Hey, curly friends! Welcome back. This is Nina Sultan here. Today I’m doing another basic hair care tutorial on how to co-wash fine, curly hair.
What is co-washing?
Conditioner washing. Instead of using a shampoo, you use a conditioner. It can be done how frequently you need to do it–every other day, weekly, monthly, whatever. As we know, shampoo can be harsh on curly hair. Continuous shampoo usage can really dry out your curls–this is why us naturally curly girls like to co-wash instead.
Co-washing makes your hair feel softer, conditioned, naturally shiny, and defined. However, I will say that you don’t want to overdo it. You can get hydral fatigue from over conditioning your hair. In order to prevent this, I will wash my hair with a sulfate-free shampoo one time, then next time I’ll use a conditioner to cleanse. To get rid of scalp build-up, I recommend clarifying once a month or so as well.
What you need
A moisturizing, cleansing conditioner + styler
I use EO All Natural Conditioner. It has rosemary essential oils and mint which my scalp loves. It is also great for finer hair types.
I take a copious amount into my palms and distribute it evenly from the roots of my hair to the ends. If I need to repeat the process, I will. But 95% of the time, I’m good with just 1 co-washing.
I gently massage my scalp, then rinse it out. I quickly finger detangle and then style as usual.
I still like to scrunch my hair with a t-shirt (“cup and scrunch””>.
Once my t-shirt has absorbed the extra moisture, I love to use SheaMoisture Jamaican Black Castor Oil Leave-In to seal and moisturize. Although I think this leave-in was originally intended for coilier textured hair, but this was the last product on the Walgreens shelf and I actually have fallen in love with it.
I like to use a Custard Styling Gel by Curly Twirls. A little goes a long way, so I apply a little bit from the roots to the ends.
Then I air dry to about 50%, then diffuse for more definition that will last.