Catnip for split ends?

[ktani]

Wavy hair can go frizzy. Mine used to a lot. I air dry it. With catnip done right, for me I do not get the frizz I used to. My hair wil curl now almost in ringlets at times but it separates beautifully. Catnip coats the hair like conditioner but without heaviness or build-up and keeps my hair moist. If done right ends bend, not sharp bends, round ones that produce less friction that produces white dots. Round bends do not produce white dots for me.

I still get white dots but the amount of them is a fraction of those in the past. In the past, my ends, by the time I had a trim were thinned out from breakage even though I had done s & d's.

An s & d is to me an overall reduction of the worst breakage (you can never get all of them IMO) that catches other hairs and makes tangling a damage producing process, if separating hair becomes a struggle. It can be worse if there are also split ends.

My hair still reacts to humidiy and if I am in a hurry I can misjudge the amount of catnip and water that is best. In the winter and lately I have been more careful. I am back to a very level tsp of catnip and a touch more water and I am also more careful with the amount of shampoo used and the catnip application.

Hair changes with the conditions it is exposed to too IMO. A bit of playing with the catnip dilution is fine.

It is no different than using shampoo and conditioner. A change in seasons or over or under use of shampoo or conditioner will produce hair changes too, from my experience.

[ktani]

Sometimes things are so automatic with my catnip method, that I can neglect to mention them. One thing I do not think I mentioned was this. I have found that the conditioning/colour takes best, when I have squeezed as much excess water out of my hair as possible, just with my hands, gently, before applying the catnip tea. Nothing that requires any special help, like a towel, just less water in my hair.

[MsBubbles]

I stopped by the pet store on the way home and got some catnip, steeped some last night and tried it this morning. I did not try the timed session because I got up too late to do anything like that and I don't have a shower cap of any sort, but I plan to get one for the next wash. I also plan to change my hair washing routine so I can get the full soaking effect for longer.

So far, with my hair not all the way dry yet, it feels like my hair has a somewhat smoother texture. I was used to it being 'soft' after I had switched to aubrey organics shampoo and conditioner, but it was soft and fluffy, rather than soft and hairlike. My individual strands seem a bit smoother. Well we'll see. I understand it'll take a few months for me to really tell. I'm hoping for less split ends so I'm gonna try this long term. This is a very cool thread, so thanks Ktani for all your work and methodical explanations!

[ktani]

I stopped by the pet store on the way home and got some catnip, steeped some last night and tried it this morning. I did not try the timed session because I got up too late to do anything like that and I don't have a shower cap of any sort, but I plan to get one for the next wash. I also plan to change my hair washing routine so I can get the full soaking effect for longer.

So far, with my hair not all the way dry yet, it feels like my hair has a somewhat smoother texture. I was used to it being 'soft' after I had switched to aubrey organics shampoo and conditioner, but it was soft and fluffy, rather than soft and hairlike. My individual strands seem a bit smoother. Well we'll see. I understand it'll take a few months for me to really tell. I'm hoping for less split ends so I'm gonna try this long term. This is a very cool thread, so thanks Ktani for all your work and methodical explanations!

You are most welcome.

Your results may not take months. It depends what is on your hair, how you use the catnip and what else you may use after it.

I had plant build-up on my hair that took forever to budge. I am not even sure if every last trace of it is gone but my hair is 1000 times better overall, than before I started using catnip.

[ktani]

I just posted this in another thread but it applies here too.
http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...8&postcount=13

[chickpea]

I have started using catnip rinses in hope of decreasing the number of splits my hair gets. It's too soon to tell much difference, but I do like the conditioning effect.

I bought organic dried catnip (leaves & flower buds) at the pet store. It was very inexpensive, and using only 1 teaspoon per batch will make it last a long time. I use a small ceramic teapot to brew the tea, it holds just under 300 ml of liquid.

My routine: wash with a shampoo bar, use a mild vinegar rinse, then soak my hair in the catnip tea and cover with a plastic cap. I leave it on for 20-30 minutes before rinsing.

[ktani]

I have started using catnip rinses in hope of decreasing the number of splits my hair gets. It's too soon to tell much difference, but I do like the conditioning effect.

I bought organic dried catnip (leaves & flower buds) at the pet store. It was very inexpensive, and using only 1 teaspoon per batch will make it last a long time. I use a small ceramic teapot to brew the tea, it holds just under 300 ml of liquid.

My routine: wash with a shampoo bar, use a mild vinegar rinse, then soak my hair in the catnip tea and cover with a plastic cap. I leave it on for 20-30 minutes before rinsing.

Sounds good!. I suggest covering the teapot spout while it brews. The idea of covering catnip tea while it steeps, is to preserve the volatile oils. I tap the condensation from the inside of the saucer I use to cover my mug, back into the mug, to get every last bit of goodness.

[Comfrey]

Ktani I wonder if you can help. I grow catmint and I've tried googling it and some folks say its the same, and some say it's "similar" to catnip

Would you know if catmint has the same properties for hair? If so, it smells delicious and maybe next year I'll start harvesting it for my hair instead of the cooking pot

But I am also going to try this on my husband. He has very thin, fine hair and he's been trying to grow it for five years now, with very little success (he has a small rats tail pony) and I think this might stop the velcro effect and also stop his hair splitting.

The problem will be persuading him that "another one of my hippy ideas" will work

[ktani]

Ktani I wonder if you can help. I grow catmint and I've tried googling it and some folks say its the same, and some say it's "similar" to catnip

Would you know if catmint has the same properties for hair? If so, it smells delicious and maybe next year I'll start harvesting it for my hair instead of the cooking pot

But I am also going to try this on my husband. He has very thin, fine hair and he's been trying to grow it for five years now, with very little success (he has a small rats tail pony) and I think this might stop the velcro effect and also stop his hair splitting.

The problem will be persuading him that "another one of my hippy ideas" will work

I also found conflicting infomation on catmint, until I found the following information. They are 2 different species, out of 250. They are often referred to by the same name though. I do know from what I have read, that the constituents are different enough between the species for cats to react differently to them, and the degrees of the differences may be enough to affect how I use it. The lemon variety for example, referred to below.

"Nepeta cataria var. citriodora .... contains a relatively high proportion of lemon oil.
.... cultivar Citriodora has a mild lemon aroma .... more appealing to most people for culinary purposes than regular catnip, but less appealing to cats (Miske 1994)."
http://pubs.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/cgi-bin/r...-sample_e.html

"Common Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
White flowers, grows up to 3 feet. .... variety most cats enjoy.

Catmint (Nepeta mussinii)
Purple flowers. .... plant has smallish, grey/green leaves. It grows up to 15 inches high."
http://www.cat-world.com.au/Catnip.htm

It may be harder to convince your DH that catnip (I would try to grow it or buy it from the pet store) needs to be left on the hair for up to an hour, lol. I do know that it works very well for me and others have found that it works well for them (with various times).

Please have him patch test it, but if he is not allergic to catnip, I think that he may find it pleasant to use. It is soothing to the scalp with the right dilution and is very nice used on the skin.

[Comfrey]

Ktani, thank you

Now all I have to do is stand on hubby's head and force him to use it