The much-recommended SMT (Snowymoon's Moisture Treatment)

[Anje]

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 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.

A recipe with protein in the form of gelatin added, inspired by meteor's experimentation:
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...=1#post3403117

ETA: Snowymoon's Original Post

Snowy's Deep Moisture Treatment

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!!!

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Flaxen's added notes:
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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:

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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 (MMW). It is a great way to use SMT as a cleaning method.

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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)

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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.

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

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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
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[FrannyG]

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

[Amnell]

Thank you
I´ve forgotten how i to made it

[Patrycja]

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

[Anje]

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.

[Mahars]

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!

[Snowymoon]

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

[coppercurls]

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

[Patrycja]

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!

[DolphinPrincess]

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?