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If you have ever wondered, ‘Can I use Conditioner Without Shampoo To Wash My Hair?’, then let me tell you you are not alone. It is a query that lands in my inbox quite often. And Let me start by stating that conditioner washing is a good thing, especially if you have dry and fragile hair that lacks moisture.

Today I will try my best to explain what is co-washing or conditioner washing, does it work for all hair types with all its benefits and side effects in complete detail.

Let us begin the discussion.

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Can I Use Conditioner Without Shampoo To Wash My Hair?

Yes, you can use conditioner without shampoo to wash your hair. It is in fact a very common practice that a lot of hair care enthusiasts have incorporated in their hair care routine for dry hair and swear by the noticeable visible results.

What is Co-Washing Or Conditioner Washing?

The process of washing your hair with conditioner without shampoo is basically called conditioner washing or co-washing. It is the same procedure more or less but instead of applying your favorite shampoo you skip that step and go straight to a good conditioner, apply it on your wet hair and scalp, massage it for a minute, gently scrub your scalp using your fingertips and rinse your hair with water.

You can then follow up with your favorite hair rinse, or other hair products for for dry hair or your regular hair care routine.

Why Do People Conditioner Wash?

A lot of shampoos these days have harsh chemicals or strong clarifying agents like SLS and SLES which lead to more hair dryness, dry scalp, irritation of the scalp, split ends, and hair breakage.

But when you do opt for using conditioner without shampoo to wash your hair, your hair and scalp don’t have to deal with those nasty harsh chemicals and the conditioner does the job of cleaning your hair and scalp and it does it much more gently.

That is why people with extremely dull hair, dry hair, damaged hair, over-processed hair, or over-bleached hair, opt for co-washing. I personally love the effects of co-wash on my dry and long Indian hair.

How To Co-Wash Your Hair? (With Step By Step Instructions)

Ditching your shampoo may seem unnatural, especially if you have been using it together with your conditioner. However, this is the right strategy if your hair is dry. Here are the steps you should follow when co-washing your hair:

Pick The Right Conditioner: Start by picking up your favorite conditioner depending on your hair types and needs. For more details check the buying guide below to pick your best conditioner for co-washing.
Part Your Hair In Sections: After picking your favorite conditioner for co-washing, start by gently parting and detangling your hair. This will allow the conditioner to better cleanse each and every strand and you won’t notice any hair breakage.
Wet You Hair: For your conditioner to work as a shampoo and clean your hair strands effectively instead of applying conditioner directly to your hair strands, its a better idea to wet your hair first. It helps the conditioner lather better and effectively clean your hair in one go.
Massage And Rinse: Now after you have applied your conditioner well on your hair, massage it gently so that it thoroughly cleanses your hair and scalp. Make sure you use your fingertips and not your nails for this. After a minute, rinse the conditioner preferably with cold or room temperature water. It is best to keep your wide tooth comb with you to help you detangle in the shower itself.
Follow Up With Rest Of Regime: After you rinse off the conditioner, you can proceed with the rest of your hair care regime as you always do. You can follow up with the hair rinse, hair serum or curl activator or your volumizing mousse and hair spray or you can go straight to diffusing your curly hair. Whatever you have next step on your personalized hair care regime as per your hair type, continue with that.

Benefits Of Using Conditioner Without Shampoo

There are a lot of benefits of using conditioner without shampoo and the best of them are:

Moisturizing Extremely Dry Hair

If you have extremely dry hair or over-processed hair that appears fried, frizzy, and unhealthy, then washing your hair with conditioner without shampoo helps nourish your dry manes.

Brightens Dull Hair

For people with dull hair that appear lifeless, co-washing helps to add an extra boost of lacking nourishment in your dry and fragile hair and you will notice how beautifully it brightens your dull hair.

Doesn’t Dry Out Scalp

We all deal with dry and itchy scalp at some point and co-washing helps to nourish your dry scalp and provide a soothing feeling.

Improves Hair Health

Co-washing helps build a protective layer on your hair shaft and helps the production of sebum and natural oils on your scalp which improves your hair health and promotes faster hair growth.

Makes Hair Manageable And Frizz-Free

When you use conditioner without shampoo to wash your hair, it helps your hair absorb more moisture and your hair does go through the dry chelating agents in your shampoo. This in turn helps your hair stay hydrated, frizz-free, and manageable for a long time.

Prevents Split ends

Our hair ends usually go through a lot of wear and tear on a daily basis, especially our hair ends. This in turn results in split ends. If you are someone who is dealing with split ends on a regular basis then co-washing is a great step to incorporate in your hair care regime.

Minimizes Hair Breakage

When you ditch your shampoo and opt for co-washing, it hydrates your hair and creates a layer of protection around your hair shafts which in turn minimizes hair breakage and promotes healthier hair.

Defines Your Curls Better

If you are someone whose curls don’t stay intact for a longer duration, then try using conditioner without shampoo for some time. It will hydrate your hair and improve your hair’s ability to hold curls better.

Improves Hair Elasticity

Hair elasticity is one the most important aspects of healthy hair. It’s the ability of your hair to which you can stretch it. Co-washing helps improve hair elasticity and in turn, rewards you with healthier hair.

Minimize Hair Tangles

Dry hair often tangles a lot. So if you are someone whose hair tangles a lot, then switch to co-washing and you will definitely notice a huge difference especially if you have damaged brillo pad hair that tangles easily.

Side Effects Of Using Conditioner Without Shampoo

Like every silver cloud has its dark lining, using conditioner without shampoo to wash your hair comes with some cons too. The biggest of them are:

Product Build-up

When you ditch your shampoo and opt for conditioner only for hair washing then it leads to a layer of product build-up as conditioner doesn’t really effectively clean your scalp, its natural sebum, and your hair as effectively as your shampoo can. Plus, if you opt for a hair conditioner with silicones or mineral oils, or parabens it might add to your product build-up problems.

To know more about how different hair products work on your hair, you can check out this interesting guide.

May Cause Scalp Irritation

A lot of hair conditioners have added fragrance to make your hair smell good. These fragrances may cause scalp irritation especially if you have a sensitive scalp or any scalp condition like dermatitis it can trigger it.

Makes Hair Greasy Fast

Conditioner without shampoo cannot clean the sebum as effectively as your result shampoo can. This in turn leads to over sebum leading to greasy hair.

Weighs Down Hair In Some Cases

When you use conditioner without shampoo to wash your hair, it adds more moisture to your hair which in some cases weighs down your hair very badly.

Transitioning Takes Time For Your Hair And Scalp To Adjust

When you switch to conditioner without shampoo, it takes a while for your scalp to adjust and produce natural oils accordingly. So for a couple of washes, you might notice excessive greasiness with weighed-down hair that might lack volume but soon your scalp would minimize the production of your natural oils and these problems will subside.

Not Ideal For People With Straight Hair, Oily Hair Or Limp Hair

Using conditioner without shampoo to wash your hair is not recommended for all hair types especially if you belong to an oily hair family or straight hair family or if you have thin and limp hair. This is because it might lead to stealing your natural volume and make your hair appear extremely greasy.

How To Pick The Best Conditioners For Co-Washing?

Choose According To Your Hair Type: Opt for conditioners meant specially for co-wash depending on your hair type. This is the key that will make how effectively the co-washing works for you in the long run. The thicker formula on thin hair might lead to excessively weighed-down hair whereas over light formula with a lot of protein-based ingredients might lead to protein overload.
Look For Ingredients: Opt for a conditioner with nourishing ingredients as well as exfoliating ingredients like green tea, fenugreek, rosemary essential oil, and others.
Don’t Go For Conditioner With These Ingredients: Don’t pick conditioners with higher protein content especially look for keratin, amino acids, and any protein-based ingredients as it might lead to protein overload. Another thing to keep in mind is don’t opt for heavier conditioners with higher natural oils as it might lead to your hair getting greasy fast.
Make Sure You Pick Silicone-Free Conditioners: Silicones leave a layer of plastic coating on your hair strands and scalp this in turn leads to product build-up.
Ditch Conditioners With Added Fragrance: I know we all like our hair to smell as good as possible. But the added fragrance in your conditioners may irritate your scalp by disrupting your scalp’s natural ph.