Day 33: using bentonite clay

Yes, I'm on cycle 33!

I started last night by putting my cherry lola mix in my hair. It didn't have avocado or bananas and I used white vinegar. It was in my hair for just over two hours and then I followed up with KCKT, which I left on over night.

Here is a pic of my hair with the protein treatment -

Once I rinsed out the conditioner, I applied bentonite clay. It was a thick consistency, despite the water added and I even added more water to ensure that it smoothed out properly. I immediately noticed that my curls popped like crazy. I also noticed more hang time. I applied the clay in sections, then went back to ensure that I smoothed it in adequately. I passed over my hair a third time with wet fingers just to give the hair some moisture before I put on a shower cap. 

I had the clay in for 5 hours. Below is a pic of my hair with bentonite clay in it -

Here is my product-free hair once the clay was washed out -

My observations of bentonite clay are that it is better at creating coils, giving some hang time and much less messy! I'm thinking I will find a way to mix calcium motmorilonite and bentonite together so as to use up the former clay.

As my hair began to dry, normal shrinkage kicked in. Still, my curls look good and I will try bentonite again on Wednesday/Thursday. Hopefully, my benefits from the clay, plus overnight conditioning, will accumulate.

MHM Day 24

I slept with clay in my hair!

Okay, I had to. I had gone to the beach around 4pm and didn't get home until after 7pm. As is my usual beach routine, after frolicking, I did an ACV rinse, then put conditioner in my hair. It was in for about 2hours.

After feeding the kids, and myself, and then washed out conditioner from my hair and took my time applying the clay. I had it in for 3 hours while I worked out but, I was too tired to start washing it out, so instead, I had a bath, put on an additional shower cap and my scarf and then went to bed.

This morning, my hair shed a lot more than usual when I was applying my leave in and gel.

Not sure if this is because I didn't wash out the salt water from my hair enough. Anyway, I do not plan to sleep with clay again, save for an emergency. And if I do, I'll use full-strength conditioner for stage 4.

Sadly, no pics of my hair as my phone is acting up. *sob*(Got my DD to take pics with the ipad mini. Not great quality, but it'll have to do for keeping track of my hair's progress.)

I definitely like the way my hair looks.

Yay!

MHM Day 22

I got cycle 22 done today and even managed to do an MHM cycle for my daughter.

Here's what I did: Baking Soda - Cowash - Clay - Leave-In - Gel

My Clay mix contained eucalyptus oil today and it tingled on my scalp. Nice!

Things went well and I spent a lot of time focusing on still-frizzy bits.

Baking soda step.

Front of head with baking soda.

Clay Stage (worked superhard to coat as many strands with clay).

Product-free hair.

Hair with Leave-In and Gel.

Hair with Leave-In and Gel

So far, no setbacks. I didn't notice improved definition at the clay stage. But, I did notice that when I washed my hair there were no straight bits and the coils were prominent to the touch.

Will wash tomorrow evening and maybe do an overnight DC with jojoba oil on my scalp.

MHM Day 20

I skipped Sunday as I spent the day with family and had a great time at Castle Bruce beach and river.

So on Monday I did a BCCLG and spent over 3 hours in my hair. Reason was that I was busy so my cowash stayed in for an hour and forty minutes. My clay was in for 2 hours and for good reason I needed to make a new batch as the old batch wasn't giving me the definition and clumping I desired.

After applying the new batch I worked it thr oily ugh my hair and in minutes frizz became defined.

I quickly applied leave in and gel so I could get on with my life.

Next morning my hair was still damp but not soaking wet. I like my new method of twisting and pinning at night it ensures that I don't have frizzy ends in the morning. The definition is not as good as fresh hair but I can live with it.

My hair Monday morning before washing

Clay step: not coated well enough

Worked the clay abit

Looks a little better

Washed out the clay and see ringlets.

Hair with leave in and gel (I squeezed out excess moisture, shook it several times too).

My hair later in the evening before pinning it for bed.

Morning hair - notice the lack of coils in the middle right there?

I have some tough spots where my hair a different texture from the rest of my head and those spots are highly resistant to defining and clumping. Still, I have learned that it is best to take my time and really massage the clay and other products into these areas. Now that I am trying to spend more time on applying the products better, I am learning what parts of my hair are more receptive to behaving than others.

It is almost a month since I started MHM and frankly, I am saddened that I don't have better definition and clumping. I will however, continue. Today, I will make a new CL mix and put that in my hair tomorrow. I will not wait a month before I do another CL treatment however and will likely do one right before I head out to Trinidad. I will also switch back to ACV rinses for a bit as I have been running through my raw honey.

Hoping to see more improvement and better results.

My Hair With Clay

Here are a few pics of my hair with clay in it from Saturday the 9th of August.

I took pictures to see how well the clay coats my hair.

Conclusion: Not well enough.

Back of my head

Back of my head

Crown area

 

 Front

So, I went and applied some more clay in an attempt to improve coverage.

Back

Crown

It seems that I got just a little more coverage. The clay appears to glide off certain strands and settle on my scalp instead. I will thicken it a bit for the next trial and see whether there is a difference.

I definitely think that the clay part might be retarding my MHM goals. 

I will say that I saw and felt more coils around my head after this treatment. The wavy section of my head around the crown now has actual coils. I'm a bit shocked because I thought the hair there was nice before. Now I am realizing it might just be frizzy and not just looser in texture.

Anyway, I will continue to observe changes as I go along.

I must also note that this MHM Try was my 13th try (except if the 2 days I only did CLAY-LEAVE IN don't count, then, I'm only at day 11.) There were a few changes to the process. I did the BS-COWASH-CLAY-LEAVE IN-GEL (BCCLG), leaving the cowash for about 45 minutes and the clay for about 70 minutes. I heated the cowash and really worked it in. The clay was well applied as well, spending almost 30 minutes dispersing it everywhere.

Buying Clay for Hair, Skin Purposes

The first clay I ever used was the Aztec Healing Clay (Calcium Bentonite) that I purchased from MOMS Organic Store in Bowie. I purchased it in October 2012 and the 1lb container lasted until July 2014! I used it solely as a face mask, adding tea tree oil from time to time. It worked great. It retails around $6 a pound online and $8 a pound in stores.

The second clay I purchased was Calcium Montmorillonite powder from a supermarket in Puerto Rico. Sold under the brand name Dr.'s Choice Barro, it has been a key ingredient in my MHM journey. It retails for about $3 a pound online and in the store.

 

I am now trying to find other affordable sources of clay powder that I can buy online and use for both my skin and hair. So far, the following sites seem promising - 

Mountain Rose Herbs: This company sells various clays, butters, oils and frankly everything I would need for my hair and skin 'cooking'. They also sell Bentonite clay in bulk at 1lb for $6, 5lbs for $24 and 50lbs for $180.

 

 An image of their Bentonite clay.

Source: Mountain Rose Herbs

Frankly, I am tempted to buy 50lbs but considering shipping costs and the duties I would pay once it got to me in Dominica, it makes no sense.

Bulk Apothecary: Similar to the last online company, Bulk Apothecary also sells different clays. Its Bentonite sells for $2.98 a pound. The 5lb variety costs $7.67 and the 50lb pack is $32.50. This seems like where I would purchase from. I checked online and there are coupons at retailmenot.com. I would honestly purchase 50lbs because at that price, shipping would be worth it and whatever fees I paid on this end would justify the cost.

 

Picture of their Bentonite Clay Powder

Source: Bulk Apothecary

I can also order Slippery Elm powder, Marshmallow Root powder, essential oils like jojoba and more for affordable prices from this supplier.

 

MHM day 3

Soooo, today I managed to complete the 3rd round of my MHM journey.

I changed it up by doing the alternate baking soda method -2tbs baking soda, 2 tbs honey, 1 tbs oil. I applied it to dry hair which was not nice. So I wet my hair and raked it through as best as possible.  It was also my DDs second run. I had her wet her hair thoroughly first.  Applying the baking soda mix went more smoothly.

Anyway, I followed up with diluted conditioner which I left on for about 45 minutes. Then I put the clay mix in and left it on for just over 90 minutes. once done I applied diluted conditioner to wet hair,  put on a shower cap and wrapped it up.

In the morning,  I will put gel in my hair and head out.