Co-Washing versus Sulphate-Free Shampoo

I haven't found a sulfate fee shampoo that my hair likes. I still get frizz and poof, which i don't get with just conditioner. Plus the sulfate free shampoos are generally much more expensive than the cheap conditioners i use to wash with.

Gotcha, thanks Wicked Pixie 🙂

The Palmers is really quite cheap, and my hair must like it because it feels mega-sleek after I use it.  And actually the L'Oreal stuff is over double the price and tbh doesn't really work through my hair too well anyway!

Is there really a huge difference between co-washing and using a sulphate-free shampoo?  To be honest, my hair seems to 'feel' the same with both, but so many people swear by co-washing only, I was just wondering what you would describe the difference to be.

I've been using either the L'Oreal Everpure Shampoo or Palmers Coconut Oil Shampoo when I wash, and my hair actually feels brilliant, especially after the Palmers one.  About every other wash, I use conditioner only, but there doesn't seem to be a huge difference using either one.

If you're an avid co-washer, why do you recommend it over gentle, sulphate-free shampooing?

I tried CoWashing for a bit but it didn't work. The ingredients in most of the conditioners had a tendency to build up and no amount of rinsing would help. I prefer to pre-shampoo my hair with coconut oil for protein retention, then use a gentle shampoo and a hydrating/smoothing conditioner. Afterwards I always use a leave-in natural oil of some sort on wet hair (only a tiny bit) and that helps with moisture retention and smoothness. My hair stays clean and hydrated for approx 3 days afterwards and then I repeat the process again.