Figured we should get basic directions for an SMT up, since noobies tend to get directed to it quite often. This isn't my recipe -- LHCer Snowymoon (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/member.php?u=613) came up with it, and it's a great moisture treatment that many of us swear by.

SMT Recipe
4 parts conditioner
1 part honey
1 part clear aloe gel

Heat in the microwave for a few seconds til it's warm, then apply to wet or dry hair (especially the ends). Cover hair with a shower cap/shopping bag/clingy food wrap/whatever, and let it sit for as long as you can stand it (30 minutes to overnight). Rinse out, do not shampoo.

A few notes:
Conditioners work best when they have minimal protein. Many people also avoid conditioners with silicone compounds for this. (I haven't experimented with protein ones, so that's word-of-mouth. I think protein-containing conditioners are likely to give lumpy, blobby results.)
No, the honey shouldn't leave your hair sticky. Try it with the honey first.
Aloe gels should be free of alcohols and numbing agents. Usually, the clear ones (as opposed to the green and blue ones) are best in this regard.


ETA: Snowymoon's Original Post

Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment:inlove:

I have used my own moisture treatment twice with GREAT results. Hair is still wet, but very happy!!!

Snowy's Fave Moisture Treatment
1 part Fave conditioner (must be moisture), mine is VO5-Sun Kissed Raspberry.
1/4 part honey
1/4 part clear aloe vera gel (I use Fruit of the Earth).

Place in a cup and warm in microwave for 10 to 15 seconds--just until warm. Wash hair and squeeze out excess, blot dry, leave in under heat cap, warm towels or shower cap, what have you, for an hour or so. Rinse well. Finish (add leave-in if you do so) and style as usual Wah-la!!! Extreme Moistness. This is great after protein treatments!!! WOOT!!!:rockerdud

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~ My own Method ~

I thought I would share with you the method I use most often when using SMT.

When I make it, I do the following:

~ Mix all ingredients in a cup and stir with a spoon.
~ Pop in in the microwave for a very short time, just enough to warm it.
~ Stir it again with a spoon.
~ Thoroughly rinse hair.
~ Clean hair with method of choice if not using SMT as the cleanser (CO wash) and rinse well. If using SMT as the cleanser, rinse hair well and go to the next step.
~ Squeeze out excess water.
~ Blot dry with a towel gently.
~ Apply the SMT all over, massage it into the scalp and comb it through for a bit.
~ wrap hair in a bun on the top of my head and put a plastic bag or shower cap over this.
~ Can use a heat cap here, and sometimes I do, but usually I just put a towel over that.
~ Leave on for an hour, if you can, or even longer.
~ Rinse well.
~ Finish, dry and style as usual.
~ Shiny hair! :biggrin:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SMT...it's not just for deep treatments anymore!!

For an added treat, if your hair likes oils, you may want to try Ursula's Mega-Moisturizing Oil/SMT/Aloe Wash (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?p=66716#post66716) (MMW). It is a great way to use SMT as a cleaning method.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A NOTE OF THANKS

I would like to thank all the people who posted replies in this thread, and all who will post in the future. With your help, the following lists were created, which in turn will help all those coming across this thread for the first time. You all make this place great!

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LIST OF CONDITIONERS; THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

Some conditioners appear to work in this recipe better than others. In an SMT gone wrong, many report lumps, clumping and difficulty rinsing. So, if you try a conditioner you are unsure of and you see lumps, chances are it may not be a conditioner that will work well with SMT. You can post here or PM me if you would like to add a conditioner to the following lists.

Conditioners and other ingredients reported to work well
Africa shea oil
Aubrey Organics GPB
Aussie 3MM
Aussie Mega conditioner
bananas from babyfood jars
bear-jar honey
Biolage Conditioning Balm
Body Shop Brazil Nut Conditioner
Burt's Bees Avacado pre-shampoo treatment
castor oil
Devacurl One conditioner
Down Under Naturals papaya moisture care conditioner
Elucence conditionerExtra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
Fekkai shea butter
Flaxseed oil
Fresh f21c Meadowfoam Conditioner
Fudge Dynamite
Giannini's Curl & Twirl conditioner
Giovanni 50/50
Kenra
KMS Curlup Curl Hydrator
J/A/S/O/N Jojoba conditioner
Jessicurl Weekly Deep Treatment (best results reported when using Lily of the Valley aloe gel)
jojoba oil
Les Karités
L'Oreal Vive Smooth-Intense Masque
Lush Henna (1 square used as a henna glossing treatment)
Origins Happy Endings
ORS carrot oil
ORS Hair Mayonaise
Mane N' Tail conditioner
Melrose Spray-in conditioner
molassas
Nature's Gate Herbal
Nature's Gate Jojoba conditioner
Nexxus Ensure
Nexxus Humectress
Nexxus KeraPhix
Pantene conditioner
Terax Crema
Trader Joe's Aloe Vera Gel
Trader Joe's Honey
Trader Joe's NourishSpa
Redken Smooth Down
shea butter
Suave Aloe Vera
Suave Milk and Honey (contains protein--see problem list)*
Suave Naturals Chamomile
TRESemme Vitamin E Moisturizing conditioner (see the problem list)
various essential oils
VO5 Blueberries and Cream
VO5 Extra Body
VO5 Tangerine Tickle
VO5 Tea Therapy Calming Chamomile
VO5 Sunkissed Raspberry
VO5 Free Me Fresia

Conditioners and other ingredients reported to be problematic
AO Honeysuckle Rose (too thin?)
Beauty Formulas Avocado Oil Treatment Wax (no cones or proteins, but white buildup reported)
Burt's Bees Avacado (some stickiness reported)
Conditioners containing cones
Clover honey (flakes reported)
De~Luxe conditioner (specks reported and not good results)
Finesse Moisturizing
Jessicurl Weekly Deep Treatment when used with FOTE gel (curding reported)
Joico Moisturizer (white chunks, hard to rinse)
honey (frizz reported)
honey with beeswax
Inecto Moisture Miracle (flakes reported)
mango
Nature's Gate Herbal (rubbery feeling reported)
Nature's Gate Jojoba conditioner (flakes reported)
Redkin Heavy Cream (stringy, snotty white stuff reported)
Regis Olive Oil conditioner (white stuff reported)
Satinique Hair Repair Masque
Suave Aloe (chukiness reported)
Suave Mango Peach (some white chunks reported, but rinsed easily)
Suave Milk and Honey (curds reported)
Suave Strawberry (waxiness reported)
Toni and Guy Shine Addiction
Trader Joe's Clover Honey (rubbery feeling reported)
TRESemme Vitamin E Moisturizing conditioner (flecks reported--contains cones)
VO5 Blueberries and Cream (chunkiness reported)

Aloe gels reported to work well
Aloe fresh from live plant
Fruit of the Earth aloe gel clear (available at Wal-Mart)
Fruit of the Earth aloe gel green (see problem list)*
J/A/S/O/N Aloe Gel
Lilly of the Desert (available in health-food stores)
Nature's Life Aloe Vera Herbal Blend
Nature's Healer Aloe Vera
Mystify Your Senses
President's Choice Pure Aloe Gel

Aloe gels reported to be problematic
Aloe gels with pain relievers added (usually green in color)
Lilly of the Valley aloe gel (flakes reported)
Fruit of the Earth aloe gel (one report of this being problematic) clear gel
Real Aloe Vera Gel (rubbery feeling reported)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trouble shooting:

If it went wrong it could be...

* It was overheated; try not heating the mix or just warming it.
* Wrong conditioner (see the above lists); cones seem to cause adverse effects, curdling and hard rinsing.
* Wrong aloe gel (see the above list)
* Wrong ratios; usually too much aloe gel will result in possible coating/harder rinsing.
* Not covering with a plastic bag or shower cap--if this mix dries on your hair, it can be hard to rinse out. If that does happen, soaking your hair in a tub of plain warm water for about 20 minutes and then doing a CO wash may loosen it and help remove it.

Hints:

* Some report using SMT as a CO wash with great results.
* If honey leaves you frizzy, try just using aloe gel mixed with conditioner.
* You may have to try different conditioners until you find the one that gives you the results you are looking for.
* You don't have to use a microwave to heat the mix, you can set a cup of it into a bowl of warm water. That may be a good option and an even more gentle way of warming it up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the lists above, I think it is safe to say that dimethicone should be avoided when looking for a good SMT conditioner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Some common abbreviations you may find in this thread:

CO - Conditioner or condition-only washing method.
C-COW-C - Condition-wash with shampoo/conditioner dilution-condition washing method.
CWC - Condition-wash-condition washing method.
SKR - VO5 Sun kissed Raspberry conditioner.
WO - Water only washing method
__________________

Thanks for posting this, Anje. :flower: I think this is one of the most helpful recipes for a lot of people. Thank you also to Snowymoon for inventing it! :flower:

Thank you
I´ve forgotten how i to made it

one question-I know from previous experiments that my hair does not take to honey well.Makes it terribly frizzy and hard to manage.I know its a small part of the SMT but is there a substitute or some kind of tweaking so I don't get that reaction from the honey?

TIA

ilovemycop, I imagine you could reduce the honey or cut it out entirely. I've heard (but not tried) of people using molasses instead, which might have different effects and can temporarily darken hair.

The idea is that honey is a humectant, which means it attracts moisture to itself. Glycerine is also a humectant, and might work similarly in a recipe like this, but I don't know what proportion you'd use.

My hair loves honey but I've also had good results with olive oil. I use less oil than I would honey, but my hair still benefits from the combination. Sometimes I have to shampoo if I use too much oil, but a good long CO would probably do the trick if that's what you normally do. Hope that helps!

Yep, that is it. Pretty simple. Thank you for posting it. :)

ilovemycop, I imagine you could reduce the honey or cut it out entirely. I've heard (but not tried) of people using molasses instead, which might have different effects and can temporarily darken hair.

The idea is that honey is a humectant, which means it attracts moisture to itself. Glycerine is also a humectant, and might work similarly in a recipe like this, but I don't know what proportion you'd use.

I add a few drops of glycerine & a bit of coconut oil to the mix & it works great. I have read somewhere (can't remember-I have cold medicine head at the moment) that you need to keep the glycerine to less than 5% of the total mix. HTH

ok.I'm going to try 1/2 part coconut oil and 1/2 honey for the first try.I'll go from there.thanks!

Just a question for anyone who has used this and experimented a bit. Do conditioners with protein just not work as well for this?? My hair loves protein, and I CO my hair every other day with a protein condish. I've just never tried anything else.

Help? :o

Okay, I definitely want to try this. How can you tell if a conditioner has a lot of protein in it? I assume it is the list of ingredients, but what are the words I need to look for?

Thanks,
Rory

Let's see... Things with protein often have it emblazoned across the front of the bottle: Now with Soy Protein! or Silk Amino Acids! or Wheat Protein Isolates!

Look for "___ amino acids" and "protein" or "protein isolates" on the ingredient list. That will get you a long way.

I seem to remember someone had posted a long list of conditioners and whether or not they worked well in an SMT. Does anyone have this list saved somewhere?

I've done SMTs with protein conditioners (I can think of Nexxus Keraphix, specifically) with great results. Keep in mind that my hair likes protein anyway- I wouldn't try it unless you know how your hair reacts to protein in general.

ETA: Proteins in conditioner are usually listed as something like- keratin or silk amino acids- or hydrolyzed wheat (or collagen, or whatever protein type they use) proteins. Look for the 'amino acids', 'protein', or 'hydrolyzed' (mostly done to a protein to make it more soluble in water).

I can vouch for the protein thing.

I can wash with a protein condish, but I can't CO or SMT with one because it yield shitty results. I can even use a protein leave-in, but not those two.

Lack of protein makes for better hair for me.

I tried the formula last night for the 1st time. It's amazing! Very moisturizing. I replaced honey with coconut oil because I don't want honey's lighting effect.

What conditioners do all of you use for this treatment?

Even though it's quite expensive to use for this particular thing, I tried the Jessicurl Too Shea conditioner this time with my SMT. I am waiting on the results. I have used WREB and VO5 strawberries and cream with very good results. I have also left out the honey with great results too. I may try adding some coconut oil next time. Hmmmmmm

Is that big list of types of conditioners, etc. and how well they worked for SMTs still around? I've been searching but haven't been able to find it.

Thanks for helping if you can!

Thanks, Flaxen!

Thanks Flaxen, that list is so useful. I'm glad it wasn't lost!

Ursula’s Mega-Moisturizing Oil-SMT-Aloe Wash

The summer AC has been very drying on my hair. This routine for washing has worked very well in getting my hair through it. I suggested it to Snowy, and it seems to do her good, as well, although she's using jojoba instead of coconut oil, and plain SKR instead of SMT. I'll sometimes do the plain SKR, as well. It depends on my mood.

First, at night, I oil my hair heavily. Coconut oil, and lots of it. I add more and more, as much as my hair will take. Then I braid in two braids, and apply castor oil to the braids’ tassels.

Sleep well.

In the morning, I mix up a batch of Snowy’s Deep Moisture treatment, using VO5 Sunkissed Raspberry or Tangerine Tickle. Wet down hair with water in the shower, and massage the SMT through the hair. Wrap in a bun, cover with a plastic bag and towel. Let the mess soak for 30 minutes to an hour.

Rinse well. I rinse in the shower, combing as I go. I part my hair, and comb and rinse each half for about a minute each, followed by about a minute of rinsing and massaging my scalp.

Finally, I blot my hair with a microfiber towel. Then I take 1 to 2 tablespoons of aloe gel, and apply to each half of my hair, combing it through.

Sometimes, I will oil and braid in the morning, and finish the wash routine at night. Oiled braids look sleek for daytime wear. I’ll then flip my hair, loose, up over my pillow to air dry at night. When I wake in the morning, amazing curly waves.

I've just updated the SMT thread, so I'll merge this into it. :smile:

Thank you all for posting this recipe. I have been dying to try it but have one BIG concern- I just colored my hair a few weeks ago, and have been hearing that oil strips/fades the color from the hair. I also know that honey lightens but I think I read here that its power is decreased once it is heated. Would doing this treatment harm the color? My hair is super-dry and really needs it, but I'm not going to do it if the color is going to fade :(

From the lists above, I think it is safe to say that dimethicone should be avoided when looking for a good SMT conditioner

OK I'm confused. Aussie 3MM is listed as a yielding good results, but it has dimethicone in it.

I think I'm going to try SMT again. The first time I ended up with curds and my hair was really dry. I think maybe I'll use a different conditioner, maybe less honey and a little oil (coconut or EVOO).

Jeni

Do you think that 1/4 part of the solid coconut oil instead of honey would make it too greasy?

One thing I like about leaving the conditioner on so long is that your hair will really absorb the scent (that is, if you like the scent!).

Last night I did it with 1 Tbs. honey, 1 Tbs. aloe, and 4 Tbs. conditioner -- I probably should have mixed up more. I was surprised that it seemed to really absorb into my hair before I rinsed it out. (I hadn't noticed my hair as being particularly dry at the time, either.)

I probably should have mixed up more. I was surprised that it seemed to really absorb into my hair before I rinsed it out.

Yea when I did it, it seemed to absorb into my hair too. It was weird, I soaked my hair in it and wrapped it up, 2 hours later, it was a lot less slimy.

Jeni

I tried the formula last night for the 1st time. It's amazing! Very moisturizing. I replaced honey with coconut oil because I don't want honey's lighting effect.

What conditioners do all of you use for this treatment?

If you heat the mixture, it stops the lightening process from the honey.

The original recipe recommended mircowaving the mix 10-15 seconds.

I would recommend over 10 seconds under one minute to ensure destroying the enzyme in the honey that produces peroxide.

There was a report in the Honey thread recently from somone who slept with an SMT on their hair, which had not been microwaved and they got unintentional lightening.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showpost.php?p=59225&postcount=241

A girl from work was thrilled with the results of her first SMT -- she had colored 4 (!) times in a single day prior to this!

I just *might* be able to persuade her of the value of some of our techniques if she doesn't do that again!

4 times!!!!!!! wow I thought I was bad doing it once every three weeks.I've changed my evil ways though.

I've used Aussie 3MM with good results. Yes, it has cones, but is also very moisturizing.

I did my second SMT yesterday (after cassia) used 3MM, coconut oil, honey and aloe. No curds, no dryness. I normally use cone conditioners, so I think that was my problem last time, the suave had no cones. Will definitely do this again, my hair felt great.

I LOVE SMT, with 'cones (Dove) and without (Lavera deep conditioner 'Repairkur' for other German speakers).

It does clump and curd, especially with Dove conditioner, but this does not cause a problem.

SMT is one of the very best things I've gotten from this site - it has helped my hair immeasurably.

Sometimes I wash with just honey as an alternative to WO washing or when my scalp is acting up. It really makes my hair soft and shiny, but I have to remind myself to rinse it out well. ;)

I LOVE SMT, with 'cones (Dove) and without (Lavera deep conditioner 'Repairkur' for other German speakers).

It does clump and curd, especially with Dove conditioner, but this does not cause a problem.

SMT is one of the very best things I've gotten from this site - it has helped my hair immeasurably.

Sometimes I wash with just honey as an alternative to WO washing or when my scalp is acting up. It really makes my hair soft and shiny, but I have to remind myself to rinse it out well. ;)

Hey Katze,

it´s a bit OT, but how do you wash your hair with honey?

Has anyone tried using aloe vera juice instead of gel for SMT?

Has anyone tried using aloe vera juice instead of gel for SMT?

Yeah, that one from Aubrey Organics. Finally there is no difference between the two of them. Juice is the pure form and the gel is juice with some thickener for a nicer application. The thickener though doesn´t have any effect for the hair.

Hope that helps.

Thank you, Flaxen. :smooch:

:o

I am amazed at how many people my little experiment has helped. Wonderful. :heartbeat:

You are very welcome! :grouphug:

You know, your recipe really is one of the cornerstone recipes at TLHC. :agree: