The MAX HYDRATION METHOD(from my other post)

Naturaltash1 wrote: aharri23 wrote: msdeekay wrote: Christine UK wrote: Wgat is this Herbal Fair Styling Gel and where do you get it?   It's a gel that has just been added to the recommended gel list you can find it on the link below 16. Herbal Hair Styling Gel, Unscented, 8.5 oz, Strauss Herb Company $7.39 Ingredients: Water, gum extract, jack pine extract, chamomile flower extract, calendula flower extract, horsetail herb extract, nettle leaf extract, dandelion leaf extract, red clover flower extract, olive fruit oil, pumpkin seed oil. @aharri and @naturaltash1 where did you purchase it from? I typed in the name of the gel on google and bought it from a vitamin shop. I can't remember the name Also I used it last night, it seems to have a very soft hold. I didn't notice any less friz though. @aharri23 since you have now tried the kinky curling custard, green tea glaze, & now the herbal styling gel. Can you tell me which gel you like the best? Which one are you going to use for your gel step? Also how do you like the Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle conditioner?

In all honesty I didn't notice a difference with all the gels and they all pretty much work the same. I personally would recommend KCCC because its easy to get on the ground and the packaging is good. The Herbal hair styling gel you can't scoop out of a jar but you have to squeeze it. Also the shipping was more than the product itself ($8) so i don't think ill be repurchasing. The Green Tea Curl Glaze is almost the same as KCCC, but you can't find it on the ground.

aharri23 wrote: It really upsets me how people can use ecostyler religiously and still get great results like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W5cCxAIZOE meanwhile if I use it my hair is dry and brittle. I hope I can get hair like his from doing the MHM, but I think his hair is a different texture than mine so we'll see. pinke is it possible for 4c/4b hair to clump like that ?

Hi aharri. Yes 4c and 4b hair can clump or define root to tip. So it can be just as clumpy as his, once max hydration is reached, definitely. However this is not going to increase the actual size of your curls. It will make the zigzags, coils, and coils you have pop out.

I also believe the longer your hair gets, you will notice bigger clumps and more weighed down. Like for example, some ppl when their 4a hair gets longer it looks like 3c hair, or sort of wavy. So that will happen. The max hydrated 4c hair as it gets longer will be ready to clump into larger sections, and not in a frizzy way. Same with 4b.

Naturaltash1 wrote: I have done 17 treatments so far but my hair was not in optimal conditioner like your hair was. I also need to add that I have hypothyroidism which also plays a role with the state of my hair. Far as my routine goes, I'm using Trader Joe's tea tree tingle for the clarifying step, Jessicurl deep treatment for the condition/dc step, bentonite clay using ur recipe with a few squirts of tea tree tingle, diluted kinky curly knot today, and the custard to seal. I do check my hydration status at the clay step. I have a few strands that has hydrated and those are my looser curls. I'm seeing the ends hydrating on a few strands as well but it's a slow slow process! Lol! I will try to figure out how to send u pics of my fro. Lol

Hi naturaltash. My hair was definetly not in optimal condition, because I did do a small twist protective style with vatika coconut oil and castor oil. (i layered all 3) Left my hair feeling drier than it had ever been in my life. Luckily i GHE'd every night then.

you might want to add less conditioner. TJ is very potent a conditioner and it can lower the effectiveness of the clay when you add too much "buffers". Or you can add the same amount of conditioner and lower the honey and olive oil ratios.

waveyrus wrote: I think I have to change my hair type! I have always said I was a 4c now I think I'm really a 4A. I'm using KCCC and it makes my hair feel a little crunchy, should i try it with oil?

Hi wavyus, so you read the post about about kink vs curl lol. anyway yes, you can layer oil before the gel. I find that the more wet and slippery my hair is with the watered conditioner, the softer my gel will dry when i apply it over it. It takes a bit of trial and error but when you get it, you have will feel incredibly soft. There just needs to be a balance so your hair doesn't feel to crunchy and doesn't feel so soft as if there is no product in it (although with max hydration it will still look defined even in that state.) But yeah, some people put gel on their hair after it dries. Loc in conditioner with oil before adding the gel, or mix water with some of their gel in a separate container.

irockcupcakes wrote: I started the MHM regimen the day before yesterday but without the cherry lola treatment because I didn't have the ingredients. My curls and coils are already popping and my hair was dryyyy before I started!! Don't worry, I took pictures every step of the way. I do think its because I did some of the steps for a longer period of time than what was stated. For step 1 i chose the baking soda to clarify and it ITCHED like crazy including my ears, so idk what was up with that. I decided to do my mom's hair too and her's didn't itch at all so idk. For the deep condition I used the Anita Grant marshmallow rhassoul deep condish cube and used the hooded dryer for 30mins then got sleepy and went to bed without rinsing it out. In the morning I rinsed it out and proceeded to the clay rinse with your bentonite clay recipe (because the deep condish was rhassoul) and then got distracted and ended up having it in for basically the whole day (about 11hrs to be precise) then I did the wash and go with kccc and diluted kckt and I banded my hair for some stretch and went to bed. In the morning my hair was still wet it was probably 15% dry so I used my hooded dryer on high/cool for 30 mins and when it was 80% dry I left it alone. My hair came out so good and felt so nice like never before. I've only done a wash n go one other time and didn't like it because my hair was dry, crunchy and flaky. Yesterday I didn't do the regimen because I didn't have the time and I was on the hunt for my cherry lola ingredients and some Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle conditioner which is supposedly out of stock in the warehouse so they dont have it in stores here. SMH. Although I skipped a day, I banded my hair at night without doing anything to it, no refresher or anything and I wore my second day hair to church today and my hair still feels moisturized, not just soft but actually moisturized. Just not to the max lol.  Honestly I don't know how porus my hair is. When I did the hair porosity test, my hair always floated in the water but I remember when I used to get relaxers, my hair would straighten very easily and its said that people with high porosity hair absorb relaxers easily (i don't know if thats true or not, correct me if i'm wrong) I say this because I wasn't expecting the results I got and idk if its because of the amount of time I let the dc and the clay rinse sit in my hair or what but I definitely feel alot of clumping going on all over my head especially the tips and even longer in the back of my head (looser texture back there, idk what my hair type(s) is/are). I like the "fro look" so I tried fluffing for a less defined look and some volume but the clumping coils are still easily seen. I'm about to start my cherry lola treatment so I can only imagine the results I'll have now. I'll post pics soon. I took alot so I have to sort them out. I'm really excited about this regimen even though it's a process but I think its worth it to bring my hair to its full potential. Thanks pinkecube and msdeekay for all your informative posts and all your help, God bless you!

Hi irockcupcakes! Great to hear your experience and results! So glad u took pics too, thank you!

 It is likely that the amount of bakingsoda you used was too much. This is because if you start the regimen, you likely don't have much product in your hair. Where as you mother may have already had some product in her hair. So For when we do the bakingsoda step on completely product free hair or hair that only has a little oil, you may have to reduce the amount to 2 teaspoons instead on 2 tablespoons. This is also mentioned on page 72. My cousin had the same experience of itching once, and i realized she used it on product free hair. Once she did the regimen on second day hair, she had more product residue from the day before's wash and go to remove so she didn't have any itch. Anyway it shouldn't effect you next time you do the regimen, since you will be removing gel next time so that will improve.

When it comes to relaxer absorption, porosity is irrelevant as the treatment is extremely alkaline opens up and eats holes in the cuticle layer. The effect of how easy your hair is to relax, is actually more determined by the density of your hair and the fineness of individual strands, that determine how easily your hair relaxes. So fine strands are more likely to take to relaxer faster, where as super thick strong strands will have a naturally thick cuticle layer, and resistance to bonds breaking.

I say if your hair passed the test for low po, and turns white when you apply product like conditioner, that is low porosity hair. At the end of the day this method will work on your hair even if you have high porosity hair anyway, since it involves closing the cuticle and sealing after.

Your welcome i'm happy this information is helping you understand and see positive changes in your hair.