MHM Hangout

[KiWiStyle]

Surprise, surprise! Its a Christmas Miracle! So before bed I applied some Camille rose curlaide just to soften my ends because like I said, I cannot stand dry hair, PERIOD. So as I was applying toward the roots, I'm like what are all these little beads sprouting EVERY WHERE?!? So I pulled the mass of cotton to the side to find this:


This is the mass of cotton disguising my beautiful head of coils:


This must be the scab hair that I've been reading about that MUST go before I can enjoy my coils! Happy Dancing all over the place. Going to sleep now because I have a busy two days ahead.

Sent from my SM-N900V using LHCF

 

[aharri23]

@KiWiStyle, you are talking about something different than aharris23. He is having an issue getting the gel off during step 1. You are talking about the gel at step 5.

You are just getting started. Be careful of changing things too quickly. It may not be your products but your technique. But if you change too many things at the same time you won't be able to narrow it down. You will have spent money but not figured out what works.

How much did you dilute your leave-in? Have you tried heating your leave-in up before applying it?

Today I experimented with danab's regimen (clay mask, baking soda, leave-in, then gel) and my wash and go turned out pretty good. It is also quicker than the original MHM.

I was having problems with white balls during step 2 and after step 3 there would be some clay that would get stuck on my scalp. I guess because my hair got longer it was harder for the clay to rinse out completely. Anyway danab's regimen fixes both of those problems. This may be my new regimen for now.

 

[msbettyboop]

Day 7 complete. Jessicurl deep treatment conditioner is a WINNER. Even better than KKKT. I loved it for the BS and cowashing stages. The definition at the end of the steps was insane. I would love to stick with Jessicurl but $17 for 8oz, not including shipping, is a little scary....I think I will just use it for the deep conditioning/cowash stage only and use Trader Joe's & KKKT for the other stages.

Now that I've finished the 7 days, I plan to do this for another 7 days before moving on to a modified regimen.....

By the way, I switched wheat germ oil for my usual sweet almond oil this time and I love the results although I could do without the smell...

 

[msbettyboop]

I'm due for my henna and indigo treatment which I incorporate every 8-12 weeks but I'm not sure how to include it in the MHM.

Has anyone done a henna treatment while on this regimen?

 

[GGsKin]

I'm due for my henna and indigo treatment which I incorporate every 8-12 weeks but I'm not sure how to include it in the MHM.

Has anyone done a henna treatment while on this regimen?

I've done one. I'd never tried henna before so for a first time, the little effect I did want see was what I expected . I GHEd for 3 weeks prior to doing the treatment. I used mainly water (no lemon/citric at all). After a couple of cowashes, my hair did seem the most tangled it's been since starting the regimen. But that got under control after a few more washes and DCs. Overall I am happy with the outcome. I will use Henna again, but I will be sure not to use too often.

 

[KiWiStyle]

Its starting to take me less time to complete the step. For today's clarify step, I lowered the BS to only 1 tablespoon. I'll lower it to 1-2 tsp if I continue to experience dryness. I was suppose to complete step 1 last night and DC over night but I forgot again so I have to steam DC so I can leave the house and start my day.

Sent from my SM-N900V using LHCF

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Amazon shipped my order of TJTT poo and conditioner. I have been suffering with dandruff so I am thinking about using the poo for step one. I know...naughty, right? Today I did a modified treatment. I wanted to try out the TJ products and what effect would my hair have. I did not use the clay today, but used the KT as a leave in. I tell you guys, that my hair was so defined! If my hair dries and looks/feels as good as it does now, I will not be using baking soda anymore. Also, I will be adding indian powders to my clay. I will be getting some amla and brahmi powder. I hope that will not screw with my powder results. for some unknown reason, my hair would have nasty dandruff flakes with the step1. Even the clay didn't take it out. I know it isn't the KKCC because I used the method one time without the gel and still had the flakes.I wish I had a TJ near me, but I will be buying from Amazon even at the inflated price. It was THAT good. MHM is removing my PJism slowly. Now I need to find a hair butter to use once my hair is long enough to twist. I can do mini ones but my hair is still too short to rock them. I am so looking forward to my future growth with this method. All I have to say right now is my scalp feels GOOD!love:

 

[Smiley79]

I've been eyeing the MHM but as silly as this sounds, my issue is that I have so many products I'd have to get rid of and would no longer be able to use. Nothing in my stash is MHM approved, lol. smh

 

[faithVA]

Amazon shipped my order of TJTT poo and conditioner. I have been suffering with dandruff so I am thinking about using the poo for step one. I know...naughty, right? Today I did a modified treatment. I wanted to try out the TJ products and what effect would my hair have. I did not use the clay today, but used the KT as a leave in. I tell you guys, that my hair was so defined! If my hair dries and looks/feels as good as it does now, I will not be using baking soda anymore. Also, I will be adding indian powders to my clay. I will be getting some amla and brahmi powder. I hope that will not screw with my powder results. for some unknown reason, my hair would have nasty dandruff flakes with the step1. Even the clay didn't take it out. I know it isn't the KKCC because I used the method one time without the gel and still had the flakes.I wish I had a TJ near me, but I will be buying from Amazon even at the inflated price. It was THAT good. MHM is removing my PJism slowly. Now I need to find a hair butter to use once my hair is long enough to twist. I can do mini ones but my hair is still too short to rock them. I am so looking forward to my future growth with this method. All I have to say right now is my scalp feels GOOD!love:

Be careful in adding the India powders every time. It could definitely slow down your hydration time. So just keep an eye on your hair.

 

[faithVA]

I've been eyeing the MHM but as silly as this sounds, my issue is that I have so many products I'd have to get rid of and would no longer be able to use. Nothing in my stash is MHM approved, lol. smh

You can always try it with what you have and decide later. As long as the products don't have cones or curly girl friendly you should be able to test it out.

 

[Smiley79]

Thanks faithVA. Quick question, I got the method from PinkCube below and I'm a little confused about Step 1...isn't that skipped if you choose to do the Cherry Lola treatment; I dont see that she mentioned that.

 

[faithVA]

Smiley79;20925707[/USER]]Thanks faithVA. Quick question, I got the method from PinkCube below and I'm a little confused about Step 1...isn't that skipped if you choose to do the Cherry Lola treatment; I dont see that she mentioned that.

THE MAX HYDRATION METHOD As talked about, proven, and explained in my other post, "wash and gos 'don't work' on Nappy hair"(this method is ideal for those with majority of type 4 hair, but can be adjusted for other hair types depending on your hair's needs):

in order for this method to work the most quickly and effectively; accurate, consistent, and frequent application of this method must be done on the hair. i'd say at least daily, but dont stretch it longer that every 3 days. this is how long conditioner will last in the hair. while doing this be mindful of what your hair likes, so you can choose the proper options that will best benefit your hair.

you need to also have a proper understanding of the products and other things you put on your hair that your hair loses moisture from. this needs to be more than just a shallow understanding of "softness always means moisture" which is False. you need to understand what things affect (block) how your hairshaft actually absorbs the moisture, and what isnt effective enough to seal it in. this understanding can be better made by trying to read more of my post, "Wash and goes "don't work" on Nappy Hair".


even though i target this at those type 4s with low poros hair, if you believe you have naturally high porosity hair and are type 4 still experiment and see if this works for you. also make sure to do a strand test on hair ph balanced, clean hair for the most accurate results. its likely if your hair falls in many of the symptoms that i described in my other post, you could be mistaking your hairs porosity, or even mistaking natural porosity for temporarily opened cuticles.

if your hair is high porus from some sort of damage, you can still benefit from this regimen greatly. danabnatural does a version of this regimen and recovered from the adverse effect hair coloring did on her hair.

Prep step for first timer

If you're doing this method for the first time, I would suggest starting off with a Modified or regular Cherry Lola Treatment. After that, this can be done as often as every 2 weeks. I myself have only done the treatment twice. The first time I did it I did the regular version, only I didn't have liquid aminos. The second time I did the modified version, along with the liquid aminos. This was a few months ago, but I noticed and still notice the effect it had on my hair. It is what set me up to have root to tip definition in certain areas of my hair.

The modified version is a combination of the Caramel Treatment, and Cherry Lola

Ingredients:
Greek yogurt (2 cups)
Baking soda (2 tbsp)
Organic apple cider vinegar (2 tbsp)
Raw coconut aminos(or just regular aminos, but i personally didn't like soy in my hair) (2 tbsp)
Raw honey (1/2 tbsp)
Unsulfured molasses (1 tbsp)
Half an over ripe plantain or banana
Avocado (3/4 tbsp)
1 egg (optional, but I used it no problem)

blend the ingredients in your blender.
saturate your dry (but detangled) hair completely from root to tip with the mixture.
put a shower cap and let sit for 1.5-2 hours.
Rinse out completely with warm/hot water.
co wash with botanical/cg friendly conditioner. ( whatever you wash your hair with will be absorbed into the hair shaft, so no silicones, parabens, sulfates, drying denatured alcohol)
apply more conditioner but leave it in.
seal with botanical gel

if you choose to do the regular recipe, it is the same as this only substract the vinegar, overriped banana and advocado, egg, and molasses. after doing this you can cowash. and continue on from there to a wash and go. DONT do an acv rinse directly after this. You can do a cowash and maybe do a cold rinse with conditioner afterword and that will be enough to reclose the cuticle. The point of temporarily opening the hair cuticle is so the moisture can get in, it makes no sense to just reclose it before actually putting the moisture in your hair.

EDIT: ACTUALLY, an excellent option would be to ghe or deep condition overnight directly after rinsing out the treatment. this applies to both the modified version, and the regular version. in the morning you can make methods to close your cuticle, or even just proceed to wash and go. this will quicken the pace of your hydration retention levels, and i actually think this is the best way to take advantage of the treatment.

Step 1: Clarify

Option 1: Apple cider vinegar rinse. You do a 1:1 ratio of apple cider vinegar with water in an applicator bottle. Apply in sections. Let it sit in the hair for 30- 1 hr before rinsing.

Option 2: Baking soda rinse. Mix 1.5 tablespoons of baking soda into 1/3 a cup conditioner. Apply to hair in sections and let sit on the hair for 10-30 minutes.

Option 3: Alternating between either rinse. You can opt to do each rinse every other day/night. It's up to you to experiment.



Step 2: Cowash&detangle

Option 1: Apply warm conditioner in your hair in sections. Let it sit for 10 minutes, rinse out with warm water, while detangling under the water. if you are doing this step, first pour the conditioner into a microwavable bowl, and microwave for no more than 10-15 sec if you are using the microwave to heat your conditioner. NEVER just stick the bottle of conditioner straight into the microwave. no. trust me. Stern Smile

Option 2: Apply conditioner to your hair in sections, and deep condition by covering your hair in a shower cap. Maybe put a scarf over it to trap heat. This can be done overnight, as exceedinggrace mentioned in her post. The first two steps can actually be done before bed. in the morning, you can detangle your hair before going in the shower or also under the running water in section, your hair will have enough slip to detangle outside of the shower though.

Option 3: Apply conditioner to you hair, put on a shower cap, and steam your hair.Akedafitgirl does this once a week, and does her hair every 2-3 days. I would recommend trying to do it more often, as her hair already has maximum hydration, we are trying to build that up. detangle before getting in the shower and in the shower under the running water, similar to the prior option.

EDIT: sorry guys, i forgot to mention this is also the step you detangle your hair in!

Step 3: Bentonite clay rinse
With all options, leave the rinse on the hair for at least 15 minutes before rinsing, and remember to apply in sections.

Option 1: Bentonite clay rinse with out apple cider vinegar

ingredients(rough measurements):
1 cup bentonite clay
1.5 cup warm water
1 tbspn of honey
1 tblspn of olive oil

Option 2: bentonite clay with apple cider vinegar Same, just add vinegar.

Option 3: Ready made bentonite clay rinse, or any other type of clay used to clarify hair examples like rohsoul clay (excuse me if that's misspelled, I will go back to correct it) or terrasentials.

Step 4: Leave in Conditioner
Following the cg rules, avoid any conditioner with silicones, sulfates, and drying alchols. Other than that, apply thoroughly in sections, you really want you hair to be wet. application techniques include smoothing and raking, twirling or whatever technique works for you. These are suggestions, there's no set rule on specific application techniques imo, just apply enough so your hair glides through and you feel slip. Same with gel.



Step 5: Apply Botanical Gel of your choice

Option 1: use a small amount of oil (or however much you feel you need) for extra sealing before gel if you find you need it, for more softness.
Layering options can be LCO, or LCOC, but Never do the LOC layering order. oil is not a moisturizer, its a sealant. you wouldnt put gel on b4 conditioner, so don't practice that with oil.Shocked

Option2: don't. it's up to you.

In application of gel, you should be putting enough so you can feel the gel slip, that way you know it's coated the hair. A technique that has worked for me is starting the gel application at the base of the section, like i'm slicking my edges or applying a root touch up with hair dye. then smooth it down the rest of the strand and proceed to rake, smooth, and spread the gel evenly. Apply more gel if you need to spread it further. Do this in sections and twirl and clip the sections away with a shower clip as you go along. This will help keep you organized. When I both the leave in and gel step, it takes 30-40 minutes, so it's fast in comparison to what I needed to do before. after timing myself, i found both the leave in step and the gel step took me a combined total of 34 minutes and 8 seconds. however, i section my hair and do both steps as i go along instead of going over my entire head twice.

This is the step where you will see your curls pop and clump together.


Finished.

Yes you do the Cherry Lola or step 1 but not both. It's probably better to look at her website or MsDeeKay's website versus going back through the BHM thread.

Since you are just trying it out I would suggest just starting with step 1 and after you decide you want to continue then do the cherry lola.

 

[Honey Bee]

@Smiley79 I've been doing the MHM very half-@ssedly, non-approved products galore, shampoo, 'cones, all kinda no-no's, but I'm still getting results. But my hair isn't lo- po. It seems to depend on your hair.

 

[Smiley79]

faithVA okay. For the first week, I am doing step 1(clarifying) each day as well? Will one jar of the bentonite clay be enough for my daily use for week 1? Sorry for so many questions.

 

[Smiley79]

Thanks Honey_Bee....yes I'm just gonna take the plunge and try it and see how my hair reacts. I really wanted to to the CHerry Lola Caramel treatment first since it's so highly recommended, but I'll have to wait until Friday when the store reopen to normal hours so I can get the ingredients that Im missing.

 

[DDTexlaxed]

Yes! My hair dried beautifully defined and not a dandruff flake in my head. We have a winner with TJ products. I will be doing my version of MHM for me.

 

[faithVA]

@Smiley79 I've been doing the MHM very half-@ssedly, non-approved products galore, shampoo, 'cones, all kinda no-no's, but I'm still getting results. But my hair isn't lo- po. It seems to depend on your hair.

Yes, that seems to keep getting missed that this method was defined for low porosity so following the steps is key for low porosity ladies. Ladies with other porosity may have more wiggle room.

 

[faithVA]

faithVA okay. For the first week, I am doing step 1(clarifying) each day as well? Will one jar of the bentonite clay be enough for my daily use for week 1? Sorry for so many questions.

Yes always start with step 1.

It depends on how much hair you have and how much clay you have to use. My hair is NL, medium density and I use 7 tbs per wash. I think when I started I had enough clay for 2 weeks but I didn't do the regimen the full 7 days. I did 4 days straight and then every 3 days.

 

[Smiley79]

Thanks faithVA...I too am neck legnth. Okay when I do it, Ill come back with updates.

 

[faithVA]

Sitting with mud in my hair right now. I will let it sit for an hour. I was going to do 2 but I've been slow poking all day and I need to get up and out the door sometime today.

I clarified with As I Am Cleansing pudding and rinsed. My hair felt really soft. So my clarified hair feels really good. Not sure how it would have felt if I let it dry. I may try that one day. Then I cowashed with Curls Ecstasy. I didn't use any heat. My hair felt ok after I rinsed but not as good as it did before I put it on. I won't repurchase the curls but it is going to work fine for cowashing for now.

Since it is the end of the year I will try to take pictures today with mud, maybe product free. I am thinking about using gel today. I'm not sure. We shall see.

With the clay I have definition in 85% of the strand. And my hair is definitely laying flatter when I first started. Slow progress but I am definitely progressing.

 

[faithVA]

One day when I have more time I may try clarifying, steaming and then applying my DC. Or clarifying, DC, clay, rinse and steam then applying my leave in and styler. Definitely want to try that.

 

[Honey Bee]

Sitting with mud in my hair right now. I will let it sit for an hour. I was going to do 2 but I've been slow poking all day .

Me too!

 

[faithVA]

Here's my year end check. I have curls with the clay and some with no product. My hair friezes when I put on the leave in. And I lose almost all curl after 30 minutes of applying the gel. But its better than it was.

 

[hairtimes5]

So I've used Terresentials a few times now and while I don't particularly like the way my hair feels after I wash it out, I love how my wng's have less shrinkage, more uniform curls and lots of bounce. This is definitely a keeper. It's a little pricey though with shipping. My godmother asked me what I want for Christmas, I said 5 large bottles of Terresentials

 

[aharri23]

Okay so i've been experimenting with danab's regimen and my hair is doing/looking MUCH better. I'm not sure if its because i've been re-doing my wash and go everyday (I'm experimenting with my homemade conditioners/gels so I've been re-doing my hair everyday) my curls hang more and my hair is shinier. Not sure if it's her regimen or the fact that im wetting my hair in the shower everyday for the past 3-4 days.

 

[msbettyboop]

After a lot of back and forth, I finally settled on Jessicurl deep moisturising treatment, Jessicurl too shea moisturising treatment and another bottle of KCKT since they'd run out of Trader Joe's tea tree conditioner unfortunately. Hopefully, this will last for quite some time before I need to order anything again.

My sister's hubby asked her if I could help her do her hair like mine because he likes it but my sis is relaxed and doesn't want the hassle of natural hair. lol.

 

[faithVA]

My wng lasted 1 day. That's better than usual. It was soft when I woke up. When I refreshed it with water it was all down hill from there. I'm wondering if I need to adjust the pH of my water and leave in before I try to refresh.

Anyway I won't be doing another wng until my hair is long enough to do a puff which I hope to be able to do by the end of march.

 

[GGsKin]

So I bit the bullet and bought 2 bottles of Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle conditioner and yes, I paid the overinflated price on Amazon as I have no chance of picking it up on the ground. Rant: Why is my shipping price almost half the total order?

My comfort at this point- even with the shipping, I still pay more for KCKT and I can get this from a not-so-local local store. Come to think of it, they've just increased their price too! Kmt. I'm down to one and a half bottles. I tend to get 4 washes from 1 bottle, and I heavily dilute. It's just not lasting that long. So from a value-for-money angle, I will get a whole lot more washes from these two bottles than I get from two bottles of KCKT.

I'm hoping I like it. I will review how it feels down the line (I shouldn't be excited. Still gotta wait for the delivery and everything lol). Plus I'm in it for the long haul with this GHE (still going still going since last Thursday).

 

[KiWiStyle]

I have not done anything to my hair since 12/24 due to all the holiday prep and festivities. I'm back on track and getting ready to do step1.

Sent from my SM-N900V using LHCF

 

[hairtimes5]

So I bit the bullet and bought 2 bottles of Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle conditioner and yes, I paid the overinflated price on Amazon as I have no chance of picking it up on the ground. Rant: Why is my shipping price almost half the total order?

My comfort at this point- even with the shipping, I still pay more for KCKT and I can get this from a not-so-local local store. Come to think of it, they've just increased their price too! Kmt. I'm down to one and a half bottles. I tend to get 4 washes from 1 bottle, and I heavily dilute. It's just not lasting that long. So from a value-for-money angle, I will get a whole lot more washes from these two bottles than I get from two bottles of KCKT.

I'm hoping I like it. I will review how it feels down the line (I shouldn't be excited. Still gotta wait for the delivery and everything lol). Plus I'm in it for the long haul with this GHE (still going still going since last Thursday).

I love Trader Joe's TTT! Every once in awhile I go back to Tresemme radiant volume and every time I revisit TJTTT I wonder why I ever use anything else. You can heavily dilute it, mine looks like cloudy water and it still has major slip. I went back to it when I washed today in fact and I noticed that it makes my hair even softer than Tresemme. I'm in the middle of 2 Trader Joes but both are about an hr away each. Lucky for me I have a friend who lives right by one so she gets mine for me. Once I finish up my last 2 bottles of Tresemme I'm sticking with Trader Joes. It works well for me.