Any thoughts on Maximum Hydration Method

Honey Bee

Well-Known Member
So far, I'm noticing that the curly parts are getting really really curly and frizz-free, but the top and front of my hair is not showing much change to me. :ohwell:

...

I'd love to hear from people who achieved MHM with drugstore brands.
fasika, I'm transitioning, so I'm not doing the whole thing as often as you're supposed to. If I'm good, I might wash my hair once every 7-10 days. :look: I've done it maybe four times in total, bits and pieces here and there. I have the approved products, but I'm trynna use up the rest of my stash, so I use them for the dc step and diluted KCKT as the leave-in, no gel.

Ok, so all that said, my hair is like yours. It's super obviously curly in the back, the top is (and always has been) all frizz. I started noticing some clumping after the first few cycles, yesterday I saw a few curls. So it can happen with drugstore products. I'm hi-po, btw.
 

aharri23

Well-Known Member
Used the camille rose curl maker gel today with KCKT underneath and my hair looks great. I'm not sure why but the curl maker defines my stubborn areas more than KCCC and is easier to apply. I think it may replace KCCC as my staple gel.
 

tashboog

I'm on Instagram
You know I didn't expect to see you in here :lol: Who are you again.
faithVA I didn't know you were a comedian too :lol:. I'm doing more lurking right now cuz I'm doing the MHM bald spot regimen. Once I've finished that then I'll be ready to post. Hopefully you'll have the MHM challenge up and running by then :yep:.
 

DarkJoy

Bent. Not Broken.
I did all the steps today, including a modified Cherry Lola Caramel. I didn't have molasses, bananas or amino acids, so those were omitted.

My hair feels a bit 'hard' but stronger. I think it's the apple cider vinegar in the CL. The couple of times I've used it in the past, my hair also felt harder afterwards. It could also be protein from the eggs and yogurt, but I don't think so. My hair doesn't hate protein AFAIK.

I used the Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle conditioner as well, and I liked it a lot. I'm not dying of love, but I like it. It's definitely the best natural product I've used so far. All others leave my hair feeling incredibly hard.

I won't do the whole MHM tomorrow, but I will cowash just to soften up my hair.

So far, I'm noticing that the curly parts are getting really really curly and frizz-free, but the top and front of my hair is not showing much change to me. :ohwell:

I will say that even though the TJTTT worked okay, it doesn't feel as great as my drugstore silicon conditioners, nor look as good. Maybe my hair just loves cones and I need to accept that??

I'd love to hear from people who achieved MHM with drugstore brands.
fasika I ain't about that ordering online lufe or spending $20 on 5 oz of condish.

Currently on mhm hiatus due to clay vs color probs. However I achieved probably 50%+ max hydration mostly using the Tressemme naturals in the b.s. wash and DC step. Also using As I Am leave in and jelly and occasionally the DC. That line has naughtt glycerin but it doesn't seem to bother. The AIA products are at Target.

Also the Shea moisture manuka condish worked fine too tho I now use for mid week cowash.
 

fasika

Well-Known Member
fasika, I'm transitioning, so I'm not doing the whole thing as often as you're supposed to. If I'm good, I might wash my hair once every 7-10 days. :look: I've done it maybe four times in total, bits and pieces here and there. I have the approved products, but I'm trynna use up the rest of my stash, so I use them for the dc step and diluted KCKT as the leave-in, no gel.

Ok, so all that said, my hair is like yours. It's super obviously curly in the back, the top is (and always has been) all frizz. I started noticing some clumping after the first few cycles, yesterday I saw a few curls. So it can happen with drugstore products. I'm hi-po, btw.

fasika I ain't about that ordering online lufe or spending $20 on 5 oz of condish.

Currently on mhm hiatus due to clay vs color probs. However I achieved probably 50%+ max hydration mostly using the Tressemme naturals in the b.s. wash and DC step. Also using As I Am leave in and jelly and occasionally the DC. That line has naughtt glycerin but it doesn't seem to bother. The AIA products are at Target.

Also the Shea moisture manuka condish worked fine too tho I now use for mid week cowash.

Thank you both!!!

I've decided to keep using both drugstore and natural products until I finish my stash, then I'll figure out what to do next. I mean, I seem to be getting better results with drugstore brands so :ohwell:.
I'll use the KCKT as a leave-in too Honey Bee. It seems better for that rather than for a wash-out. The TJTTT seems to work much better than KCKT, but my hair feels extra dry a day after washing, so that's not a long-term solution for me.

I also redid the porosity strand test with clean hair and warm water. Same story: it stayed floating forever. I'm definitely low porosity. That probably explains why my hair feels so hard after ACV :nono:

Urgh, you'd think I'd have my hair all figured out after all these years :perplexed
 

DarkJoy

Bent. Not Broken.
^^^that KCKT is not cute. I know its blasphemous to say. My hair hates it and ends up breaking off every time I tried. It also did not hold moisture during my mhm period. I also used the gel and its quite drying, causes me breakage. Same when I tried it a cpl years ago before mhm.

For my hair AIA is way better.

Come to think of it my hair adooooooores V05 :look:. And I got a cabinet full of it :look: yep. Next on the list to mhm with :lol:
 

Honey Bee

Well-Known Member
I tried to use diluted TJTT as a leave-in once. :nono: No bueno. It was foaming up all weird. I let it dry to see how it looked/ acted and I just wasn't impressed. Looked kinda frizzy, tbh. :ohwell:

Diluted KCKT, otoh, is my HG, my boo-thang, the single leave-in for which I will forsake all others. :love: And I'm delighted that it's a black-owned company. I get squiggles inside knowing I'm beautiful AND conscious. :afro: :lol:
 

snoop

Well-Known Member
@snoop you use to use this. Do you still use the mud puddle wash?

Sorry, I just saw this. I'd only bought it once. It was too expensive to keep on using it so I started making my own after. I'm still trying to figure out how they manage to get that jelly consistency, though...
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
Thank you both!!!

I've decided to keep using both drugstore and natural products until I finish my stash, then I'll figure out what to do next. I mean, I seem to be getting better results with drugstore brands so :ohwell:.
I'll use the KCKT as a leave-in too Honey Bee. It seems better for that rather than for a wash-out. The TJTTT seems to work much better than KCKT, but my hair feels extra dry a day after washing, so that's not a long-term solution for me.

I also redid the porosity strand test with clean hair and warm water. Same story: it stayed floating forever. I'm definitely low porosity. That probably explains why my hair feels so hard after ACV :nono:

Urgh, you'd think I'd have my hair all figured out after all these years :perplexed

You have to check a few things to determine porosity. The strand test by itself isn't enough. I'm low porosity and I have no issue with acv. My hair is soft afterwards.
 

AJellyCake

Well-Known Member
A quick update.

MHM is still going well for me. My hair is less frizzy and stays defined for longer, as in several more days

But the best thing is the increased elasticity. Before, it would be hard for me to get multi-day hair because my curls would get too stretched, even just from sleeping. And a bun would totally kill my hair; I wouldn't be able to wear any styles besides buns after that first bun day. But this week, I had the same wash n go for 8 days :look: and a bunned on the 6th day and was able to wear my hair halfway down on the 7th and 8th.

Making progress!!! :)
 

bronzephoenix

Well-Known Member
Revisited Trader Joes TTT since I remembered it was on the approved product list... I'm upset I waited so long to give it another try! Perfection.

Sent from my iPhone using LHCF
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
How long are u ladies leaving the clay for in step#3?
I leave it in for 30 minutes but I am not sure it that's too much time.

When I used the bentonite I only kept it on for 15 minutes because it was drying to my hair. I'm using either rhassoul or pink clay now and I leave it on for an hour if I have time. It isn't drying to me hair.
 

Guinan

Re-Branding
Im buying rhassoul clay on black Friday. I was thinking bout getting the saaqin brand from seller halalaleveyday on Amazon.

Where y'all getting y'all rhassoul?
 

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Honey Bee

Well-Known Member
How long are u ladies leaving the clay for in step#3?
I leave it in for 30 minutes but I am not sure it that's too much time.
I slept in it once. :blush: And I don't add anything but water to it, no honey, no oil, no buffers of any kind. My hair came out just fine. :yep:

eta: I've used bentonite and 'french red clay' which is, apparently, not also rhassoul.
 

faithVA

Well-Known Member
I slept in it once. :blush: And I don't add anything but water to it, no honey, no oil, no buffers of any kind. My hair came out just fine. :yep:

eta: I've used bentonite and 'french red clay' which is, apparently, not also rhassoul.

I have seen a few post on BHM where people slept in their clay and their hair came out fine. They decided to do an overnight with the clay versus the conditioner.
 

tashboog

I'm on Instagram
I have seen a few post on BHM where people slept in their clay and their hair came out fine. They decided to do an overnight with the clay versus the conditioner.

I have also slept in my clay overnight and I had no issues. My hair was super soft and my coils were well defined. Personally there wasn't any difference between leaving the clay in 30 minutes vs. overnite. I was just lazy and wanted to go to bed rather than rinse it out :lol:. I've never had any issues with any clay that I've tried so far. I've tried bentonite, pink, and rahssoul clay all with good results and without issues. Also I should note that I'm normal to high porosity so different clays may react differently based on your own level of porosity.
 
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