WO and oiling/hair masks

[ak]

Since I am trying to reduce my shed, WO seems like an enticing option. However, I also do not want to give up oiling or my hair packs [1-2 times a week]. I was thinking that maybe I could reduce the amount of oil I apply - just a few drops a day, and maybe apply the packs twice a week and just rinse them out? Do you guys think this is a good idea?

[trolleypup]

Originally Posted by ak

Since I am trying to reduce my shed, WO seems like an enticing option. However, I also do not want to give up oiling or my hair packs [1-2 times a week]. I was thinking that maybe I could reduce the amount of oil I apply - just a few drops a day, and maybe apply the packs twice a week and just rinse them out? Do you guys think this is a good idea?

There is no reason to go pure WO, if another routine works well for you. When you change your routine, it is good to only change one thing at a time, and allow plenty of time for your hair to adjust to each change.

[gunjee]

I agree with trolleypup. It's better to do things gradually. I'm not at the WO stage yet, but when I first joined LHC, I stopped shampooing and conditioning every day and started CO washing every day and only shampooed when I had a heavy oiling session the night before. Then I started CO'ing every other day and used just an aloe and water spritzer in between. Now I'm CO'ing once a week and using the aloe and water spritzer every day in between. The spritzer has a tablespoon of oil in it, so I don't usually need to put more oil on, but sometimes I do rub a little bit of coconut oil in my damp hair to prevent frizzies and then I may not need the spritzer. So I'm WO 6 days a week now and I'm still oiling and that works for my hair. You should do what works for yours too!

[SpecialKitty]

I've had great success with WO reducing my shed rate. I'm on my second week of WO (after much preparation with stretching out my wash dates and using CO). I'm only washing with water once a week, and not using anything else. My shedding is down to about 10-20 hairs a day! I have very dry ends, and my natural sebum seems to be doing a good job of moisturizing my ends. The trick is to finger comb, comb, and/or brush gently a few times a day to move the sebum down the length. I am really loving WO, but in my research (primarily the WO thread) it doesn't work great with other things like henna, oilings, etc.

[AngelinaDiva2004]

I'm on Day 35 of my first attempt at WO, and I have oiled a couple of times with good results. Other than that I've been doing pure WO. It's totally regulated my oil production (I was previously extremely oily for all of my life). I don't know about your hair masks though, but I can say that an occasional oiling (though you may not need it!) shouldn't hurt as long as you limit it to below-the-ears only.

[SpecialKitty]

Great news, AngelinaDiva! 35 days on WO - way to go

[AngelinaDiva2004]

Thanks!