SMT made hair feel horrid and not dry properly?

[pink.sara]

So I've never actually tried an SMT in all my years here and as a lurker but I'm considering stripping my black and dying red so I thought I'd be nice to it beforehand.

I mixed it up and applied on dry clarified hair, I was tired so went to bed with it in a top knot and washed it out this morning with diluted no cone shampoo on the roots only then a teeny bit of no cone conditioner on the very ends.

And it feels disgusting :( slimy, won't dry properly even with a hairdryer, and like it's coated in something. I can't even run my fingers through it and have... frizz!

I used the tresemme no cone straight and silky, pure aloe gel with no added extras from holland and barrett and some solid manuka honey for the mix. (I had to melt the honey gently in a pan to mix)

Any ideas what would cause this anyone? Perhaps it's too heavy a mix for fine/medium hair?

Seriously.. Frizz?! I didn't even know my hair could do that!

[Lissandria]

Hmmm..
I have very fine hair and an SMT has never been too heavy for my hair.
I know honey being a humectant (aloe is a humectant, too) but honey in form of SMT can cause frizziness in some people. I also think an SMT may work better if put into damp hair- the same way oil works better on hair (on some people anyway) because it helps seal in the water/moisture into the hair.
You may not want to try it again, but if you do, I would recommend wet hair with the excess water squeezed out and skip the honey.
HTH :)

[ravenreed]

SMT's don't work for my hair at all. My hair gets crunchy, frizzy, and I can't run a comb through it. I think it is the aloe gel because I always have trouble with it, however, honey can leave a coating behind... Try clarifying (again) and use some conditioner.

[pink.sara]

Hmm, thanks for the advice ladies, I may clarify and try again on wet hair without the honey then again without the aloe and see what happens!

I've had to settle for a very heavy ponytail today but at least I can do some experimenting later this week.... Even failures are kind of fun I guess :)

[ravenreed]

Good luck. I think your approach of figuring out the culprit is a good one. I kept trying aloe vera, thinking that I would eventually get it to work for me. I finally realized that it just doesn't work the way I would like it to. However, I can occasionally use honey in my hair and have great results.



Hmm, thanks for the advice ladies, I may clarify and try again on wet hair without the honey then again without the aloe and see what happens!

I've had to settle for a very heavy ponytail today but at least I can do some experimenting later this week.... Even failures are kind of fun I guess :)

[Lissandria]

No worries, pink.sara. I really hope you find something that works for you! :)

[PinkyCat]

I hear ya - my hair absolutely dispises SMT. Frizzy and very angry with me. Took a couple days for it to finally forgive me. Then it made me give my two huge tubes of aloe gel away. My hair knows how to teach me a lesson when it doesn't like something.

[Guenever]

SMTs never worked for me either.. I really wanted them to! - from the recipe they seemed so yummy and moisturizing!
But, actually, conditioners (cone and no-cone) in general made it either limp/thin, stringy or strangely greasy/dry - and at one point ALL of the above. gah.

Soo.. honey/aloe/condish etc... can't explain why - they're just a no-go.

Is tresseme your usual condish? cause if it is it could be that aloe and/or honey just aren't for you...

[pink.sara]

I hear ya - my hair absolutely dispises SMT. Frizzy and very angry with me. Took a couple days for it to finally forgive me. [quote]

[quote=Guenever;2041586]SMTs never worked for me either.. I really wanted them to! - from the recipe they seemed so yummy and moisturizing!
But, actually, conditioners (cone and no-cone) in general made it either limp/thin, stringy or strangely greasy/dry - and at one point ALL of the above. gah.

Is tresseme your usual condish? cause if it is it could be that aloe and/or honey just aren't for you...

Frizzy and angry is the perfect description :rolleyes:

Wierdly (and this will probably shock and appall most LHC members) even though it's bleached and dyed, my hair seems to like it best when I use no conditioner :confused:

I tend to put conditioner in dry, shampoo out then acv rinse and it loves this.
Perhaps it's because we have hard water but regular washes or CWC seem to weigh it down and make it heavier and dull.

Perhaps SMT's aren't the answer, shame as it smelled good enough to eat!

[jeanniet]

SMTs don't work for me either. Not sure why, but my hair always feels really funky afterwards. I keep trying every few months, though, thinking things have changed. :rolleyes:

[SpinDance]

I haven't had any luck with SMT's either. Not sure yet whether it is the aloe or the honey, but I'm guessing the aloe. I've tried it as a leave in a time or so trying to improve wave formation and it just doesn't seem to be good with my hair.

[Guenever]

Wierdly (and this will probably shock and appall most LHC members) even though it's bleached and dyed, my hair seems to like it best when I use no conditioner :confused:
I tend to put conditioner in dry, shampoo out then acv rinse and it loves this.
Perhaps it's because we have hard water but regular washes or CWC seem to weigh it down and make it heavier and dull

Nah, doesn't shock me.. cause I don't use condish either :eyebrows:
It just doesn't work for me..
Poo bars + ACV rinses. That's the routine that turned out to be the most successful!
That and a tiny bit of olive oil as a leave-in when needed..

[Tia2010]

My hair just seems to hate aloe. No matter what I did I couldn't get it to work for me. It always left me with dry, rough feeling hair.

So I do my SMT with just conditioner and honey (and I sometimes melt a little coconut oil into the mix) My hair seems happy with that.

ETA: I do have to rinse forever to get it all out or I will have an itchy spot at the back of my neck every time!! Not sure if that's from the honey or the conditioner..So I rinse really, really well after a SMT! :)

[Anje]

You had to melt the honey?

Certainly, SMTs don't work for everyone, but I have to wonder what's going on with your honey that it was solid. Quite likely, it solidified again when left in your hair. (To be honest, I like the results better when I cut back the aloe, and I don't ever ever leave it in for more than a couple hours because my scalp hates it.)

I've also seen the hypothesis that sometimes there's pollen or wax in the honey that causes problems. Using a different sugar syrup (corn, maple, molasses, etc.) would be an easy way around this.

[3azza]

SMT does not suit my hair either. It loves conditioner but not honey/molasses or aloe!

[Amber_Maiden]

hmmm... Maybe buildup with the honey?

[fridgee]

You say you went to bed with it in a top knot... was it covered in any way to keep it wet? I'm sure I read you shouldn't let SMTs dry out on your hair otherwise they are a PITA to get out.

[pink.sara]

You had to melt the honey?

Certainly, SMTs don't work for everyone, but I have to wonder what's going on with your honey that it was solid. Quite likely, it solidified again when left in your hair.

Umm, yup, I used the stupidly expensive almost solid Manuka honey as it's awesome in facemasks etc. You are probably right about it solidifying again though. :o


hmmm... Maybe buildup with the honey?

That's sadly what I'm beginning to think.


You say you went to bed with it in a top knot... was it covered in any way to keep it wet? I'm sure I read you shouldn't let SMTs dry out on your hair otherwise they are a PITA to get out.

And I didn't cover it so it was thoroughly crispy by this morning in some places.

Obviously there's a bit more science to this SMT thing then slap on leave and rinse :rolleyes:

Am thinking maybe cheap runny honey may be better... but then if it just doesn't love some hair maybe I should leave it out and try the aloe/condish/coconut oil version.

Thanks for all the suggestions :)

[pepperminttea]

My bet would be on the ingredients, before you give up on it completely. :flower: What sort of aloe gel did you use? I have a Holland & Barrett one but I'm really not impressed with it; it's this one (http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=515&prodid=298&cid=77&sid=0). It just doesn't work in SMTs for me, ends up lumpy, doesn't wash out properly, and doesn't have the same effect as proper 100% aloe gel (which is more like a thin liquid than a gel). Just bleh. If you used that one, I'd recommend trying it with a different one. If it's not that one, and really is 100% aloe, I'd love a link so I can try it too! :)

[SpinDance]

Almost any honey will eventually solidify, that's perfectly normal. Some types crystallize quite quickly. Just heat it a little and it will liquify again.

[pink.sara]

My bet would be on the ingredients, before you give up on it completely. :flower: What sort of aloe gel did you use? I have a Holland & Barrett one but I'm really not impressed with it; it's this one (http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=515&prodid=298&cid=77&sid=0). It just doesn't work in SMTs for me, ends up lumpy, doesn't wash out properly, and doesn't have the same effect as proper 100% aloe gel (which is more like a thin liquid than a gel). Just bleh. If you used that one, I'd recommend trying it with a different one. If it's not that one, and really is 100% aloe, I'd love a link so I can try it too! :)

Oooh it was that one! I meant it didn't have alcohol or dimethicone in it when I said pure aloe vera, the others seemed to have all sorts of extra rubbish! I'll have to investigate another (or murder my aloe plant) :hatchet:


Almost any honey will eventually solidify, that's perfectly normal. Some types crystallize quite quickly. Just heat it a little and it will liquify again.

It actually comes as an opaque solid, it's not honey thats crystallized and solidified, thats it normal state... It's this stuff:
http://www.manukahealth.co.nz/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=5:mgo-550-manuka-honey&Itemid=673

I'm thinking solid honey is a bad idea for SMT's!

[pepperminttea]

Oooh it was that one! I meant it didn't have alcohol or dimethicone in it when I said pure aloe vera, the others seemed to have all sorts of extra rubbish! I'll have to investigate another (or murder my aloe plant) :hatchet:

I feel your pain, finding a properly pure version in the UK is somewhat of a challenge! The Holland & Barrett one works really well on my skin, but sadly definitely not my hair.

The only really good one I've found is this one (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-PURE-ORGANIC-ALOE-VERA-GEL-LIQUID-/180673608722?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Skincare_PP&hash=item2a10fc7c12), but the price per ml is painful (the bottle does me five SMTs in total, but YMMV).

[pink.sara]

I feel your pain, finding a properly pure version in the UK is somewhat of a challenge! The Holland & Barrett one works really well on my skin, but sadly definitely not my hair.

The only really good one I've found is this one (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/100-PURE-ORGANIC-ALOE-VERA-GEL-LIQUID-/180673608722?pt=UK_Health_Beauty_Skincare_PP&hash=item2a10fc7c12), but the price per ml is painful (the bottle does me five SMTs in total, but YMMV).

The 2nd SMT with honey alone felt awful so I'm thinking maybe it was the honey like some of you suggested, I'm buying some of that aloe and having a go with that this weekend, thanks for the link :blossom:

[battles]

The 2nd SMT with honey alone felt awful so I'm thinking maybe it was the honey like some of you suggested, I'm buying some of that aloe and having a go with that this weekend, thanks for the link :blossom:

I hope it works better for you this time! Covering it should help also, I usually wrap with saran wrap..cling film? Then put a shower cap over that. It's still very drippy by the time I take it out.

[cfreya]

The 2nd SMT with honey alone felt awful so I'm thinking maybe it was the honey like some of you suggested, I'm buying some of that aloe and having a go with that this weekend, thanks for the link :blossom:

Try the sainsburys basics "clear honey" if you have a sainsburys near you, very cheap and I use that with good results, also iv left mine overnight covered in cling film and a towel but to be honest I found better results just leaving it wrapped for an hour or two

Also are you sure you rinsed enough ? That same time I left overnight, despite having my head under the shower for what felt like eternity I didn't manage to rinse it all but only realised once it was dried, now I part my hair (as if to do pigtails) and make sure every inch of hair / scalp is fully rinsed

[Earth Angel]

I decided to do an SMT last night with no cone conditioner, honey and aloe vera and I let it air dry..........well.....my hair turned into a puff of candy floss :confused: I have very fine, wavy hair which does have a tendancy to be flyaway so I thought this may help, but unfortunately no. Maybe I need to vary the products a bit?

[kpzra]

I decided to do an SMT last night with no cone conditioner, honey and aloe vera and I let it air dry..........well.....my hair turned into a puff of candy floss :confused: I have very fine, wavy hair which does have a tendancy to be flyaway so I thought this may help, but unfortunately no. Maybe I need to vary the products a bit?

If you haven't already this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128) thread is the main one with TONS of info and variations from people.

[Natalia]

I dont think ive ever read about someone leaving it on overnight. Maybe the waxes in the condish dried and havent come out yet? The longest ive left one on wa si think 3 - 4 hours and i kept in it a shower cap and misted it to keep it moist under there.

[fridgee]

I decided to do an SMT last night with no cone conditioner, honey and aloe vera and I let it air dry..........well.....my hair turned into a puff of candy floss :confused: I have very fine, wavy hair which does have a tendancy to be flyaway so I thought this may help, but unfortunately no. Maybe I need to vary the products a bit?

Did you let it air dry with the SMT still in it or did you rinse it out first? Apparently its horrible to get out if you let it dry in there. Only other thing I can think of is was it a protein heavy conditioner you used?

[Earth Angel]

Hi Fridgee,

No, I rinsed it out completely before I let it air dry and it was extremely soft, maybe too soft? It's extremely fine.
I used Tresemme Naturals Condtioner which has no silcones or proteins in it. Maybe I needed some proteins in there instead?


Did you let it air dry with the SMT still in it or did you rinse it out first? Apparently its horrible to get out if you let it dry in there. Only other thing I can think of is was it a protein heavy conditioner you used?

[Earth Angel]

Thanks kpzra! I will check it out! :)


If you haven't already this (http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128) thread is the main one with TONS of info and variations from people.

[chen bao jun]

I never knew people left SMTs in all night. I leave them in about 1/2 under a hair dryer with the heat on 'high' (and a shower cap). And they get pretty solid in 1/2 an hour. I can't imagine all night.
I use the heat because I have low porosity hair.
If the OT never uses conditioner, I wonder if that could be the problem? Maybe she should try another hairmask. There are plenty of different ones, using bananas, avocado, different natural products--some even use bone marrow. One suggestion to anyone using a banana hair mask--don't use a real banana, use banana baby food. I did real banana once and had lumps in my hair for days.
I use molasses in my SMTS because I like the sulphur and I have black hair so it won't discolor it. I do them almost every washday now (once a week).

[chen bao jun]

Here are some homemade hair masks, you can find others googling around. I think there is a recipe section on this site with a bunch of hair recipes too which probably has hair masks. Not everything suits every kind of hair so I'm not surprised SMTs are a no-go for some.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/189348-homemade-moisturizing-hair-masks/