concepts salon in Silver Spring, MD shades light on co-washing. Read below.
[ad#banner]
Co-washing:
This is where bloggers and vloggers are instructing readers and subscribers to forgo using shampoo and “wash” their hair with conditioner [only].
The problem with this method is that it promotes the misuse of product. Within Cosmetic chemistry, certain products have certain roles. The shampoo, with either its surfactants or saponins, opens up the hair cuticle in an alkaline state to release dust, dirt, lipids (fats) and other products from the strand. The cleaners are molecularly attracted to these items and adhere. Water comes in as a solvent and removes both the shampoo and residue. Conditioners come in at an acidic state to relax the cuticle and bring pH balance back to the skin. Commercial conditioners (the ones people are using for these co-washes) contain an additional number of mild chemical sealants to add a bit more protection to the hair strand. It is designed to mimic the natural fat that comes from our scalp, called Sebum (also slightly acidic).
Misuse of conditioner leaves several layers of film on the strands that, after a few months, will start to retard the cuticle from opening properly to allow the strand to swell with water. The result is a low-porosity strand that becomes increasingly fragile and starts to break.
What you are saying is right on point. This is what happened to my hair. Yes shampoo cleans your hair and cleaning is an important step in the moisturizing process. How can a product work on filmy dirty hair? It might seem more moisturizing initially to co-wash or spritz but in the long run when you factor build up and build up removal you are much better off cleaning your hair and applying one product ONCE. Then water spritz until a wash is needed.
As long as your cleanser does not strip natural oils and you caan skip a few days of washing, you are good. Every few days is good and normal for healthy scalp.
Thanks for sharing! I tried the cowashing method a couple of summer’s ago. At first my hair thrived, and then it kinda suffered a bit. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong…until now lol!