HOW CO-WASHING WILL SAVE YOUR HAIR

EXPERT OPINION: NADINE SEIMS

SALON SOCIETY

1368 ROSE STREET, REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN

I'm Nadine, the owner and one of the Master Hair Artists at Salon Society in Regina, Saskatchewan. I've been on a few hair journeys myself but finding the right products for my hair type was the hardest. I have that baby fine hair, which is easily damaged, and it greases up faster than most people I know. Luckily for me, I found a method that has changed *most* of that.  Today I'm going to share with you my methods of co-washing and hair training so that you too can train your hair to need less shampooing. 

I'm also going to include my tips on the do's and don'ts of hair washing when you have no other choice but wash your hair everyday. Perhaps you are physically active daily, have a job where you get dirty or are one of our frontline workers during the covid-19 pandemic crisis and need to wash your hair daily or sometimes even after every patient.

WHAT IS CO-WASHING:

To put it simply, co-washing is the act of washing your hair with just conditioner, so that you aren't stripping your hair and scalp of its natural oils. Many shampoos* are formulated with sulphates- detergents that clean hair thoroughly, which strip the natural oils from the hair strands and leave them prone to breakage. By skipping shampoo in your co-washing regime your hair will stop overproducing oil and balance out it's oil production over time. 

HOT TIP: Avoid using conditioner at your roots as it can make it look greasy. 
HOT TIP FOR DRY SCALP: Use conditioner at your root every 3rd co-wash.

*All of the shampoos we sell at Salon Society are not formulated with sulphates, and our conditioners are silicone free.

HOW TO NOT WASH YOUR HAIR DAILY:

DAY ONE: Shampoo and condition as per uge (or usual, whatever you're in the mood for). Avoid putting conditioner on your roots, just mids to ends.  I switch it up between KEVIN.MURPHY Plumping Wash & Rinse, and LIVING PROOF Full Shampoo & Conditioner. The jury is still out on which I like best, TBH, I like them both the same. Other great options are: MAXI wash from Kevin Murphy which is designed to deliver a much-needed detox, MAXI.WASH removes the build-up of unwanted products and chemicals from the hair. The gentle detoxifying shampoo helps to purify for a clean, clear and refreshed scalp, and the soothing blend of essential oils brightens the hair while purifying and balancing the scalp. Its deep cleansing action provides a thorough cleanse without stripping the hair of essential oils.

Before you go to bed on day one, spray your roots with your favourite dry shampoo. I HIGHLY recommend either the Perfect hair Day Dry Shampoo from Living Proof, or the Fresh Hair from KEVIN.MURPHY. 

DAY TWO: Wake up and brush your hair, brush all of the dry shampoo "out" of your hair. Over night the dry shampoo would have worked its magic and had time to soak up any oil that was being produced. Style how you want and rock the day!

DAY THREE: Some of us *may* need to apply a little more dry shampoo, otherwise just brush your hair and style as desired. If you are already too oily to bear it, style your hair up  in a slick pony, use a hair scarf as an accessory, or rock a hat! The SASO crew and I get our hats from LACK OF COLOR, they have a small selection at Swank Shoe Lounge in Regina!

DAY FOUR: Repeat day THREE, if your hair will let you...hint we bet you can ;) If not, start at DAY ONE again.

ON YOUR THIRD ROUND OF YOUR HAIR WASHING ROUTINE: It's time to co-wash!!! Except I do my co-wash a little differently. I use the RE.STORE from Kevin Murphy which is a cleansing conditioner. This potent, cleansing and repairing treatment is bursting with the goodness of powerful superfood proteins and fruit enzymes that work to naturally bind moisture to help reconstruct damaged hair. With the help of amino acids, the building blocks of repair, RE.STORE helps to rebuild and restore hair’s elasticity strength and moisture levels. 

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE TO WASH YOUR HAIR DAILY:

Day #1: Shampoo & Condition
Day #2: Re.Store (cleansing balm) in place of Shampoo & Conditioner (this is your co-wash)
Day #3: Shampoo & Condition
Day #4: Shampoo & Condition
Day #5: Re.Store (cleansing balm) in place of Shampoo & Conditioner (this is your co-wash)
Day #6: Shampoo & Masque for at least 5-10 minutes
Repeat.

This regime can be done using ANY shampoo, conditioner, and masque that you have at home. If you aren't sure which ones to use for your hair type please comment below or message us on instagram and we'll curate a custom package just for you!