MHM Hangout

[snoop]

For those of you who have been doing this method for a while, do you find that humectants are problematic in terms of maintaining definition? Ie. Do they cause frizz?

Also, is there anyone here who is not detangling with their fingers? If so, how are you determining your progress?

 

[GGsKin]

For those of you who have been doing this method for a while, do you find that humectants are problematic in terms of maintaining definition? Ie. Do they cause frizz?

Also, is there anyone here who is not detangling with their fingers? If so, how are you determining your progress?

Throughout my time with my regimen, I haven't really used too many humectants. I started off using honey in my clay but after a while I took out the stuff I didn't need (honey, EVOO, etc). When it comes to glycerin, I guess I didn't want to dabble too much especially living in a cooler climate (and it was winter).

Now that I'm further along and I've gotten to know my hair a little better, I will try some things out. I think it was the glycerin the the AIA Curling Jelly that reacts with something (my hair or the atmosphere) and causes puffiness at my roots, but it gives the rest of my hair great hold so I can work with it (it's the way it dries with water I can't take right now).

I use my fingers only.

 

[DeeLiteFulEKinky]

Throughout my time with my regimen, I haven't really used too many humectants. I started off using honey in my clay but after a while I took out the stuff I didn't need (honey, EVOO, etc). When it comes to glycerin, I guess I didn't want to dabble too much especially living in a cooler climate (and it was winter).

Now that I'm further along and I've gotten to know my hair a little better, I will try some things out. I think it was the glycerin the the AIA Curling Jelly that reacts with something (my hair or the atmosphere) and causes puffiness at my roots, but it gives the rest of my hair great hold so I can work with it (it's the way it dries with water I can't take right now).

I use my fingers only.

Why did you start omitting add-ins for your clay. Like the honey and oil?

 

[GGsKin]

Why did you start omitting add-ins for your clay. Like the honey and oil?

Over time, I found that I just didn't need them. Olive oil is a bit heavy for my hair (I also read that too much oil in the clay could make it less effective at cleansing). With the honey, I didn't notice any benefits in my clay mix that I couldn't get without it..

 

[faithVA]

For those of you who have been doing this method for a while, do you find that humectants are problematic in terms of maintaining definition? Ie. Do they cause frizz?

Also, is there anyone here who is not detangling with their fingers? If so, how are you determining your progress?

Humectants are a problem for me. My hair just poofs and has no definition. It doesn't matter whether its in the conditioner, the clay or the styler. I thought I wasn't making progress and then I removed the humectants and I could see more definition. I wouldn't necessary say I have more frizz, the humectants just seem to get in the hair strand and straighten it out versus letting the strand curl up so it looks like I have no definition.

I use a comb when I get tired of finger detangling. As long as I don't use it all the time my curls return to normal on the next wash so it is easy to see progress.

 

[Honey Bee]

I'm so messed up with this gel thing! No pomades either? I am the queen of wash and go! These were my go to products! Now that I'm natural again, the world is different from 5 years ago! Lol see the protein is what gives me the hold I need! It keeps everything in place! I didn't mind the cowashing daily, until my hair got longer. This is where I believe this method will come in handy for me. If it will help with the tangles and knots, I will give the whole method a try.

Now I'm trying to figure out is it doing the treatment for 7 days, then sticking to the product list? Am I not suppose to use shampoo? I am a firm believer in using shampoo. I will keep reading some more. Oh do I have to do the clay treatment? I have clay. I used it but it is red and messy. I only used it in a small spot. Can I just do the cherry Lola treatment?

I regularly use shampoo for my step 1. The most important step to me is the clay. I've been half-@ssing this regimen since the beginning, but my hair is moving right along, curls popping. I have pics but I can't figure out how to post.

 

[DeeLiteFulEKinky]

Over time, I found that I just didn't need them. Olive oil is a bit heavy for my hair (I also read that too much oil in the clay could make it less effective at cleansing). With the honey, I didn't notice any benefits in my clay mix that I couldn't get without it..

Ah, I see. Do you remember the amounts you were adding of honey and oil?
And, remind me, are you still doing the first steps clarify and DC? I ask cause it makes sense to want to have the clay be more cleansing if you're not clarifying at the start. I'm just trying to understand the purpose of each step and how others modify and why. Mainly so I can be proactive if things start to stall.

 

[DeeLiteFulEKinky]

I regularly use shampoo for my step 1. The most important step to me is the clay. I've been half-@ssing this regimen since the beginning, but my hair is moving right along, curls popping. I have pics but I can't figure out how to post.

No lie, I'd love to see how your hair looks especially since your transition is over. Congrats btw!

 

[Evolving78]

I regularly use shampoo for my step 1. The most important step to me is the clay. I've been half-@ssing this regimen since the beginning, but my hair is moving right along, curls popping. I have pics but I can't figure out how to post.

Your hair is much longer than mine. My hair clings and clumps together. My shed hairs always get trapped and cause knots and tangles. This usually happens after 5-6 inches. How is your hair doing in that regard? I still haven't been to the health food store yet. Hopefully this weekend.

 

[Honey Bee]

No lie, I'd love to see how your hair looks especially since your transition is over. Congrats btw!

Awww, thanks. I take pics almost every day, but I can't get them to load. I have an album with one lonely lil pic in it.

Your hair is much longer than mine. My hair clings and clumps together. My shed hairs always get trapped and cause knots and tangles. This usually happens after 5-6 inches. How is your hair doing in that regard? I still haven't been to the health food store yet. Hopefully this weekend.

I don't know how long my hair is, how long is yours? My shed hairs get trapped too, but I've detangled with a comb twice this week and my curls came back nice. I was trying to stick with finger combing, and I will, but I hadn't used a comb in months so I probably needed a big detangling session. My hair is tangly by nature, though, relaxed, natural, w/e. I think it's because it's so fine. MHM has helped a great deal.

 

[GGsKin]

Ah, I see. Do you remember the amounts you were adding of honey and oil?
And, remind me, are you still doing the first steps clarify and DC? I ask cause it makes sense to want to have the clay be more cleansing if you're not clarifying at the start. I'm just trying to understand the purpose of each step and how others modify and why. Mainly so I can be proactive if things start to stall.

At the time of removing those things, I was still doing the full method- clarify, DC/ cowash, clay, leave-in, gel.

I only ever used between 0.5-1 teaspoon of honey in my clay. I always added my oil by eye, but i'd say I never used more than 1 dinner spoon.

I do mainly do water rinse, clay, gel.

 

[Ajna]

For those of you who have been doing this method for a while, do you find that humectants are problematic in terms of maintaining definition? Ie. Do they cause frizz?

Also, is there anyone here who is not detangling with their fingers? If so, how are you determining your progress?

Nope not a fan of humectants my hair can tolerate it better in summer so I guess that is high humidity but in winter I get dry frizzy hair which is tough to balance. So thanks to this regimen I plan to discontinue use all together.

As for the comb vs finger dentangle I still use a comb. Typically I finger detangle but every few weeks I use the comb to make sure I get all of the shed hairs. The comb thing took a while to figure out what works and for me the Ouidad double detangler works the best. It does not break my hair at all but it is crazy expensive ($25 for a comb???) but I used the ulta coupon and it is worth every penny.

 

[DeeLiteFulEKinky]

At the time of removing those things, I was still doing the full method- clarify, DC/ cowash, clay, leave-in, gel.

I only ever used between 0.5-1 teaspoon of honey in my clay. I always added my oil by eye, but i'd say I never used more than 1 dinner spoon.

I do mainly do water rinse, clay, gel.

Ok. I use roughly the same amount of honey and eyeball my oil additions too. I don't use olive oil, it doesn't work for me and irritates my seb derm becuase its high in oleic acid, so I use oils that are higher in linoleic acid like grapeseed and rose hip seed oil. I also use avocado oil becuase it seems to my hair really likes it, although it's got more oleic acid than I should be using. But since adding in the other oils it seems to tip the scales in my favor. (okay, that was way too much info that no one asked for and almost derailed my thoughts)

 

[KiWiStyle]

Maybe try mixing the AIA and the KCCC. I would try it but I don't have any AIA and I refuse to buy any until I use up some of these gels. I found the AIA to give me better 2nd day hair than the KCCC.

What brand of color are you going to use? and what color are you going to color it.

@faithVA I'll try mixing the two.
My stylist is using It&ly Hairfashion Colorly
2020. I chose level 6 Dark Golden Copper Blonde so I think that's only lifting up 2 levels from my natural.

 

[DeeLiteFulEKinky]

I don't know if this was already sorted out but I'm hoping to find some longtime mhmers with similar hair to my own. Mainly I'm looking for a direction to continue in. @tashboog burst my hair bubble by reminding me about the buildup pomades can cause, and going back to the mhm website, I see it there in plain English lumped up with mineral oil that waxes are no-nos. Oyin's burt sugar has candelillia wax.

I guess my plan is finish up the pomade as an edge controller and no longer use it as a sealant.
I will play around with the KCCC to figure out a way to make it feel less crispy. More dilution and maybe add some castor oil.

I'm also considering trying out some Camille rose or other water based cream. Although I think I can continue using Oyin's hair dew.

Finally, I am high density , low porosity and normal to coarse.

 

[KiWiStyle]

Humectants are a problem for me. My hair just poofs and has no definition. It doesn't matter whether its in the conditioner, the clay or the styler. I thought I wasn't making progress and then I removed the humectants and I could see more definition. I wouldn't necessary say I have more frizz, the humectants just seem to get in the hair strand and straighten it out versus letting the strand curl up so it looks like I have no definition.

I use a comb when I get tired of finger detangling. As long as I don't use it all the time my curls return to normal on the next wash so it is easy to see progress.

I use honey in every clay mix...I'll remove it in my next mix.

 

[faithVA]

@faithVA I'll try mixing the two.
My stylist is using It&ly Hairfashion Colorly
2020. I chose level 6 Dark Golden Copper Blonde so I think that's only lifting up 2 levels from my natural.

Can't wait to see it.

 

[faithVA]

I don't know if this was already sorted out but I'm hoping to find some longtime mhmers with similar hair to my own. Mainly I'm looking for a direction to continue in. @tashboog burst my hair bubble by reminding me about the buildup pomades can cause, and going back to the mhm website, I see it there in plain English lumped up with mineral oil that waxes are no-nos. Oyin's burt sugar has candelillia wax.

I guess my plan is finish up the pomade as an edge controller and no longer use it as a sealant.
I will play around with the KCCC to figure out a way to make it feel less crispy. More dilution and maybe add some castor oil.

I'm also considering trying out some Camille rose or other water based cream. Although I think I can continue using Oyin's hair dew.

Finally, I am high density , low porosity and normal to coarse.

How many times have you done the original method? And how is the original method working for you so far?

 

[faithVA]

I use honey in every clay mix...I'll remove it in my next mix.

I think you may see the difference. And if you are adding oil just do a bit of oil, 1 tsp and see if you notice a difference. It wasn't major for me initially but it was noticeable.

 

[Evolving78]

Awww, thanks. I take pics almost every day, but I can't get them to load. I have an album with one lonely lil pic in it.


I don't know how long my hair is, how long is yours? My shed hairs get trapped too, but I've detangled with a comb twice this week and my curls came back nice. I was trying to stick with finger combing, and I will, but I hadn't used a comb in months so I probably needed a big detangling session. My hair is tangly by nature, though, relaxed, natural, w/e. I think it's because it's so fine. MHM has helped a great deal.

Oh I'm practically bald! Lol my hair is fine too! What clay do you use? How does your hair feel afterwards? What do you cowash with?

 

[Honey Bee]

Oh I'm practically bald! Lol my hair is fine too! What clay do you use? How does your hair feel afterwards? What do you cowash with?

I know y'all be getting fancy with it, but I just use plain ol' Aztec clay. I tried "french red clay" but it was too messy. My hair feels slightly stripped afterward (good) or slightly coated cuz I've been using 'bad' products (not good). Either way, I throw on some diluted KCKT and whatever gel I'm playing with.

I don't really co-wash, per se. I like shampoo. My step 1 is usually VO5 clarifying cond + whichever shampoo I'm using (layered). Wash that out and move on to the 'official' step 2. But, if I did cowash, I'd use the Curls brand cowash. I forget the name, but I love it. It lathers!

 

[Honey Bee]

Why cant I upload any images??? WTH. I keep getting 'There was a problem uploading your file.'

 

[faithVA]

Why cant I upload any images??? WTH. I keep getting 'There was a problem uploading your file.'

Have you tried resizing your pictures. Try resizing them to 420 x by ? and see if that works.

 

[Honey Bee]

Have you tried resizing your pictures. Try resizing them to 420 x by ? and see if that works.

How do I do that? I'm a luddite, type slow.

 

[Guinan]

I finished flat ironing my hair. I feel like I have retained sooo much with doing this method. I gave myself a mini trim. I need to re measure my hair.

The 1st of pics is a comparison from when I BC. I measured in at around 3-5inches after I BC which was in aug 2014. The last pic is a comparison from when I straighten in jan to today.

The other pics are just extra pics.

To straighten I use curlformers, heat protectant, blowdry with a tekk brush and then flat iron.

 

[Honey Bee]

I'm so tight that you making it rain with pics while I'm going through these trials and triulations.

 

[GGsKin]

I'm so tight that you making it rain with pics while I'm going through these trials and triulations.

If you're using your phone, try editing the pic and using that saved version. Or you could download a pic app and use the pic from that file.

 

[GGsKin]

I finished flat ironing my hair. I feel like I have retained sooo much with doing this method. I gave myself a mini trim. I need to re measure my hair.

The 1st of pics is a comparison from when I BC. I measured in at around 3-5inches after I BC which was in aug 2014. The last pic is a comparison from when I straighten in jan to today.

The other pics are just extra pics.

To straighten I use curlformers, heat protectant, blowdry with a tekk brush and then flat iron.

Your hair looks gorgeous. So lush. Justgrin. You've got me wanting to straighten mine in August for my 1yr. That is some serious retension, and lovely shine. Great work.

 

[Honey Bee]

If you're using your phone, try editing the pic and using that saved version. Or you could download a pic app and use the pic from that file.

I'm on a laptop, though. I feel like I should be able to resize a pic without all this drama... no?

 

[GGsKin]

I should think so.