MHM Hangout

So, somehow, I have been able to make Sunday's wng last alllllllll week! My hair has shrunk just a little bit but it's been so humid & rainy here that I think that helped a lot. I did refresh with my new gel dilution on Wednesday and this morning, sprayed and banded before bed & my customary plastic cap under my bonnet. My curl definition is still there on 90% of my head, the looser coils on top are almost completely stretched out. Tomorrow is an early wash day. I'm debating using the Crece Pelo again and applying the clay on top of that again..... I need to double check whether it is a protein dc or if I should just skip conditioner.
Considering how much I was hating the Tresemme, it's amusing me that now I'm all..... "hmmm, conditioner again?"

Hi Ladies. I'm catching up and you ladies still look good. I've been slacking since wearing wigs but I will be back soon. I also realize I need to incorporate more protein because CLT is not enough for my fine strands. What is a good protein DC for lo po hair? @AbsyBlvd what protein conditioner do you use because my hair responds the same as everything you do and resembles yours the closest?

Hi, everyone!

Still here and still MHMing. I've been MIA because my subscription ran out. And then I got soooo hair lazy. Seriously! It was bad. And my hair got incredibly tangled because of that. Finally got it detangled.

I've been MHMing for over a year now though, and it is great. My longest layer is now hip length, although I think I will cut a bit soon.

Yesterday I did just clay and gel for the first time!! I've never NOT used a leave in. And. It was ok! My hair is a little bit dry, but not too bad. I will have to keep experimenting.

Styling question for the wash and go'ers!

After I rinse out the clay, I just put the FSG heavily diluted in an applicator bottle over my whole hair at once, scrunch it in a little- aand shake my hair vigorously. (Anthony Dickey method?)

But I know there are others who detangle, shingle, etc extensively after putting the gel in. When I touch mine, it doesn't seem to help, but then again I don't have a technique. Can you share what you do after you put the gel in and how long it takes? @AbsyBlvd , I wish you had a demo of your regimen, especially the styling part!

Holla4mom said:

I'm catching up on posts and @KiWiStyle , your hair is growing and looking so pretty. @faithVA , the curls you posted on your successful wash and go were gorgeous!!

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Holla4mom, thank you!

I'm still doing the modified mhm but I'm getting lazy :-(. I have been cleansing my hair every 4-5 days and barely want to do it then, like now. Its the clay step that takes so much time but my hair looks crappy if I try to omit it. I'm hoping I can comfortably begin doing twistouts by Thanksgiving.

I've been doing wash and go's for my babies too. My 3c, normal porosity daughter and my 4a high porosity daughter can basically do CG method, but I've been giving them a clay treatment every couple of weeks and a Cherry Lola (one with just a tiny bit of baking soda and for my hi po baby, no BS at all).

They have a ton of shrinkage in these pictures, but you can see their little curls/ coils. Excuse my baby's chest I can't wait until my hair is coiled from root to tip.

astralpeck said:

@AbsyBlvd I just went to stalk all your posts to see exactly what you do, cos I really looooooove your hair! It seems like you style your hair in wash and gos or wigs. You also now do modified mhm, with clay and oil and diluted gel. How frequently do you wash/refresh? How frequently do you do other things like DC, clt, protein etc. Basically, if you can pls give me or direct me to a detailed detailed run down of your routine, i would be geateful. I feel like since I started the regimen, my hair has gotten thinner, partly because anytime I so much as rinse or touch my hair I see little coils in the bath tub. I do my hair 2ce, sometimes 3ce a week.

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Lol thank you @astralpeck . Yep that's it at the mo- wash and go or a wig. I did try a twist out once but it was too much work for me.

I started the full regimen in September (between wigging it 1-2 weeks, max 3 weeks) I was doing a full cycle quite often- at least three times a week. My schedule was every 2 or 3 days, with a CLCT maybe every 6 weeks or so. I used Henna once in November.
Every time I washed my hair, it was a full cycle. No proper DC and no proper protein at all and I think my finer strands suffered. My crown was already recovering from some previous damage but I think it took another hit.

In March I eased up on the clay (and too much vinegar in the clay) and incorprated some water only washes. I washed my hair with the same frequency but it was just; water rinse, clay (time severely shortened) oil rinse, and gel. Or water rinse, oil rinse and gel. Each time with really good head massage.

Towards the end of March, I used Mill Creek Botanicals Jojoba conditoner (my first shot of hydrolyzed protein since starting the regimen)...My hair loved it. I kind of ditched CLCTs after that, in preferance of the hydrolyzed keratin- other than my first CLCT, my hair responded better. Initially I thought I'd use it every 6 washes or every couple of weeks, but my hair started to feel a little hard so I just stick to my gut feeling/ intuition- it does me well.

Now life and laziness means I have scaled back to washing about once a week. I'm not happy about this. I don't like leaving my loose hair over 4 days without washing because I like to remove shed hairs before they become a problem. I also think my hair feels a little drier at the moment because I am not washing as often as I should. When I wash, I am seeing more short hairs in the bath and that can't be good.

When you say your hair feels thinner- does it? Does look thinner? Is that without product? Since I started washing my hair this way, I get way less shrinkage so my hair definitely feels and looks less dense than it did pre-MHM. At one point I was wondering if I was sleeping on some breakage because my hair at the crown seemed to be getting thinner. But I was being meticulous and I wasn't seeing broken strands. Once I started the modified, my hair began to look better and it's thickening up now (after a severe trim of some weathered strands and regular dusting).

Without product or combed out, it is full but once styled with gel I just have small hair that has hang time lol.

I hope this is detailed for you but I am mindful that this post is long. I'm on the go at the minute so haven't had a chance to look back, but I did document my 'cycles' and whenever I did something different. You can always PM me if I've missed something .

nycutiepie said:

Hi Ladies. I'm catching up and you ladies still look good. I've been slacking since wearing wigs but I will be back soon. I also realize I need to incorporate more protein because CLT is not enough for my fine strands. What is a good protein DC for lo pro hair? @AbsyBlvd what protein conditioner do you use because my hair responds the same as everything you do and resembles yours the closest?

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I've been using Mill Creek Botanicals Jojoba conditioner (hydrolyzed keratin).

Holla4mom said:

I've been doing wash and go's for my babies too. My 3c, normal porosity daughter and my 4a high porosity daughter can basically do CG method, but I've been giving them a clay treatment every couple of weeks and a Cherry Lola (one with just a tiny bit of baking soda and for my hi po baby, no BS at all).

They have a ton of shrinkage in these pictures, but you can see their little curls/ coils. Excuse my baby's chest I can't wait until my hair is coiled from root to tip.

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So cute and curly! I love the curls.

@Holla4mom a demo sounds good if I could be organised enough, for now I'll be as detailed as I can .

I always sit down and take my time. Starting at the back with soaking wet hair, I take roughly 1" by 2" sections and work upwards- I just make sure they are small enough that I can coat all the hair when pressed together between my fingers. My hair isn't thick and dense so although the process is not quick, its not so tedious. I've done it on thicker heads of hair so I've experienced the struggle .

I smooth a thick layer of the diluted KCCC from my roots to the ends. And I keep smoothing and gently stretching, sometimes adding more product to the same section until thoroughly coated.

My ends and some length will separate and clump I'll gently stretch the section to make sure the clumps are separated at the roots. Then take another section and repeat. I will put it in the direction I want as I go- not much styling due to length limitations but I work with it. I'll braid the front while it's wet so it sets flat and smooth (after being tied with a silk scarf).

My hair was acting a lil funky the last couple of times I did it so I decided to do the full MHM today as a reset so to speak. Haven't did it since around February when I switched over to the mod method. I clarified with SM JBCO & ACV clarifying shampoo, dc'd with NG Herbal Blends, followed up with Naturalicious clay, used heavily diluted KCKT as a leave-in and sealed with CR Curlmaker. My hair is happy again

ETA: on a side note...I took my son to the dr today and the physician asst. said, your hair looks nice. I said thank you. He asked what did I do to get it this way. I told him the short story, I washed it and used gel. He got real excited and asked which gel. Thinking that he thought the gel made my hair curly, I said my hair is naturally curly. He said oh it's all about the gel. I thought to myself, while some gels work better than others, gel can't give you what you don't already have. But I didn't say all that lol, just didn't feel like it. I was hesitant to tell him the name cuz I was thinking he'll thing the gel made me have curls, but I went on and said CR Curlmaker. He got so excited and asked me where he can buy it, and even asked a second time what thw name was. I really think he thinks it's going to make curls. Le sigh.

AbsyBlvd said:

I've been using Mill Creek Botanicals Jojoba conditioner (hydrolyzed keratin).

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Gonna get this. Thank you.

AbsyBlvd said:

I've been using Mill Creek Botanicals Jojoba conditioner (hydrolyzed keratin).

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@AbsyBlvd is this picture the conditioner you use?

hairtimes5 said:

My hair was acting a lil funky the last couple of times I did it so I decided to do the full MHM today as a reset so to speak. Haven't did it since around February when I switched over to the mod method. I clarified with SM JBCO & ACV clarifying shampoo, dc'd with NG Herbal Blends, followed up with Naturalicious clay, used heavily diluted KCKT as a leave-in and sealed with CR Curlmaker. My hair is happy again

ETA: on a side note...I took my son to the dr today and the physician asst. said, your hair looks nice. I said thank you. He asked what did I do to get it this way. I told him the short story, I washed it and used gel. He got real excited and asked which gel. Thinking that he thought the gel made my hair curly, I said my hair is naturally curly. He said oh it's all about the gel. I thought to myself, while some gels work better than others, gel can't give you what you don't already have. But I didn't say all that lol, just didn't feel like it. I was hesitant to tell him the name cuz I was thinking he'll thing the gel made me have curls, but I went on and said CR Curlmaker. He got so excited and asked me where he can buy it, and even asked a second time what thw name was. I really think he thinks it's going to make curls. Le sigh.

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Lol, girl why didn't you tell that man about the clay!?!? You gone have him walking around looking half crazy, Lol!

@nycutiepie this is the one I use

Yoooooo! I had the best hair day ever yesterday! EVER! It was perfect. Soft, moisturized, defined. Whew!

I will write what I did here so that I remember .

I did the full regimen.

1. Cleanse - Diluted baking soda and warm water in a few ounces of TJ's Tea Tree Tingle. Left that in for... I don't know. An hour?
2. Condition - Nondiluted TJ's Tea Tree Tingle overnight
3. Clay - In the morning. Watery mix of AVJ, Butters n Bars Rhassoul, Raw Honey, and Hemp Oil (never used this in may clay before)
ETA: I made my clay mix pretty watery. Usually I like it thick. Interesting!
4. Leave-in - Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie (diluted by spreading it over my hands then running my hands under the shower head). (This has panthenol.)
5. Gel - Hello Curly Curl Stimulator
6. Oil!!! - a quarter-sized amount of Vatika coconut oil on a quarter of my hair. I just started using this again within the last week.

About an hour or two later I diffused for a little bit on the warm/low heat setting.

My hair was sooooo good. Soft. Touchable. Defined. Proud of myself.

AbsyBlvd said:

@nycutiepie this is the one I use
View attachment 339215

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Perhaps the packaging is different here in the US. Thanks girlie!

AJellyCake said:

Yoooooo! I had the best hair day ever yesterday! EVER! It was perfect. Soft, moisturized, defined. Whew!

I will write what I did here so that I remember .

I did the full regimen.

1. Cleanse - Diluted baking soda and warm water in a few ounces of TJ's Tea Tree Tingle. Left that in for... I don't know. An hour?
2. Condition - Nondiluted TJ's Tea Tree Tingle overnight
3. Clay - In the morning. Watery mix of AVJ, Butters n Bars Rhassoul, Raw Honey, and Hemp Oil (never used this in may clay before)
ETA: I made my clay mix pretty watery. Usually I like it thick. Interesting!
4. Leave-in - Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie (diluted by spreading it over my hands then running my hands under the shower head). (This has panthenol.)
5. Gel - Hello Curly Curl Stimulator
6. Oil!!! - a quarter-sized amount of Vatika coconut oil on a quarter of my hair. I just started using this again within the last week.

About an hour or two later I diffused for a little bit on the warm/low heat setting.

My hair was sooooo good. Soft. Touchable. Defined. Proud of myself.

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Showoff!!! J/K Your hair is just gorgeous.

Is the cherry Lola step a must. I have a child who is severely allergic to dairy products so won't be bringing yogurt into my house.

GrenadianGal said:

Is the cherry Lola step a must. I have a child who is severely allergic to dairy products so won't be bringing yogurt into my house.

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The cherry Lola is very helpful over time but since she has an allergy you definitely don't want to use it. Email subsided and see if she has a recommendation on what you can use instead. Or perhaps you can use coconut yougurt or one of the yogurt substitutes. I have never tried them though so not sure how they would work.

AbsyBlvd said:

@nycutiepie this is the one I use
View attachment 339215

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@AbsyBlvd this is the Jojoba. The pic I posted is the Keratin.

AJellyCake said:

Hi, everyone!

Still here and still MHMing. I've been MIA because my subscription ran out. And then I got soooo hair lazy. Seriously! It was bad. And my hair got incredibly tangled because of that. Finally got it detangled.

I've been MHMing for over a year now though, and it is great. My longest layer is now hip length, although I think I will cut a bit soon.

Yesterday I did just clay and gel for the first time!! I've never NOT used a leave in. And. It was ok! My hair is a little bit dry, but not too bad. I will have to keep experimenting.

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With your length of hair, how much does your hair shrink to when dry? Do you think MHM has helped you with growing and retaining your length?

Wash day tomorrow. I have yet to purchase my clay. Will do tomorrow. I recently had a VERY bad hair wash on Sunday. My hair was very tangled and semi-matted. It was HORRIBLE. I still have no clue on why my hair reacted that way. The only thing I could think of is the cleansing conditioner that I've been using for months. I going back to doing the full MHM and will slowly integrate non-approved products so that I can see who's the culprit.

Thanks!!

One of these days I'll post an updated picture.

nycutiepie said:

Showoff!!! J/K Your hair is just gorgeous.

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pelohello said:

With your length of hair, how much does your hair shrink to when dry? Do you think MHM has helped you with growing and retaining your length?

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Hmmm....
If I pull my hair straight, the 4a parts shrink like 30%-40% now. Just wet it loses like 25% to shrinkage. My 3c layers don't have too much shrinkage. Lol I need a haircut. My longest layer (4a ETA: this said "4c". Sorry typing on phone!) hangs a little shy of WSL in a wash n go. Definitely past MBL. That's the layer that touches my hip bone if I pull it. But shrinkage isn't really something that bothers me the way it did when my hair was shorter and shrinkage had a greater impact. I don't think about it too much anymore. #privileged, I know.

Yes, MHM has helped a lot!!! That's one reason why I wanted to post. I've pretty much done the whole regimen unmodified since last August or so. Using baking soda diluted in conditioner and water 2-3 times per week hasn't melted my hair yet.

My hair is totally different now with MHM. I didn't really have any issues with retention as a natural beforehand but my hair was always so dry without MHM and poofy. I also was constantly trying new products to figure out what would help.

Now, my regimen is much simpler. I don't even have hair PJ tendencies anymore. Just other PJ tendencies.... And I actually have second and third day hair that I like. Before MHM I would usually be in a bun the 2nd and 3rd day. My hair also has a lot more movement. I also have low-Po hair that could never get moisturized and if I didn't DC with heat conditioner would just slide off.

I think the length I have now also changed how my hair behaves. I have more hang time.

faithVA said:

The cherry Lola is very helpful over time but since she has an allergy you definitely don't want to use it. Email subsided and see if she has a recommendation on what you can use instead. Or perhaps you can use coconut yougurt or one of the yogurt substitutes. I have never tried them though so not sure how they would work.

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Thank you for your response. I'm not sure how to find the person you indicated to email.

AJellyCake said:

Thanks!!

One of these days I'll post an updated picture.

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Its almost Christmas again so I'll keep mine until sometime in 2016, Lol!!

@AbsyBlvd thank you so much for your detailed reply. You know, you gave me something to think about as far as product vs product-free hair. So far I was basing my "thin" feeling on my instagram pics from when I first started the regimen till now and also how full my puff looked in the past. But it could be that the hair is more hydrated with more clump and stretch. If you have time you can check out my pics on instagram, username : neuyogi
My strategy going forward is to do what I can to minimize manipulation e.g by doing a water rinse or water only wash mid week. I can't thank you enough for your detailed response.

Got the Devacut this morning.

Very pleasantly surprised with the results. I don't know how I feel about the products yet. It was nice to let someone else detangle my hair lol