Keeping My Hair Moisturized In-Between Shampoo Sessions

Since I moved from weekly (or bi-weekly) wash and deep conditioning sessions to bi-monthly (or every two weeks), I have noticed my hair looks and feels a lot drier particularly one week after it has been washed. I thought this would pass as my hair got used to less frequent washes, but it seems that the problem has only grown worse. 

To combat the dryness I have tried everything from hair milks and lotions to spritzes and homemade moisture mixes; they all seemed to work for a day or two but my hair would dry out again and seemed worse than before I applied any product. After inspecting my hair this morning and seeing how dry and brittle it was, I knew I couldn't go another day without my hair getting wet. I did not want to shampoo since I made the choice to shampoo bi-monthly and planned to stick with it; instead I opted to do something I once felt was useless: 

Co-Wash

As a natural I co-washed quite frequently and I often enjoyed the results, but once I made the leap back to relaxing I found that co-washing did nothing for me; in fact this is what I thought of co-washing ------>

But today I realized that statement only holds true if I am using co-washing as a means of cleaning my hair and scalp; however, if my goal is to provide a much needed boost of MOISTURE to my strands then co-washing may be just about perfect. 

The reasons I stopped co-washing once I relaxed again was because I felt it left my hair feeling coated and weighed down, it clung to my scalp and left it itchy and I generally felt my hair was just as dirty (if not more so) than before I co-washed. This time around I understood that I wasn't trying to get my hair clean, I was trying to moisturize it, so instead of expecting the results of this wash to be a fresh and clean head of hair I am looking for softness, manageability, and the sheen that usually accompanies a good conditioning session. 

It looks like another tweak in my regimen may be necessary, or I may simply return to washing and conditioning once a week if not bi-weekly. Finding the perfect regimen is a lot harder than I thought, or maybe there is no such thing? Maybe it is as simple as giving my hair what it needs when it needs it as opposed to following a set schedule or someone else's rules.

Have you tried co-washing?