Response video to comments about Maximum Hydration

Sorry to hi jack the thread but I am totally confused. I thought this was the best method being touted because it was maximum hydration for women with dry porosity hair and not low porosity. I singled out high porosity because that hair type has difficulties retaining moisture which can make the hair look and feel dry and in some cases look like a brillo pad.

I am not going to knock this method because it has helped some women to achieve maximum hydration which is important to retention and also for ease of hair styles.

However, let us call a spade a spade maximum hydration is another method for fixing porosity issues.

I do not think the problem is hair type. I think it is a porosity issue. I know women with this 4C hair that do not have porosity issues and some 4C types with low porosity. It is the high porosity hair regardless of hair curl pattern that many women find problematic due to the extreme dryness factor. I know women who are a type 1 with high porosity hair that is like straw. This is why I believe porosity is much more important than the exact hair type since so many Afro women have various hair textures on one head.

I think for finer hair textures the Maximum Hydration Method might be too much manipulation and some of the products can act like a strong protein which might be too much if not followed up with moisture.

Best,
Almond Eyes

Everything will be used as a stick to beat at black women. Even a moisturizing method! Can we live?

almond eyes said:

Sorry to hi jack the thread but I am totally confused. I thought this was the best method being touted because it was maximum hydration for women with dry porosity hair and not low porosity. I singled out high porosity because that hair type has difficulties retaining moisture which can make the hair look and feel dry and in some cases look like a brillo pad.

I am not going to knock this method because it has helped some women to achieve maximum hydration which is important to retention and also for ease of hair styles.

However, let us call a spade a spade maximum hydration is another method for fixing porosity issues.

I do not think the problem is hair type. I think it is a porosity issue. I know women with this 4C hair that do not have porosity issues and some 4C types with low porosity. It is the high porosity hair regardless of hair curl pattern that many women find problematic due to the extreme dryness factor. I know women who are a type 1 with high porosity hair that is like straw. This is why I believe porosity is much more important than the exact hair type since so many Afro women have various hair textures on one head.

I think for finer hair textures the Maximum Hydration Method might be too much manipulation and some of the products can act like a strong protein which might be too much if not followed up with moisture.

Best,
Almond Eyes

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Pinkecube is a type 4 with low porosity hair so she primarily developed it for that combination. However in her information she shares that others that are experiencing dryness or frizziness or other issues may find the method useful. They of course may need some modifications to fit their hair needs.

She focused on others that had the low porosity type 4 but she tried not to exclude anyone. All of her information lays this out. Other people have confused things by saying it was something other than this.

I think, other than the PH roller coaster, that bothers me about this method is hygral fatigue. The constant swelling and contracting of hair strands.

I experienced this a couple of years ago when I first big chopped and had to cut off dry, damaged hair.

But, this has encouraged me to cleanse and purify my hair with clay and throw out my shampoo. Oh wait, experience made me do that.

Carry on ladies. Interesting discussion. I'm assuming maximum hydration is...defined moisturized curls. I don't think I see it as curl loosening though, although baking soda use may do that over time.

NaturallyATLPCH said:

I think, other than the PH roller coaster, that bothers me about this method is hygral fatigue. The constant swelling and contracting of hair strands.

I experienced this a couple of years ago when I first big chopped and had to cut off dry, damaged hair.

But, this has encouraged me to cleanse and purify my hair with clay and throw out my shampoo. Oh wait, experience made me do that.

Carry on ladies. Interesting discussion. I'm assuming maximum hydration is...defined moisturized curls. I don't think I see it as curl loosening though, although baking soda use may do that over time.

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There really shouldn't be that much of a ph roller coaster with everything falling between 5 and 8 if using the baking soda.

I'm not sure if low porosity ladies get enough water in their hair to get hygral fatigue. Not sure. Other ladies might. Can't speak to normal and high because my hair never saturated.

LOL can I just say that all of you are hilarious. I died reading some of these posts I thought I was the only one who didn't agree with some of Osa's comments

shawnyblazes said:

I dont understand how its a fad BUT then again Ive been doing this for years.

Cherry lola, my boo thang since 2011

Clay washes my boo thang since 2005

Thats all I take from this "MHM" Ive been doing "botanical gels" avoiding , coconut, aloe and protein but then again, Thats just me.


Folks have added salt to conditioner , warmed coconut , coconut lime relaxer, caramel treatment all in the quest for soft hair or "curly" hair. It is what it is

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If only I knew about MHM earlier! My life would have been so much easier. You should've enlightened us in 2005!

faithVA said:

I'm glad you have the energy because I just don't. Every time I type something I just end up erasing it.

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Pretty much..

charmtreese said:

I saw the video when it first came out. I found it interesting. However, that YouTuber gets under my skin. She says things like "4c hair is very difficult, and any natural who says it's not is not being honest" or "4c hair should only be washed once a month". I despise blanket statements, just because she finds her hair difficult does not mean that ALL 4c's find their hair to be difficult and washing/cleansing your hair only once a month may work for some but is certainly not the standard. She claims she's been natural for 10 years, and she has growing hands....but if CBL is all the hair you have after 10 years, Im gonna need you to have a seat away from the camera and off of Youtube...handing out BAD advice like it's the gospel! Girl BYE, with your jacked up growing hands!!!!

But back to the MHM, I don't plan on trying it anytime soon. I'm happy for the ladies that use this regimen with success!

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YESS, I thought I was the only one. She acts like a 4c know it all, but calls us hair nazis? Pot kettle black. She even said she saw testimonial pictures of people who did MHM and claimed their hair didn't look healthy. LIKE WHO THE HELL ARE YOU??

SpiceUpMyHair said:

@charmtreese
you took the words right out of my mouth. She claims that 4c women hate there textures when she is the one avoiding her texture. She just blows out her hair and stay in a protective style for three months and then starts the whole process over again. I dont understand why she made 3 videos on mhm if she dislikes it so much. She is just mad that someone told her that her hair is dry and she looks like she is struggling with her hair. They recommended that she tried the method then she went off.

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Exactly, I honestly think she keeps making videos about MHM to get subscribers. Her subscribers went up as soon as she started making MHM videos. I love how she keeps reviewing a method she's never tried. That's like listening to a proudct review from someone who hasn't tried a product

bajandoc86 said:

This Osa person is very condescending. She has some valid reasons why SHE would not want to try it, but my word, all that 'in your face attitude' is quite off putting.

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Exactly

shawnyblazes said:

I've been natural since 2006. since I discovered making my own clay rinses, I have never had a day where I don't know what moisturized hair is.

I NEVER have dry hair, EVER. I can use any product and make it work just about.

My hair hates certain things like aloe , coconut and shea butter, but if its formulated right (Qhemet Biologics) my hair will not react.

My problem is protein overload and not leaving my hair alone. I also am style challenged.

If I had to use only rhassoul and bentonite, flax seed gels, and a generic conditioner I could. I just choose to be a product junkie.

If my hair is dry( hard gel/heavy protein), I prepoo with anything ( oil , conditioner, deep conditioner , old product, whatever) , then clay rinse, deep condition ( with or without steam), Dont need a leave in, and go straight to styling for a WnG. If I use a leave in, its to get rid of something or because the styler said use one.

I dont use ACV straight but in my clay. I only use baking soda when doing a cherry lola. I only follow this routine when my hair is loose. I wash every 3 days and weekly do a claywash or use a product with clay in it to wash. Other times, I'm protective styling.

Thats about it. Wash day takes me maybe 5 hours AND that's only because Im working , watching tv, letting conditioner sit, etc. I could do my whole wash day in mmm.... 15 mins to prepoo, 15 mins to clay wash ( cherrylola once a month) , 15 mins to deep condition, and 20 minutes to style.

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Clay is awesome! Do you think BS is necessary in addititon to clay to clarify? Or can clay get rid of most build up?

Mingus said:

I didn't make it one minute into that video. I'm sorry, but if you're going to go out of your way to dog out someone else's method or hard work, you need to show me what you're workin' with. I shut down the second I saw that she had braid extensions in. That's not to say that you can't have some lovely locks under braid extensions; I get that some women wear it as a protective style, but again the primary point of her video seems to be to say that MHM is not good for your hair. Welllll...what does your hair look like? Does your hair look comparable to or better than the lovely heads of hair that I've been seeing on women who are doing MHM? Cause if it doesn't, then you really have no credibility to talk about other people's chosen hair care method.

Now I've been reading on this thread that she has been natural for 10 years with only CBL hair, which she constantly blows out, to show for all that time. Ummmm...no. I swear, some people refuse to go down the road of success themselves, and think nothing of trying to block that path for others. She wants to continue to think of her hair as difficult and unmanageable. So, she refuses to try anything that might possibly change that view, and she's going out of her way to try to convince others of that as well. She reminds me of those beauticians who insist that black women can't grow long hair who will do a hatchet job on their own clients just to try to prove that they're right.

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My hair almost longer than hers after a year, but she can keep doing what she likes.

One thing that I learned yesterday is that MHM is an umbrella term for any method that provides maximum moisture to your hair – not just the method developed by Pinkecube. I wish that she would explain that a bit more.

@[FONT=&quot]NaturallyATLPCH[/FONT]
I think, other than the PH roller coaster, that bothers me about this method is hygral fatigue.

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@[FONT=&quot] faithVA[/FONT]
There really shouldn't be that much of a ph roller coaster with everything falling between 5 and 8 if using the baking soda.

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Baking soda is supposed to have a pH of 9 (I’ve read 9.5 in one source). Unfortunately, I don’t have any pH strips to test what the pH level would be of different conditioners used to “buffer” the baking soda.

On one blog that I was reading, the blogger (type 1 hair) used to wash with just baking soda and water until she realized 3 years later that it was destroying her hair. She is not a scientist, but she did use and post the results of her test using pH strips:

1 tbsp. baking soda diluted in 1 cup of water (300 ml = 0.60 pt) has a pH of 9.5. This is extremely high to use on hair and scalp, having in mind that their natural pH ranges between pH 4.5 and 5.0 - 5.5.

Based on all I've been reading by people who wash their hair with baking soda in the past 3 years, if I dilute 1 tbsp. in 2 cups of water, the pH should go down. BUT IT DOESN'T. The pH remains 9.5 until I dilute 1 tbsp. baking soda in 10 cups of water and then again, it is way to alkali to use on the hair.

Again, there is no difference between 10 and 20 cups of water, the pH of the mixture is 9.0

Only when I dilute 1 tsp. of the mixture (consisting of 1 tbsp. baking soda and 20 cups of water) in 1 cup of water, the pH gets down to pH 7.0 -- again, extremely alkali for use on hair, even if it is followed by ACV rinse.

I am devastated by the results. But most of all I am disappointed by myself for believing people who knew close to nothing regarding the chemical side of this "experiment".

You can clearly see that the color of the litmus papers practically doesn't change regardless of the dilution. Even diluted in 20 cups of water, a tablespoon of baking soda is too alkali to be a healthy cleaning agent for hair. To get a neutral mixture of baking soda and water (pH 7) you need to dilute 1 tbsp. baking soda in 20 cups of water, then take 1 tsp. of the mixture and dilute it in 1 cup of water.

By washing my hair with baking soda twice a week for the past 3 years I have pretty much put it through the chemical process of dyeing. Twice a week.

Source: http://blog.kanelstrand.com/2014/01/baking-soda-destroyed-my-hair.html

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I think Pinkecube even stated that some conditioners have a pH of 9 so it’s not a huge deal if the pH is that high. Between Pinkecube and I, whoever manages to get their pH strips first can report back on the pH levels of this method.

As much as I admire her innovation in coming up with something new, her ability to argue her point is lacking. Whenever people post their apprehension about the baking soda, she gets quite defensive and resorts to “well I’ve been doing it for 5 months and nothing bad has happened.…”
Another blogger/vlogger that I’d like to hear from is Cherry Lola. I’m curious to know if she’s still following her method…I’m kind of hoping that she’ll resurface now that her method is re-circulating.

snoop said:

Baking soda is supposed to have a pH of 9 (I’ve read 9.5 in one source). Unfortunately, I don’t have any pH strips to test what the pH level would be of different conditioners used to “buffer” the baking soda.

On one blog that I was reading, the blogger (type 1 hair) used to wash with just baking soda and water until she realized 3 years later that it was destroying her hair. She is not a scientist, but she did use and post the results of her test using pH strips:

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The conditioner pulls the PH of the baking soda down. I have PH strips and I measure each batch I make. And the method states that you can use anywhere from 2 tsp to 2 tbsp which can then bring the PH down even further based on your own needs.

We have to make sure we are comparing equivalent things. The PH of a mixture may not be equivalent to the PH of a particular ingredient in a mixture.

I use PH strips for all mixtures, including the clay step because my hair is very sensitive to PH.

Pinkecube did spell out most of this in the original thread. But she continued having to repeat it, so she set up her website to explain it all. I think all of the variations have just made it more confusing to people trying to understand it.

^^^ Yeah, everybody concerned about ph should probably get some testing strips.

faithVA said:

The conditioner pulls the PH of the baking soda down. I have PH strips and I measure each batch I make. And the method states that you can use anywhere from 2 tsp to 2 tbsp which can then bring the PH down even further based on your own needs.

We have to make sure we are comparing equivalent things. The PH of a mixture may not be equivalent to the PH of a particular ingredient in a mixture.

I use PH strips for all mixtures, including the clay step because my hair is very sensitive to PH.

Pinkecube did spell out most of this in the original thread. But she continued having to repeat it, so she set up her website to explain it all. I think all of the variations have just made it more confusing to people trying to understand it.

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Totally agreed. I wish she were as eloquent communicating this point. Also, it would be nice if she could post pH findings and put everyone's mind at ease.

Sorry but if you're doing something that's damaging your hair, I'd hope most people would pick up on it before year 3. Yes, she should be blaming herself for that.

snoop said:

Totally agreed. I wish she were as eloquent communicating this point. Also, it would be nice if she could post pH findings and put everyone's mind at ease.

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I think she really did try but with all of the different post and things the information got lost. And others have posted their findings. It really isn't going to settle most people's minds. Many people hear baking soda and that is all that they hear.

I think the method picked up faster than expected and I'm sure she got a bit overwhelmed with trying to do so much.

Sometimes people are just regular people trying to share something and not experts with all the skills to handle something like a business.

I am not eloquent either. I just have to remind myself to take a lot of deep breaths

faithVA said:

I think she really did try but with all of the different post and things the information got lost. And others have posted their findings. It really isn't going to settle most people's minds. Many people hear baking soda and that is all that they hear.

I think the method picked up faster than expected and I'm sure she got a bit overwhelmed with trying to do so much.

Sometimes people are just regular people trying to share something and not experts with all the skills to handle something like a business.

I am not eloquent either. I just have to remind myself to take a lot of deep breaths

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I agree with all of this.

She really didn't plan on it blowing up like it did. It only even came up because somebody did a video (?) saying definitively that 4c's absolutely cannot do wngs. She responded to a thread about it on BHM and it all blew up from there. People started asking her a zillion questions, she started a whole new thread, etc. There was so much interest that she and MsDeeKay, I think, were really scrambling to get the site up.

This is all my opinion cuz I don't know any of them. I just put the timeline together.

The first time I did it, I got those popping curls that hung and swung. Fourth and fifth time, not so much. And my hair was starting to feel too porous.

I like the product recommendations. I love Kinky Curly and Crece Pelo. They are staples.

I won't do this again until my hair is much longer because as y'all know curls = shrinkage. And even then, only sporadically.

Honey Bee said:

Lawd. This is what happens on the internet.

First of all, Pinke Cube, the founder of the 'method', has never claimed to be a scientist. She's just some chick who baggied for a few months consistently and saw a change.

Second, she isn't selling anything. Clay and ACV is widely available and quite cheap.

Third, frizz is not a hair type. My hair frizzed relaxed. Anything I can do to lessen it is a gift from heaven.

Much like the video in the OP, people have all kinda opinions without knowing jack which, I guess, if that's how you live life, that's fine, but @ accusing people of hating their textures. It's an unimaginative, facile argument that really has no bearing on a system based on moisturizing your hair. Since when is that a bad thing?

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To each of your points:

1. If Pinkie Cube is some random chick disseminating information, then she should be prefacing everything she is saying with "this is what worked on my hair," rather than claiming this will work on all low-porosity 4c hair, because if you don't have the receipts for that statement (as in science), then you are no better then the snake-oil salesmen of yesteryear.
2. Even if ACV and baking soda is cheap, all the clay, KKKC and whatnot you have to buy in the amounts needed to do this regimen is not, and you still haven't mentioned whether that seminar that happened was free to the public. I doubt it.
3. Frizz is not a hair type. But a property of 4c hair is being frizzy. It just is. So much so that it takes chemical processes, like relaxing or all the steps in this method as a single regimen, to eradicate it from 4c hair. It takes me 25 minutes with a $5 bottle of leave-in to put moisture in my type 4 hair--but it will still look frizzy, have a low sheen, and in some places undefined fuzz, but still be soft and moisturized. This method, as shown by all the steps, the efforts, the videos, and the constant tweaking by the ladies on that other thread, is aaaaaaaalllllll about trying to get Traci Ellis Ross curls--only then do they say their hair has achieved "maximum hydration," which seems to be the new euphemism for "type 3 curls." But we all know what the real goal is here, and that's the sad part about this.

It's not about the curls, but about getting our hair to the maximum potential in terms of health, consistency, strength, etc.

Take my hair - it's more 3c than 4b, but I really struggle with getting uniformity even when I think it's moisturized, and it's quite hard to keep it moisturized. The front half of my hair behaves very differently from the back half, even with the exact same regimen. This also means that the front half is much more prone to heat damage than the back, much more prone to frizz, moisture loss, etc. Until last year I just thought that it was normal. Then purely by accident, I achieved a completely uniform perfect wash'n'go one day, where the front and back of my head were IDENTICAL. That's when I realized there is a missing link in my understanding of my hair, I just didn't know what it was. I wasn't able to recreate it either, but the fact it happened at all was a light-bulb moment that my hair was not at its full potential at all.

So hearing that it could be due to my porosity and could be fixed, is a God-send to me. FINALLY I may have found the answer to why my hair is so chaotic. And if I can fix it, then I will do so.

I don't understand why people are having problems understanding that. The curls are a bonus. The disappearance of tangles, constant moisturized state, very quick styling, minimal product use, minimal split ends, etc, are the MAIN benefits of MHM. People are not going to put the quest for curls ahead of the above. And if your hair's NATURAL curl pattern is emphasized as a result of that, then that's fantastic too.

I just don't see what the problem is. It's not introducing products or tools that have never been used on this forum before. They are just being used in a sequence for maximum benefit.

koolkittychick said:

To each of your points:

1. If Pinkie Cube is some random chick disseminating information, then she should be prefacing everything she is saying with "this is what worked on my hair," rather than claiming this will work on all low-porosity 4c hair, because if you don't have the receipts for that statement (as in science), then you are no better then the snake-oil salesmen of yesteryear.
2. Even if ACV and baking soda is cheap, all the clay, KKKC and whatnot you have to buy in the amounts needed to do this regimen is not, and you still haven't mentioned whether that seminar that happened was free to the public. I doubt it.
3. Frizz is not a hair type. But a property of 4c hair is being frizzy. It just is. So much so that it takes chemical processes, like relaxing or all the steps in this method as a single regimen, to eradicate it from 4c hair. It takes me 25 minutes with a $5 bottle of leave-in to put moisture in my type 4 hair--but it will still look frizzy, have a low sheen, and in some places undefined fuzz, but still be soft and moisturized. This method, as shown by all the steps, the efforts, the videos, and the constant tweaking by the ladies on that other thread, is aaaaaaaalllllll about trying to get Traci Ellis Ross curls--only then do they say their hair has achieved "maximum hydration," which seems to be the new euphemism for "type 3 curls." But we all know what the real goal is here, and that's the sad part about this.

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Ok we all want type 3 curls. You have figured us out..

fasika said:

It's not about the curls, but about getting our hair to the maximum potential in terms of health, consistency, strength, etc.

Take my hair - it's more 3c than 4b, but I really struggle with getting uniformity even when I think it's moisturized, and it's quite hard to keep it moisturized. The front half of my hair behaves very differently from the back half, even with the exact same regimen. This also means that the front half is much more prone to heat damage than the back, much more prone to frizz, moisture loss, etc. Until last year I just thought that it was normal. Then purely by accident, I achieved a completely uniform perfect wash'n'go one day, where the front and back of my head were IDENTICAL. That's when I realized there is a missing link in my understanding of my hair, I just didn't know what it was. I wasn't able to recreate it either, but the fact it happened at all was a light-bulb moment that my hair was not at its full potential at all.

So hearing that it could be due to my porosity and could be fixed, is a God-send to me. FINALLY I may have found the answer to why my hair is so chaotic. And if I can fix it, then I will do so.

I don't understand why people are having problems understanding that. The curls are a bonus. The disappearance of tangles, constant moisturized state, very quick styling, minimal product use, minimal split ends, etc, are the MAIN benefits of MHM. People are not going to put the quest for curls ahead of the above. And if your hair's NATURAL curl pattern is emphasized as a result of that, then that's fantastic too.

I just don't see what the problem is. It's not introducing products or tools that have never been used on this forum before. They are just being used in a sequence for maximum benefit.

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No matter how many times you or anyone says this, it just wont get through to some people, but let them believe we all want type 3 curls

koolkittychick said:

To each of your points:

1. If Pinkie Cube is some random chick disseminating information, then she should be prefacing everything she is saying with "this is what worked on my hair," rather than claiming this will work on all low-porosity 4c hair, because if you don't have the receipts for that statement (as in science), then you are no better then the snake-oil salesmen of yesteryear.
2. Even if ACV and baking soda is cheap, all the clay, KKKC and whatnot you have to buy in the amounts needed to do this regimen is not, and you still haven't mentioned whether that seminar that happened was free to the public. I doubt it.
3. Frizz is not a hair type. But a property of 4c hair is being frizzy. It just is. So much so that it takes chemical processes, like relaxing or all the steps in this method as a single regimen, to eradicate it from 4c hair. It takes me 25 minutes with a $5 bottle of leave-in to put moisture in my type 4 hair--but it will still look frizzy, have a low sheen, and in some places undefined fuzz, but still be soft and moisturized. This method, as shown by all the steps, the efforts, the videos, and the constant tweaking by the ladies on that other thread, is aaaaaaaalllllll about trying to get Traci Ellis Ross curls--only then do they say their hair has achieved "maximum hydration," which seems to be the new euphemism for "type 3 curls." But we all know what the real goal is here, and that's the sad part about this.

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koolkittychick

Sis, I totally understand your reservations. Before I read the super long thread on BHM I had a LOT of assumptions about what this method was all about. I thought that the ingredients/methods were potentially damaging over time, waay too expensive & time consuming and above all, just another bandwagon for self-loathing 4C Naturals who would do anything to make their hair curl!

I discovered that all of my assumptions were unfounded. I will address the last thing you mentioned before I go to bed because your passion stuck out to me.

What drew me into even reading up on this method despite my reservations were the claims of reducing single strand knots & tangles, improving moisture levels and making detangling easier - that's it. I assure you that I NEVER EVER wanted Traci Ellis-Ross curls and certainly did not go into this with the desire or intention of "loosening" my curls or getting bigger curls. I have always been Pro-Afro, Pro-Kink, Pro-Nappy (hence my old username) and very passionate about Naturals with the tightest coils coming to love our hair despite what society feels about it.

I was perfectly content with the look of my afro and didn't necessarily desire a clumped or defined look at all. Though I wasn't chasing bigger/defined curls I was always envious of Naturals who had the freedom of doing wash n gos without incurring damage like me. I didn't care that my wash n go looked like a shrunken undefined afro BUT the fact that my hair didn't clump make it very susceptible to single strand knots with wash n gos so I avoided that style like the plague. I HAD to stretch my hair which was fine but I wanted to option to let it shrink in all it's natural glory without all those knots

When I first heard about MHM, it was very hard for me to believe that my afro would eventually get to a point where the tiny coils would actually start clumping together because it has been drilled into our heads that type 4B/C hair does not clump and is not meant to do that. I thought that either the people doing MHM really did not have tight coils like mine to begin with or that this method was somehow "texturizing" the tight coils. It seemed blasphemous to state that THOROUGHLY moisturized tight coils do clump together no matter how fine, dense or tiny they are and that the key to real moisture was properly and gently opening the cuticle and then filling it with moisture. It was waaay too simple and too good to be true in my eyes - but it ended up being just that simple and just that true.

Now with MHM I can rock my wash n go without fear and yes this is because my coils are clumping with the increased moisture (to my surprise) - the clumping protects my coils from interweaving and tangling like before - but they are still the same beautiful tight coils I've always had and my hair looks nothing like Joan from Girlfriends - it looks like MY hair because it is my hair - my coils have in no way loosed or gotten bigger - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

CocoGlow said:

koolkittychick

Sis, I totally understand your reservations. Before I read the super long thread on BHM I had a LOT of assumptions about what this method was all about. I thought that the ingredients/methods were potentially damaging over time, waay too expensive & time consuming and above all, just another bandwagon for self-loathing 4C Naturals who would do anything to make their hair curl! ( I had the same beliefs.)

I discovered that all of my assumptions were unfounded. I will address the last thing you mentioned before I go to bed because your passion stuck out to me. (I admire and understand koolkittychick 's passion too.)

What drew me into even reading up on this method despite my reservations were the claims of reducing single strand knots & tangles, improving moisture levels and making detangling easier - that's it. (Same here!)
I assure you that I NEVER EVER wanted Traci Ellis-Ross curls and certainly did not go into this with the desire or intention of "loosening" my curls or getting bigger curls. I have always been Pro-Afro, Pro-Kink, Pro-Nappy (hence my old username) and very passionate about Naturals with the tightest coils coming to love our hair despite what society feels about it. yep

I was perfectly content with the look of my afro and didn't necessarily desire a clumped or defined look at all. Though I wasn't chasing bigger/defined curls I was always envious of Naturals who had the freedom of doing wash n gos without incurring damage like me. I didn't care that my wash n go looked like a shrunken undefined afro BUT the fact that my hair didn't clump make it very susceptible to single strand knots with wash n gos so I avoided that style like the plague. I HAD to stretch my hair which was fine but I wanted to option to let it shrink in all it's natural glory without all those knots

When I first heard about MHM, it was very hard for me to believe that my afro would eventually get to a point where the tiny coils would actually start clumping together because it has been drilled into our heads that type 4B/C hair does not clump and is not meant to do that. I thought that either the people doing MHM really did not have tight coils like mine to begin with or that this method was somehow "texturizing" the tight coils. It seemed blasphemous to state that THOROUGHLY moisturized tight coils do clump together no matter how fine, dense or tiny they are and that the key to real moisture was properly and gently opening the cuticle and then filling it with moisture. It was waaay too simple and too good to be true in my eyes - but it ended up being just that simple and just that true.

Now with MHM I can rock my wash n go without fear and yes this is because my coils are clumping with the increased moisture (to my surprise) - the clumping protects my coils from interweaving and tangling like before - but they are still the same beautiful tight coils I've always had and my hair looks nothing like Joan from Girlfriends - it looks like MY hair because it is my hair - my coils have in no way loosed or gotten bigger - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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CocoGlow

This post was very enlightening and encouraging. You have addressed a lot of my initial concerns.

You are making me very happy I am trying this. I am in it for the same reasons you are.

I am #TeamNappy for life. I don't want to change how my hair looks. I love how my hair looks. I want a wash day that takes me less time and incurs less tangling. That is it. This is just the push I need to be more proactive about hydrating my hair.

Thank you for this post! I agree with everything you wrote.

koolkittychick

I'm one of those people whose hair was dry, dry, dry and when ladies would use a "$5 bottle of conditioner" and they would say how soft their hair was... I used to just exit the thread. I could not participate in those conversations. Soft hair? A foreign concept to me. Maybe I didn't do enough research, maybe I'm not as natural hair savvy as others but I really tried to find what my hair likes. I really did.

I'm not sure which part of the MHM fixed my problem but now I think I understand what soft, moisturized hair feels like. Traci Ross curls?
I HAVE SOFT HAIR!!! Maybe since you have not struggled as long as I have you can not possibly relate. Almost BSL and SOFT hair? It makes me want to start a soft hair thread. All these products I thought weren't for my hair.. Baloney! I just wasn't starting off on a clean head of hair that was properly moisturized.

Maybe the method is too many steps but for those of us who have tried everything.. What do we have to lose?

Your one of the lucky ones who got it right the first few times. You didn't have to deal with dry brittle, breaking hair over a long period of time. If I would have known this 3 years ago....

I don't understand why people think Pinkecube didn't do enough research. If anything she's guilty of information overload (LOL)! Between the research, personal testimony, pictures, videos, forum discussions and independent reviews I don't see how anyone could find fault in her efforts. MHM isn't a cure all. You still have to listen to your hair and adjust accordingly. If folk were expecting her to do ALL the work (and she's done A LOT) they were bound to be disappointed.

Oh BTW...who cares if someone actually wanted hair like Traci Ross? There is nothing wrong with her hair or the woman who admires it.

I can never change my 4a curls to 3cs. Its just not possible. Even with a texturizer, the size of my curls will never change, they will just start to loosen and look like loose waves. The only way I know how to get bigger curls is to get a jheri curl.

Using baking every other month in my cherry lola has only reduced my frizz for the duration of about 2-3 washes. Even if I never do another cherry lola, my hair will only temporarily be frizz free depending on the choice of cleanser, leave in and styler.

same with henna, my curls will loosen and lay flatter for about a week or so but they never morph into Type3, they just look like very loose S's but that happens depending on what type of styler I use or how I use it.

koolkittychick

1. ... which is exactly what she does. Have you gone to the site? She actually has a piece entitled, My Personal Hair Story.

2. The text from the invitation reads:

The MHM Family is ever spreading and supporting each other as we grow. Now there’s an opportunity for you to have that experience first hand. Lola, Founder of Editor in Kinks and also a member of the the Max Hydration Thread on BHMF is hosting the first ever Max Hydration Method Workshop on August 31st from 2-5 pm in Chicago!
The admission is free for those who sign up through eventbrite otherwise there will be a fee of $10 at the door.

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My highlights in red. Pinke Cube did not host the event and, with a little planning, one could easily avoid the nominal fee at the door. The event was held in August. If it were such a money-maker, why haven't they held them all over the country, heck, the world??? It's the end of October now, after all.

3.

But a property of 4c hair is being frizzy. It just is.

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Goodness, you're so insistent. How do you know? Cuz we used Blue Magic and Pink Oil moisturizer for 30 years and that's all we got? Our hair hasn't even been fully studied yet, we have no idea what it's capable of.

Consider this. Thus far, we've only had access to geographically limited supplies of raw materials and hair products made by (mostly) wp in cultures/ nations that promoted straight hair as beautiful. We never even tried with our curls. We have no idea what might happen with a few years of research.

Don't use your lack of imagination to indict us all.

OAN, Pinke Cube's hair don't look nothing like Traycee Ellis Ross' hair. And neither does Aketafitgirl's or MsDeeKay's. That's how I know you're not even dealing with the material as presented.

Sidenote: For anyone reading this thread who has not tried the MHM: You're 4b won't turn into 3c. Your hair will be very very tiny curls, however it will not be loose enough to be described as 3c.

Defined, NOT loosened.

Honey Bee said:

@koolkittychick

1. ... which is exactly what she does. Have you gone to the site? She actually has a piece entitled, My Personal Hair Story.

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A few telling words I found in that piece:

"There will be no more 'but my hair can’t do that,' 'my hair is too nappy for that,' or 'Wash n go’s don’t work on Nappy hair.' It will change to 'We all can achieve that look if our hair is moisturized.' That to me takes away this elitism about natural hair. A 4c girl who wears her hair in a fro, isn’t doing it because it is the only style that can be achieved on her hair besides a protective style, she is choosing to do that style among many others she can also achieve. So she is wearing a fro the same way someone with 3c hair can decide they want that look for the day. She can wear her hair out all the time, and it isn’t an issue with retaining length. She doesn’t have to manually twirl sections of hair to get definition, it is already apparent on her product free hair. So I think the perceptions are going to change in general about 4c hair, and level the playing field."

"My view of my hair has really changed in the sense now I feel like my hair doesn’t have to be this hidden treasure. I don’t have to protective style all the time and then “prove” my hair is worth it by straightening it to show my length. I’m not length obsessed anymore, my hair is growing. People can all see the curls I saw in the mirror that day, and then some."

Honey Bee said:

2. The text from the invitation reads:

My highlights in red. Pinke Cube did not host the event and, with a little planning, one could easily avoid the nominal fee at the door. The event was held in August. If it were such a money-maker, why haven't they held them all over the country, heck, the world??? It's the end of October now, after all.

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My guess is that once the attendees found out all there was to do to achieve the effect MHM promises, there was not much demand for further discussion. Human beings are funny that way. They will do anything it takes to get what they want--unless it involves work, sacrifice, or time. MHM does not provide a "quick fix," and so will probably never gain traction as a movement with many folllowers. Even the ladies on the other thread spend more time looking for short cuts to the regimen than actually following the regimen.

Honey Bee said:

3.

Goodness, you're so insistent. How do you know? Cuz we used Blue Magic and Pink Oil moisturizer for 30 years and that's all we got? Our hair hasn't even been fully studied yet, we have no idea what it's capable of.

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What does Blue Magic and Pink Oil have to do with the natural state of unadulterated 4c hair? I have 4c hair, as well as 4a, 4b, and even a couple of 4zs in there. I can only go by what 4c hair does in its unadulterated state; it frizzes. I can stop it from frizzing, but only if I do stuff to it, like, for instance, MHM. See how that works?

Honey Bee said:

Consider this. Thus far, we've only had access to geographically limited supplies of raw materials and hair products made by (mostly) wp in cultures/ nations that promoted straight hair as beautiful. We never even tried with our curls. We have no idea what might happen with a few years of research.

Don't use your lack of imagination to indict us all.

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What would happen is the same thing that happened when Madame C.J. Walker (Google her if you don't know) invented the Marcel hot combs and irons, and laid the groundwork for the development of the modern relaxer. More ways for us to change what is natural for our hair and make it do what it does not do normally growing out of our heads. Nothing more or less. And I'm not indicting anyone for that. I wore a relaxer for years. I still would be wearing one if my scalp hadn't given me an ultimatum--full, kinky, relaxer-free hair or straight hair in a sea of bald spots.

Honey Bee said:

OAN, Pinke Cube's hair don't look nothing like Traycee Ellis Ross' hair. And neither does Aketafitgirl's or MsDeeKay's. That's how I know you're not even dealing with the material as presented.

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Actually, I am. Their hair was made to resemble TER's hair in that there are visible, distinct curls. I am not talking about the size of the curls. But fine, if you want to split hairs, so to speak, let's just say their hair has the curl definition found in 3cs and above. And that seems to be the main goal of MHM; to have the hair hold enough moisture so that it looks sopping wet all the time without being wet, just to get that defined curl look and feel. People seem to be operating under the erroneous assumption that wet hair equals healthy hair (hygral fatigue anyone?) and I'm just saying that people my want to rethink that before they cause long term damage to their hair.

One of the best parts of being a woman is experimenting with our appearance. It's fun! Makeup, clothing, shoes, handbags and yes...hair. Why a certain segment of our community is hell bent on denying black women the full expression of their femininity (however they define it) is beyond me. If you feel fly wearing "unadulterated hair" or whatever then that's great. If you prefer a blonde weave hanging to your ankles that's cool too.

I just get tired of black women limiting their potential to please the masses. You are free to do whatever you want. Experiment with whatever you like. And become whoever the heck you want to be. There's nothing wrong with questioning conventional wisdom. That's what I LOVE about MHM. Pinkecube boldly went against the grain by declaring there is no such thing as 4C frizzy hair. She friggin' killed a sacred cow! Now all those women who went through the trouble of developing a name like "texture discrimination" are up in arms. It's beautiful!

There aren't too many women with any hair type wearing their hair unadulterated. Women with straight hair don't wash it and do nothing else and have it look good. I don't understand why women with kinky hair are accused of trying to have something unnatural because we want to style our hair.

koolkittychick said:

And that seems to be the main goal of MHM; to have the hair hold enough moisture so that it looks sopping wet all the time without being wet, just to get that defined curl look and feel.

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It's Friday night, so I won't be responding point-by-point. I plan to be drinking shortly.

To the bold, you've answered your own question. 95% of the problems I've observed re: 4c hair are caused by dryness. Again, what on earth could be wrong with moisturized hair? Dry hair is not healthy hair, I don't care what lies people have been telling themselves. If my hair is dry, my number one priority is to moisturize it. Everything else, curl pattern, growing down instead of out, etc, is all extra.

Has it occurred to you that perhaps the reason 3c and lower (not "higher" ) hair hangs and has a defined curl pattern is solely because it gets moisturized easier? And NOT because 'it has a curl pattern and 4c just doesn't'. In which case, yes, moisturizing ANY non-straight texture will result in some kinda coil/ curl whether you wanted it or not.

Honey Bee said:

It's Friday night, so I won't be responding point-by-point. I plan to be drinking shortly.

To the bold, you've answered your own question. 95% of the problems I've observed re: 4c hair are caused by dryness. Again, what on earth could be wrong with moisturized hair? Dry hair is not healthy hair, I don't care what lies people have been telling themselves. If my hair is dry, my number one priority is to moisturize it. Everything else, curl pattern, growing down instead of out, etc, is all extra.

Has it occurred to you that perhaps the reason 3c and lower (not "higher" ) hair hangs and has a defined curl pattern is solely because it gets moisturized easier? And NOT because 'it has a curl pattern and 4c just doesn't'. In which case, yes, moisturizing ANY non-straight texture will result in some kinda coil/ curl whether you wanted it or not.

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I know you are not saying this but not all 4C hair equals hi porosity hair. I know women who are 4C and they do not have hi porosity hair and their hair doesn't have much shrinkage. I know women with straight hair that is hi porosity and their hair is like straw. With that being said if the hair porosity is corrected it is easier to retain length and style the hair. But you can still have hang time with out the curls as your hair gets longer if the porosity issue is corrected check out Kimmay's youtube on her seventh year hair growth. Her hair is hanging not much curl.