Swap shampoo for conditioner. The principle touted by the “cowash” would breathe new life into the hair.
Skip the shampoo to find more beautiful hair naturally, it is the promise of “cowash”. If you want to try, nothing could be easier a priori: you replace the shampoo with the conditioner.
Born from the contraction of “conditioner” (conditioner) and “washing” (washing), this gentler and respectful hair washing method puts a treatment, previously used as a detangling or repairing accessory, at the heart of the routine hair beauty. According to its supporters, the creamier texture of the conditioner certainly foams less but it nourishes the hair more without damaging or asphyxiating it under a multitude of aggressive ingredients and irritants for the hair such as silicones (sheath the hair fiber) and sulphates (washing and foaming agents). Curly, curly heads and dry hair will particularly benefit from this “co-wash”.
The concept emerged from the United States. Lorraine Massey, a hairdresser from New York, converted to this technique for decades to maintain her curls has made a book “Curly girl: the handbook” in which she explains the method. The application is simple: apply the conditioner to wet hair lengthwise to the ends and rinse.
If the cowash makes the hair shinier, it does not guarantee optimal washing since the conditioner is not intended to wash but to detangle or nourish for example. The followers therefore suggest to alternate between co-wash and shampoo, which makes it possible to space the latter.
From co-wash to “no poo” and “slow”
The co-wash has given the trend of “low poo”(literally weak shampoo) with care marked “low”. The gentle formulas are suitable for sensitive hair containing few washing agents and very light or even devoid of sulphates, these scouring surfactants for the scalp.
Those in favor of a real return to nature can take the approach further and ban all hair care products from the cosmetic industry.
Some then switch to and “no poo“: This radical zero shampoo trend promotes washing hair with a preparation based on apple cider vinegar and baking soda.
Others will prefer organic treatments or create their own mild natural shampoo recipes enriched with certified organic ingredients or of natural origin. Finally, the most militant fringe can learn about the “slow” routine in reference to the Slow cosmetic, an eco-sustainable vision of beauty, popularized by natural cosmetics expert Julien Kaibeck.
