Any thoughts on Maximum Hydration Method

[Honey Bee]

I'm on day 3 of this regimen. The biggest issue that I'm having is that my hair stays wet FOREVER. I'm mostly 3c with a patch of 4a at the crown and I found that my 4a hair dries pretty quickly while the 3c just won't give up the H2O. The definition all over is great and my hair is looking better hydrated but I'm struggling with the lo po issue of hair that just won't dry. I can't imagine going into winter like this. Anyone have this problem following the mhm regimen?

Petite One, You could diffuse or blowdry on cool or under a hooded dryer.

There also an application method that cuts down on drying time. I think they said to smooth out the excess after you apply the l-i, but before the gel.

Rachelcpr on yt did a video about how she speeds up drying time too... a lot of shaking over the tub, iirc.

 

[Petite One]

Petite One, You could diffuse or blowdry on cool or under a hooded dryer.

There also an application method that cuts down on drying time. I think they said to smooth out the excess after you apply the l-i, but before the gel.

Rachelcpr on yt did a video about how she speeds up drying time too... a lot of shaking over the tub, iirc.

Thank you so much for the reply. I literally shook until I was dizzy and it still didn't work. I also shook just to check every now and then and I was still slinging water out of my hair 3-4 hours later. I will watch the yt video for tips.

 

[SimJam]

Does anyone skip the bentonite clay or replace it with something else? And yea, I know that goes against following it to the letter, but i wanna know durn it lol

You can use any sort of clay. (Rhassoul, french green, etc ) even terressentials.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using LHCF .... plz excuse the occasional crap typos

 

[SimJam]

I must say I'm not a fan of the "look" of max hydrated hair 4b/c hair in a wash and go. I think I've grown to love my frizz lol.

BUT no doubt I think this method really does hydrate the hair (similar to curly girl concept of curl hydration) and the 7 day regimen is again similar to terressentials initial clay hair detox.

Somehow each step plays a part as I could feel and see the difference in my hair at each step. Detangling was a non issue, moisture was awesome and I could use so much less product in so much less time to get a much better result.

Only did it to 2 consecutive days because I already had an appointment to put in kinky twists. But I will definitely continue once I take them out.


The only thing I wonder about is where does a protein treatment fit in this regimen?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using LHCF .... plz excuse the occasional crap typos

 

[bajandoc86]

^^ I am wondering too SimJam. I would like to get into henna as well as this max hydration method.

 

[Honey Bee]

I must say I'm not a fan of the "look" of max hydrated hair 4b/c hair in a wash and go. I think I've grown to love my frizz lol.

SimJam, Me too, actually. I'm not fully natural yet, but my hair is fine so I tend to embrace the frizz, lol. It adds volume.

The only thing I wonder about is where does a protein treatment fit in this regimen?

The Cherry Lola treatment is considered protein (the yogurt and the aminos), but I was thinking about augmenting the regimen with Chicoro's amino acid treatment (she has a yt vid about it).

eta: Pinke Cube recommends to avoid the hydrolyzed proteins usually found in protein treatments because the regimen is crafted for low porosity hair, hair that typically has too strong of a cuticle layer, so no need for reinforcement. I don't know what high porosity hair might need.

 

[Honey Bee]

^^ I am wondering too SimJam. I would like to get into henna as well as this max hydration method.

bajandoc86 Henna is discussed in the big BHM thread. I think Pinke Cube said it was fine as long as you get your hydration up first. The idea is, get your hair as hydrated as possible so you can see/ recognize whatever dryness might be caused by the henna. Knowing how your hair looks and acts when its hydrated will alert you to any dryness caused by the henna. You may need to dc more, or baggy more, but whatever it is, it'll be obvious and you'll have learned just what to do.

 

[Honey Bee]

I am going to make some flaxseed gel and try it. But flaxseed gel has to stay refrigerated right?

Yes, FSG has to be refrigerated and it should keep for two to three weeks.

@AJellyCake, @myfaithrising, Yes, FSG has to be refrigerated, but you can freeze it into ice cubes and thaw as needed. Oh, and of course, you could add whichever preservatives you feel comfortable with.

Has anyone tried the steps out of order? I was on Danabnaturals and she does the clay step before the conditioner step. I'm about to try it that way right now. also looking for gel recipes.

@nomadpixi, Danabnaturals was doing the Curly Girl Method for several months (8?) beforehand, so she was more hydrated than most before she had even started. Pinke Cube co-signed her shortened method, but only if your hair was well-hydrated already.

 

[bajandoc86]

Honey Bee Thanks for the answer! I have that thread on BHM open in my browser, just need time to get thru it all. I am hoping to get through some of it today. My hair likes a shot of protein at least once a month, so that part is important for me.

 

[Honey Bee]

@Honey Bee Thanks for the andwer! I have that thread on BHM open in my browser, just need time to get thru it all. I am hoping to get through some of it today. My hair likes a shot of protein at least once a month, so that part is important for me.

bajandoc86, Mine too... or, at least, my relaxed hair did. I don't know what's going on any more.

 

[Guinan]

Is there anyone thats not going to do it everyday?

Im going to try to do it 3xs a week, but will do the shorter reggie during the week.

I feel like it might be too much manipulation for me, since i primarily do twistouts.

Any of yall doing other styles besides a wng

 

[SpiritJunkie]

i did the MHM yesterday and everything was cool until I washed out the clay. I sent the lady a note with some of my pics to see what i did wrong. One thing I have to say is my hair was very soft and curls more defined than I've ever seen it when I washed out the caramel treatment & deep conditioned.

I am willing to try again once I hear back from her about what i did wrong.

Pic is my hair with european clay my hair after this was a hot mess & it was not swangin'!

 

[shelli4018]

^^I do it 3X a week. I'm too darn lazy to do it every single day. Actually one of the reasons I tried MHM is to get away from twist outs. Combing my hair and retwisting every night wasn't working for me. And since my hair was dry all the manipulation wreaked havoc on my strands. MHM appears to have alleviated dryness and excess manipulation....for me.

 

[crimsonpeach]

i did the MHM yesterday and everything was cool until I washed out the clay. I sent the lady a note with some of my pics to see what i did wrong. One thing I have to say is my hair was very soft and curls more defined than I've ever seen it when I washed out the caramel treatment & deep conditioned. I am willing to try again once I hear back from her about what i did wrong. Pic is my hair with european clay my hair after this was a hot mess & it was not swangin'!

My hair looked similar on Day 1. I did a twistout that day. The curls/coils become more uniform as time goes by. I believe you are fine.

 

[shelli4018]

i did the MHM yesterday and everything was cool until I washed out the clay. I sent the lady a note with some of my pics to see what i did wrong. One thing I have to say is my hair was very soft and curls more defined than I've ever seen it when I washed out the caramel treatment & deep conditioned.

I am willing to try again once I hear back from her about what i did wrong.

Pic is my hair with european clay my hair after this was a hot mess & it was not swangin'!

My hair looked like that the first time I tried it. I think I messed it up by using undiluted conditioner as a leave in and Eco styler gel. Since then I've had much better results with diluted conditioner and WetLine gel.

 

[lenu80]

I did this method for 4 days, so far my curls have definitely been popping. I'm not sure it has reached maximum hydration but is responding well to products. My hairs dislikes washngo so I stick to braidout, twistout, bantu knots, flat twists.

 

[SimJam]

Is there anyone thats not going to do it everyday?

Im going to try to do it 3xs a week, but will do the shorter reggie during the week.

I feel like it might be too much manipulation for me, since i primarily do twistouts.

Any of yall doing other styles besides a wng

pelohello I have no time or desire to do this every day ... plus with this drought in Jamaica I feel some sort of way using so much water every day.

I think I remember reading that doing it every 3 days instead on 7 conservative days is acceptable.

For the 2 days I did this it was the shortened version and I think I had pretty good results.

Regarding the wash and go. I don't think you have to wear a wng every time. The mhm website just lists the last step as styling.

On day 2 for me I just did a twistout which was so defined (like curls within curls) because I just grabbed chunks of hair (that already had clumps of curls) and twisted.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using LHCF .... plz excuse the occasional crap typos

 

[CocoGlow]

Has anyone tried the steps out of order? I was on Danabnaturals and she does the clay step before the conditioner step. I'm about to try it that way right now. also looking for gel recipes.

nomadpixi

I did one day of the Max Hydration Method with nice results but it was VERY time consuming and even though I diluted my conditioner my hair was white after my leave-in/gel application and was still white after drying in certain areas !!! I know I did something wrong...maybe it wasn't diluted enough

I then saw DanaBNatural's demo and loved how much quicker it was and the fact that she does not apply a leave-in but instead uses her last conditioner step to detangle & then does not rinse it out but squeezes all the excess conditioner out of her hair before applying gel to avoid the white buildup that occurs on Low Porosity hair -I was shocked to see just how much conditioner came out of her hair b/c her hair didn't even look like it had conditioner left in it!

I definitely want to try her modified version of achieving Maximum Hydration to compare .. She calls it the Curly Girl Method modified to meet Low Porosity Hair needs....To me her regimen makes more sense logically because she is detoxifying then clarifying then conditioning, etc, etc but I will see how my hair reacts

I also like how she demostrated just how wet your hair should be before applying the gel .. Homegirl wasn't playing LOL I hate dripping wet hair though erplexed

For those that haven't seen her vids these are her steps:

Part 1 (Detoxifying Clay Treatment)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86yYgJSou8U

Part 2 (Clarifying Co-Wash/Conditioning/Finger Detangling)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCOrFShfjRU

Part 3 (Soaking Water + Gel Application)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNRRAfegyyI

She also does regular Wash n Go's with less steps but the same techniques during the week and has a demo here:

Wash n Go
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uedIVGT7Q54&list=UUWVkXZnMGimzb45ZfSXxt2g

 

[SpiritJunkie]

CocoGlow thank you so much for sharing those links. it really gave me better insight on how to do this method.

At the end of the day you do what's best for your hair and take a bit of this and a bit of that until it works. I'm going to get this & when i do I will share my pics.

HHG!

 

[bellebebe]

I'm sure glad I bumped up this thread.

 

[Guinan]

Here are my results. I pretty much followed the reggie except for the brand of DC. For my DC i used herbal essence.

For the gel, i used home made flaxseed gel. I just added peppermint oil; which i put way too much.

My thoughts: this reggie is truly awesome if u have no curl definition. I have definition but it's consumed by frizz. I noticed my curls were popping after the clay wash. It is very time consuming. I think ill def have to do the shorter version. For me, the game changer was def the clay. It did make my hair dry, but it made my curls more defined. I also noticed that my hair stayed wetter longer.

I diffused my hair for about 30min.

Hopefully u can see the pics. Every time i upload it keeps crashing

 

[Guinan]

More done pics. Oh, my siggie is how my wng usually look

 

[bellebebe]

pelohello

Your hair looks Amazing, hun!!!

 

[HeavenlySkies]

Just cut off over 10 inches of hair so now is the perfect time to try something new. No regimens no nothing has worked for my hair as far as preventing ssks, split ends and retaining length so this is probably a last resort.

 

[myfaithrising]

myfaithrising, where do you get your Irish moss?

I think it came from mountain rose herbs, that's where the bulk of my herbs come from.

 

[myfaithrising]

@AJellyCake, @myfaithrising, Yes, FSG has to be refrigerated, but you can freeze it into ice cubes and thaw as needed. Oh, and of course, you could add whichever preservatives you feel comfortable with.

Thanks for mentioning freezing the FSG, that's a great alternative!!

 

[myfaithrising]

pelohello, your hair looks great!!

 

[shelli4018]

Hmm. So I read a bit more about MHM on black hair media this morning. There may be an issue with a key ingredient in wetline gel. TEA is pretty high on the ingredients list and it may cause drying. There may be some truth to this as my hair didn't have much slip the first time I used it. I had definition but my hair was dull. Personally I think lighter hair doesn't reflect light well anyway so I can't say for sure that the dullness was out of the ordinary. But anyway, I added olive oil to my gel and it's worked like a charm since then. I guess the oil countered the TEA? I dunno. I'll finish the rest of my gel mix up and try KCCC again.

 

[AJellyCake]

My second day on this regimen came out a lot better with the Kinky Curly products instead of the Giovanni ones. Still kinda dry though.

My hair has had increased manageability though: I've been able to wash it in 1 or 2 sections instead of my usual 4. And I think I am experiencing fewer tangles.

Today will be my third day. I DCed overnight with Crece Pelo.

 

[Pompous Blue]

Hmm. So I read a bit more about MHM on black hair media this morning. There may be an issue with a key ingredient in wetline gel. TEA is pretty high on the ingredients list and it may cause drying. There may be some truth to this as my hair didn't have much slip the first time I used it. I had definition but my hair was dull. Personally I think lighter hair doesn't reflect light well anyway so I can't say for sure that the dullness was out of the ordinary. But anyway, I added olive oil to my gel and it's worked like a charm since then. I guess the oil countered the TEA? I dunno. I'll finish the rest of my gel mix up and try KCCC again.

shelli4018 Thank you for this review. I was wondering how the Wetline gel performed. Will scratch it off my list.....The original Curly Magic is doing me very well. Also, Entwine Couture Creme Jelle Styler is good, too.

UPDATE on my 7-day regimen:

Today is Day 6.....I am weary, but will continue. I've got all the steps down to 2.5 - 3 hours. But I have to use a dryer to dry my hair. My hair is super-fine, medium density. But I realize I've got to put smaller flat twists in, instead of medium twists. Because it takes me 1.5 hrs to 2 hours to dry my hair under the PIBBS.

I'm still not confident to do a wash-n-go, yet. Maybe later on this week, I'll try with the Curly Magic.

The DCs that work for me are KBB Luscious Locks, Happy Nappy Honey Pink Hibiscus, and Hairveda Sitrinillah. My beloved Darcy's Botanicals Pumpkin Seed Conditioner does not provide the slip and my hair seems dry after using it. Don't know what's going on there.

The gels that do not work are Ouidad's Climate Control Gel and Curl Junkie's Pattern Pusha.

Also, I still have to use a heavy cream/butter with my Leave-ins to weigh my hair down. I tried 2 days in a row to use just the leave-in such as Mahogany Naturals Luscious Milk, KBB hair milk or Curl Junkie's Smoothing Lotion and they were not "heavy" enough (or maybe even moisturizing enough.) But my hair was too "light" and would not hang.

I keep trying......Going forward, Imma do the regimen 2 - 3 times a week. And try to incorporate my henna treatments in there somewhere.

OAN I discovered the reason my scalp "stung" the 1st time I did Step 1 is because my hair was clean from the Cherry Lola Treatment. Using 2 TBSP of baking soda works for me since my hair still has the L-Is and gel from the previous treatment.