April 28, 2013

Co-Washing & Steaming Without A Steamer...

I know I must have raised your eyebrows by this blog post title and you must be wondering why am I co-washing, when I tend to get sick after air drying my damp hair with cool breeze. Well, even though my last wash day was smooth with no issues @ 11 weeks post, I found my hair to be dry, days after, even though I moisturized and sealed very well. Now how do I fix this? I’m in need of a moisture boost so since I’m off from work (Thursday) I decided to throw in a quick co-wash session.

I don’t normally do concoctions for conditioning my hair, but for some reason I had a thought to whip up something for my co-washing session, perhaps it was the conversation I had with one of my friends telling me to experiment and who knows what would happen.

I parted my hair into four sections (2 front & 2 back) and detangled carefully.  Here is what my conditioner mixture consisted of which was mainly moisture: [1] HE Long Hair Relationship Conditioner [2] HE Tousle Me Softly Conditioner, couple drops of CON Intensive Conditioning treatment, couple drops of Roux Correction Conditioner, Jamaican Black Castor Oil, Grapeseed Oil and 3 drops of peppermint oil (the fragrances from the conditioners were alil strong so I toned it down with peppermint oil).

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From the title is that even possible, well Age over at (Loving My Hairtalked about steaming
without a steamer a couple weeks ago showing us 2 options and I was intrigued.  I have to admit that I have my eye on a steamer but I’m not ready to purchase one yet even though the benefits are phenomenal.  I followed her instruction for method 1 except I added in [1more step.

Method #1
What you'll need:

[1]      A hooded dryer or heating cap
[2]     Twisty turbies (you can get one from the dollar store)/ hand towel
[3]      About 4 Plastic Caps or Saran Wrap
[4]     Your Deep Conditioner of choice
[5]     Hair Clips (I didn't use)
[6]     Kitchen gloves (optional - I didn't use)

First I applied my conditioner mix to my dry hair, then covered it with plastic wrap [I included this step because I normally do this when I condition my hair], placed a plastic cap over that. I dipped a hand towel in water [not soaking wet] and placed it in the microwave for 2 mins, then wrapped it around the plastic cap. I placed another plastic cap over the hand towel and sat under my heat cap for 2 hours.

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As I rinsed out the conditioner, my hair felt so silky and moisturized, I'm definitely a happy camper now Excited Happy Shout For Joy Smiley Smilie Emoticon Emoticons Animated Animation Animations Gif photo thexcited3.gif I covered my hair with a t-shirt to absorb the excess water for 30 mins then, I applied another concoction of water, conditioner & oil [look out for it in my next post] as my leave in's and air dried.

Here are the results:

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I didn't need to moisturize and seal right away as my hair felt really soft and great. Will I try this steaming method again? Umm yes, it has been very effective for my hair but my eyes are still on a steamer in the near future. Thanks Age for this helpful tip.

Has anyone tried this method before or are you willing to try this method?

Be Inspired...





14 comments:

  1. I am SO glad you decided to give it a try and that you got great results! Your hair looks so smooth and shiny. The more you do it, the more your hair will love you for it! Great post and great results!

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  2. Even though I have a steamer I have been wanting to try this DIY version. Sometimes I just dont feel like getting my steamer out and setting it up (just being lazy). I think I may try this on my next wash using my heating cap. Glad that you got such great results. Your hair does look very smooth and shiny.

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    1. You MUST try it Andrea! You won't be disappointed!

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    2. Thanks Andrea, Looking forward to your thoughts on it

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  3. Definitely will try this ASAP!!

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    1. Nice! Let me know how you like it.

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    2. tried it last night (wash day) for my DC, though i forgot the Saran wrap OOPS. pretty nice results though. will def do the steps correctly when I cowash on Thursday!

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  4. I am definitely trying this out!

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    1. Would love to hear your thoughts when you do.

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  5. I am glad that you had a good steaming experience. I see that you mentioned that you use long term relatiionship. Do you use that on a regular basis? If so that would be the reason that you are not getting that moisturized feeling after your co washing as it is nore of a strengthening conditioner. i use it for co washing and follow up with hello hydration as that is their flagship hydrating conditioner. also i soak my turban in water and wrap it and get under my dryer for about 30 minutes and it works great.

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    1. I haven't co-washed since last October and only did one since I was off from work. In the past I used HE longterm relationship conditioner as well as VO5 moisture milks conditioners for co-washiing. Also I DC first then these were used after and I didn't experience any dryness.

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  6. this is a creative method, thanks for sharing. i haven't tried it; i will just use my electric heat cap with a shower cap.

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  7. I hope you try it and let me know how it went....

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