Cowashing Isn’t for Black Hair

Cowashing, a new trend in hair care, is taking over as an alternative to washing your locks. However, cowashing isn’t for everyone. If you have afro textured hair (curly/kinky, type 3, type 4 hair) read this before you cowash your curls.

As a rule of thumb you should be washing your hair at least once every 7 - 14 days. Cowashing is not the same as washing your hair and it doesn’t replace the deep cleaning that your hair and scalp needs. Co washing only removes light water based products from your hair. However, it isn’t strong enough to remove the heavy oils, butters, moisturizers, and serums that are used on kinky curly hair. It doesn’t remove the dirt, buildup, sweat, products that have been layered on your hair for 7+ days. Not to mention that after co-washing you’ll apply more product over the leftover product which will suffocate your scalp. Over time cowashing causes you pores to be clogged and can lead to scalp issues and hair loss. 

Black afro textured hair is really dry. Cowashing makes your hair look good and feel moisturized, but when you only co-wash your hair never really gets moisturized. In a day or two, your hair feels dry. This is a result of not removing the oils on your hair that are blocking water from penetrating your strands which leads to dryness over time. The more frequently you  wash your hair, the more opportunities you have to remove product buildup so you can properly hydrate it

If you love co-washing try a clay wash like the Dirty Curl Clay instead. It gives you the feel of cowashing because it doesn’t strip your hair of moisture but it also  removes the heavy products as well as dirt from your hair. It’s literally the best of both worlds because you get curl definition, moisture, a gentle clean  and deep conditioned hair in 1 step. 

It might be tempting to cowashing your hair but remember that it was created by women with loose curly/wavy hair that use water based products. Because black kinky curly hair requires heavier products and a larger quantity of product is used co washing is not an effective way to clean hair. Skip the cowash, instead follow a good wash day routine and your curls will thank you.