Maximum Moisture Therapy (MMT). That’s what I’m calling it. A spin off of the Maximum Hydration Method (MHM), but without all those laborious steps, because, well…. I’m LAZY!!! Lol. Instead of the five steps required daily with the MHM, I’ve scaled it right down to just mostly co-washing. And instead of adhering to the list of safe products to use, I just used whatever the hell I wanted! Lol.

I’m so tired of reading long lists of all the things we “shouldn’t” use and the lack of proper understanding of each ingredient whilst passing it off as highly researched and confirmed! Like why glycerine is a ‘no,no’ in the MHM but honey is ok. They are both humectants and work in exactly the same way! If you really want an unbiased look into the ingredients in haircare products and why they are there, then I would recommend starting with Swift Crafty Monkey’s Blog – Point of Interest. Her archives are chock full of every kind of ingredient you can think of, including proper scientific research on each one. The Natural Haven is another good one, check out the post on Mineral Oil, and the results of her experiment with mild cleansers to see whether what we’ve been told about natural clarifying agents like Baking Soda and Apple Cider Vinegar really live up to the hype that’s been created around them. Most people just roll with the misinformation handed down by these hair “gurus” without a second thought, but just because they say it, doesn’t make it correct. There’s a lot of conflicting information out there and many voices, but the one voice you should listen to is your hair! It’s always in your own best interest to research things for yourself and use what works for you, otherwise you can be swept along by the tides of current trends. I know I was for a while!

Rant over!!!! Lol. Back to my MMT.

Here’s an outline of what I’m doing nightly:

• Co-washing/Finger Detangling – Tresemme Naturals Conditioner
• Styling – Tresemme Naturals Conditioner, Eco Styler Gel (The Green One). After the second day I made the gel into a custard using 1 cup gel to 3 tablespoons of oil (1 tbsp each of Olive, Avocado and Caster Oils) and mixed it well with a hand mixer until nice and creamy.

I’m washing my hair nightly because I don’t want to be out and about with soaking wet hair. On day one I detangled with Tresemme Naturals conditioner and the Tangle Teezer, shampooed with Tresemme Naturals Shampoo so I could start with a clean slate and applied Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Mask (the one in the jar, which I absolutely loved by the way) as a deep conditioner. After rinsing that out, I smoothed in a dab more of  the Tresemme Naturals conditioner and then raked through some Eco Styler Gel, clipped it up and let it dry overnight. After that I just co-washed/lightly finger detangled nightly (rinsed hair, applied conditioner and lightly finger detangled, left on whilst bathing, rinsed out) and applied my styling products of choice to soaking wet hair (no towel drying).

Here are the pics of my 7 day MMT experiment.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7*

*I don’t know what my hair was doing on day 7. It just decided to do its own thing! After whipping (see ‘tips & bits’ below), it formed clumps quite well and then a little while later it turned into a big frizzball! Not sure why but it did! Lol. That’s my hair for you. It just can’t be tamed!

7 Day Snapshot

Tips & Bits

• I found out when applying my styling products that the more conditioner I put in my hair before applying the styling gel/custard, the softer and less crunchy my hair would be when it dried, but the less defined it would be (e.g day 6). The less conditioner I put on under my styling gel/custard, the harder and crunchier my hair would be when it dried but the more defined it would be (e.g day 5, no conditioner under styling custard). This may change after my hair reaches maximum moisture and learns to clump on its own.
• From day 3 onwards, after applying the styling products, leaning forward, I loosely wrapped a t-shirt round my head and whipped my hair up and down and side to side to soak up some of the excess water so my hair wouldn’t be dripping. Surprisingly this step (hair whipping) aided in better clumping and curl definition and has become a key step in my MMT regime.
• I covered my pillow with a plastic bag, layered a towel over it and then a large cotton t-shirt over that, so my pillow wouldn’t absorb all the wetness from my hair and the t-shirt would provide a smoother surface then the towel alone.
• To make this work I had to embrace my shrinkage and let my hair be what it is, texture and all. I didn’t know what to expect because every head of hair is different and how my hair would react would be different to others who have tried something similar.

Conclusion

Overall, I think the experiment went ok. My hair has begun clumping and is more defined now then it was on day 1 of the experiment (bar day 7 when it went on strike, lol), although it still has a lot of frizz. My hair has formed tiny ‘pen spring’ sized coils, which I absolutely love and embrace. I’m thinking that I would really need to keep up with the MMT for about 2 to 3 weeks continuously to get the best results (all over clumping, frizz free defined coils), and then find a maintenance regime that will maintain the coils with less effort. Anyone with type 4 hair like mine who would love to achieve clumping and curl definition can certainly try the daily co-washing and styling and gain good results (with hair whipping to help form clumps quicker). It may take longer to train your hair and get maximum definition with this method then the MHM (possibly), but it is effective and takes much less time to do daily.

I’m going to continue with the MMT next week with an addition. After seeing the results of this experiment by JC with Bentonite Clay on 4C hair (maybe the MHM was onto something, lol), I will add Bentonite Clay into the nightly routine and see if that makes any difference. Join me next time for the results of that.