A Lightbulb Moment Courtesy of MHM - New Schedule

I read Msdeekay's blog yesterday and she featured Pinkecube.

http://www.msdeekay.com/4143/max-hydration-method-feature-pinkecube/

Pinkecube explained that it took her 32 MHM tries to reach max hydration. Her hair looks great and I can't help but think I should aim for 30 tries in as quick a span as possible myself. My reasoning is that doing so now might make the most sense as I may not have enough time in Trinidad. Also, it would be great to get to Trinidad with hair that retains more water in the cortex, thus having great hang and looking pretty.

So, here is my MHM schedule for now until September 7th.

I am currently 11 days deep and when I do my hair today it'll make it 12 days deep.

Between August 8th and 10th, I'll MHM 3 times.

From then on, I'll MHM every second day and will MHM every Saturday and Sunday.

Therefore, I'll MHM on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Between August 10th and September 7th that will be a total of 16 times.

If I can maintain that schedule, I would have completed 30 MHM tries by September 7th.

There is no guarantee that I will achieve the level of hydration I desire, but I know that I rather try than not.

Once my 30 tries are achieved, then what?

Well, maybe I can start stretching for 3 days between washes, save for weekends when I would try to wash on Saturday and Sunday. That would mean that I wash on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.

Sounds like a good idea to me.

I would do that for a month

MHM Day 11: Product Free Hair

After two times of doing a short MHM version,  I decided to go back to doing the long version.  The reason was to see if I get better results at this stage of the journey.

So tonight, I ACV'd then cowashed (with full strength KCKT) for about 45 minutes. I then left clay in for about 70 minutes. I applied conditioner (full strength) and put on 2 showershowercaps for bed.

Here are pics of my hair without any product after washing out the clay. To be honest, it didn't look different from when I have product in it. I put some jojoba in my hair aftee the conditioner simply because I had too much in my hands at the time.

HAIR THOUGHTS & NEW HAIR CARE PLAN

So, it has been a long while since I started my hair journey and I have to say I have had more set backs than I could count!

Even my daughter's hair seems to have reached a plateau, but at least she is yet to have set backs like mine.

Back to my hair, the general dissatisfaction with my inability to retain length (though my hair clearly grows approximately half an inch a month) left me uninterested in really focusing on my hair the way I used to.

As a result, my hair has been in braids, crochet braids for the last 8 months. This has allowed me to forget about my hair. Not the best thing, because that did not help me retain length, but at least, I wasn't preoccupied with my hair for the first time in years!

Now, however, I think I have come back to wondering how to jumpstart my hair care and have healthier hair, be it relaxed or natural.

My original plan was to keep my hair in crochet braids until the summer of 2015 but I am considering trying the max hydration technique instead. I fear that that braids will give my already struggling hair the occasion to become thin  something I REALLY don't want. I'd rather have short but thick hair any day!

With that being said, I have come up with a plan to get me through May and June of 2014.

1. END OF APRIL: Remove crochet braids and leave hair out for 2 - 4 weeks.
1. I will remove braids, do an overnight conditioning treatment, shampoo (with a sulfate shampoo), do an ACV rinse, do a heated DC with silk elements conditioner (it has cones, sadly and I have about 2-3 more containers to use up! Hence the need for a sulfate shampoo).
2. For 2 weeks, I will wear scarves, use braiding hair to create top knots, fishtail ponies and whatever else I need to do.
3. I will use black castor oil mixed with a few other oils on my temples and scalp every other night and do inversion method for 4 minutes each time.
4. I will try to co-wash with an ACV rinse and Nature Made conditioner in the middle of the week and then repeat the overnight DC treatment on the weekends.
5. I will do this for at least 2 - 4 weeks if I can.Keep track of hair growth to see if immersion method and GHE (Green House Effect) work for you
2.  MID MAY/END OF MAY: Put in new crochet braids.
1. I will do a serious protein treatment by simply implementing it into my weekend regimen.
2. Install crochet braids - simple curly do like what I had in February.
3. Keep crochet braids in for 4-6 weeks or at least until kids are on summer break.
4. Continue inversion method, but also begin to use water/moisture spray plus sealing oil/butter every 2 -3 days on scalp and in 'hair')
5. Also implement GHE into regimen.
6. Buy products for Max hydration method.
3. END OF JUNE: Max Hydration time!
1. Remove crochet braids
2. Do a length check with heat around this period
3. Begin max hydration first treatment and then follow up with cowashes EVERY DAY for a week.
4. Continue until you have curl definition and can stretch co washes from every day to every 3 days to every 5 days, to every 7 days.
4. END OF AUGUST: Track Results
1. Do a length check with blowdryer on low heat. REMEMBER, NO DIRECT HEAT!
2. If results are positive, continue MH (Max Hydration) method.
3. If results are NOT positive, hopefully, you will have some length and can continue with crochet braids and/or purchase kinky coily hair to give more fullness to hair.
4. Also, consider whether or not you want a relaxer again.