First SMT, have a few questions....

[Dyefree]

Ok, so I've been reading through all the old threads, and after almost 1 month of babying my hair, and cutting off 4 inches of damage, my hair feels a lot better. :)

But I still have some very dry parts... I'm not ready to cut these parts off yet as this would mean I'll end up with a mullet.... Not a good look for me. Sooooo I'm looking for something that on top of cwc and heavy and light oilings, will give my hair an extra kick...
I'm hoping an smt will do this for me, I've read as much as I can about it but I have a few questions that I'm hoping someone can answer for me.....

1) do I need to cwc before an smt or do I apply to dry hair?
2) I've read that doing a protein treatment before gives amazing results, does anyone have experience of this?
3)I'm planning on mixing garner fructis triple nutrition (called repair and shine here in the uk) which is cone and protein free, with honey and coconut oil. I done have aloe Vera.... Will this work well
4) do I need to wash this out with something like another conditioner wash or do I simply rinse this out?

Phew.... So sorry for all the questions, but I really hope to get this right as my hair is greatly improving but is so fragile there is no room for mistakes. :o

Thank you in advance :)

[aenflex]

When I SMT I wash and allow hair to dry about 60% or so. Then apply SMT and leave on for anywhere from 30 mins to a few hours. Then rinse well.
But that is just one way of many :)

[pepperminttea]

Someone did a thread a while back about using SMT as conditioner - I think it was HintOfMint? I borrowed their idea and I find it works very well for me - I mix up the SMT, and warm it in the microwave just before I step in the shower. I do the first two steps of my usual CWC with my usual conditioner and shampoo, and then instead of my last all-over conditioner, I use the SMT mix. I leave it on for as long as my other showerly duties take, which is only about ten minutes tops, but it still gives me good results. I rinse it out thoroughly.

As for the coconut oil - there has been a lot lately about using coconut oil mixed in with conditioner and shampoo, especially in the old movie stars haircare thread, but I can't say I've tried it. I'd do your first SMT the typical way, and then experiment thereafter so you'll have a marker for comparison. You can find aloe vera gel at most health food stores, but admittedly it wasn't in any of the supermarkets I checked.

[Anje]

Personally, I just use an SMT as a CO wash. I usually apply it to dry hair (sometimes damp, but wetting it down is another step...), let it sit, massage the roots a little to make sure oils are dissolved, then take a shower and rinse it out. Then I call my hair clean until it needs washed again in a few days. I don't normally put oils in mine though.

I can't comment on the protein treatment, except that if you do one, you want to do it before the SMT rather than after. Protein is great for some hair (particularly damaged hair), but it's drying. My hair hates protein, so I wouldn't expect amazing results on myself.

[little_cherry]

When it's SMT time, I:
Clarify, do a protein treatment and then SMT for a few hours. This works for my hair, but YMMV.

[little_acorn]

I usually either clarify or simply wash my hair with s/poo then gently squeeze as much water out as I can and apply the SMT. I clip up my hair, stick a shower cap on (with a towel around my neck to catch rogue drips) and do other things for an hour or more before rinsing out.