CWC For The Hair Win

CWC For The Hair Win

Over the past 20 years I've been a big fan of Conditioner Only (CO) wet washing my hip length long hair.

What I discovered after using CO was that I needed CWC for the hair win as an alternative wet cleansing method.

CWC, in the long hair and textured hair communities stands for Condition - Wash - Condition and more often than not is performed in the shower.

It's also possible to do CWC in the sink or the tub, but it works most efficiently in the shower.

The result for me?  CWC leaves my hair silky, soft, shiny and smooth.  It's a wonderful alternative to Conditioner Only (CO) wet washing.

Purpose Of CWC Wet Washing

The goal of CWC is to protect hair from the potentially destructive damage which may occur from applying shampoo to the hair.

Depending upon your budget, hair type, texture and current needs, you may wish to use inexpensive conditioners since they are mostly rinsed away during the CWC process.

CWC replaces the traditional shampoo and conditioner treatments many use on their hair.  It's also known as S/C in the long hair and naturally textured communities.

Suggested CWC Techniques

To prevent hair from becoming overly conditioned, consider the following suggestions:

1.  Get detangled hair as wet as possible with lukewarm water.

2. Apply a light rinse out conditioner for the first treatment.

3.  Rinse conditioner completely from the hair.

4.  Apply a diluted shampoo (DS) to the roots and allow the suds to flow down including the full length (FL) of the strands.

5.  Pat the suds into the hair.

6.  Rinse well to remove the suds.

7.  Apply a rinse out or leave-in conditioner from the top of the ears down to the ends.

8.  Separate hair into 2" sections.

9.  Detangle hair slowly from the ends up to the roots using fingers and/or a wide tooth comb.

10. Rinse conditioner from the hair.

11. Finish with a cool/cold rinse.

12.  Towel blot to remove excess water.

13.  Apply a leave-in conditioner as part of a styling cocktail. This is known as WCC  (Wash, Condition, Condition)

14.  Allow hair to air dry, when possible, to enhance the benefit of all the conditioners.

To achieve the best results many focus on using products without SLS.

CWC Options

Optionally you can incorporate the following CWC steps:

1.  You can pre-treat detangled hair with oil before performing a CWC washing.  Jojoba, olive coconut oil protects the length from shampoo damage.  This is known as O-CWC for oiled, CWC.

2.  If you decide to pre-oil before wet washing you may or may not feel the need to follow the complete CWC regime.

3.  If you tend to have an oily scalp, you can apply undiluted shampoo to the scalp only.  You can shampoo the scalp while the conditioner is still applied to the hair or after.

4.  After towel blotting and applying a styling cocktail, you can allow hair to air dry completely before applying a light oil or leave-in conditioner to the ends to seal.

Alternating Between CWC & CO