Catnip for split ends?

[pelicano]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to have to just stick to doing it once or twice a week (with a shampoo first - will try a different one), and use conditioner and leave-in inbetween. My hair closely resembles a bird's nest at the moment!

[ktani]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to have to just stick to doing it once or twice a week (with a shampoo first - will try a different one), and use conditioner and leave-in inbetween. My hair closely resembles a bird's nest at the moment!

That sounds best for you. You can cut down on the conditioner and leave-in so they wash out more easily and see how it goes.

[pelicano]

Just to update, I have given the catnip another go this week, by breaking my usual hair 'rules' and using a sulfate shampoo to wash my hair thoroughly first. I even washed the length, which filled me with horror.

Anyway, my hair felt really quite dry still after the wash and catnip, so I had to spritz on some glycerine. It is possibly a little thicker, which is a good thing for me. I think the greys are slightly less prominent too, and in the sun my hair is looking a sort of pale golden brown.

I'm really hoping if I do this weekly my hair will get stronger and the greys will cover - that's all I'm after really (I don't ask for much! )

edit: forgot to add, my v sensitive scalp (seborrheic dermatitis) seems quite happy with it. My ears aren't so happy (chronic fungal infection), but given that I had a batch go mouldy in the fridge within 24 hours, that's probably not surprising. I'm trying very hard to keep it out of my ears.

[Linda K]

Ktani - I was going to give the catnip a try.

Last time I brewed in a stainless tea ball - left overnight. The stuff was greenish - after looking at it a few days chickened out.
Today I brewed some w/o the SS ball. It still looks greenish.

It's from the pet store - leaves and flowers ...
Is my white hair going to turn green? Do I dare try using it?
What are your thots?

ETA: My "chocolate brown" has enough white in the sides to make it look blondish - the top front is overall white looking.

[ktani]

Ktani - I was going to give the catnip a try.

Last time I brewed in a stainless tea ball - left overnight. The stuff was greenish - after looking at it a few days chickened out.
Today I brewed some w/o the SS ball. It still looks greenish.

It's from the pet store - leaves and flowers ...
Is my white hair going to turn green? Do I dare try using it?
What are your thots?

ETA: My "chocolate brown" has enough white in the sides to make it look blondish - the top front is overall white looking.

Some of the health food store catnip I bought 4 years ago brewed a greenish yellow colour. It did not stain my hair green. Some else told me that their catnip yieled a greenish liquid too. Some pet store catnips do not indicate what species of catnip they are. Hagen does not but I emailed them and it is Nepeta cataria or common catnip. Hagen is what I have been using for over a year now and it always brews yellow or darker yellow if I brew it longer.

I suggest test stranding what you have. Even though it says leaves and flowers, it depends on when the catnip was harvested (leaves and flowers should really say leaves and buds). Hagen does not say that either on the label but that is what it actually is. This is what it looks like, http://thegardenpet.com/index.php?ma...jsgf7bt520t6h7

[Linda K]

Mine looks similar - only in a plastic 1/2 oz bag for cat toys.
It's VIP (very important pet) V0Y-TOY brand from PetCo.

You said you don't really get color from a few minutes - but still get conditioning right? (I'm thinking of just a few minutes while in the shower ...)

[ktani]

Mine looks similar - only in a plastic 1/2 oz bag for cat toys.
It's VIP (very important pet) V0Y-TOY brand from PetCo.

You said you don't really get color from a few minutes - but still get conditioning right? (I'm thinking of just a few minutes while in the shower ...)

I never got great conditioning or colour without bagging catnip but at the start I had build-up on my hair. Still in at that time and with short treatment timing, I did get enough colour and conditioning to continue using catnip to see what it could do. It depends on why you are using it.

The split end prevention and great colour for me, happened about a year into experimenting with it. By that time a lot of the build-up was gone and I was bagging the treatment each time to increase the conditioning and colour benefits of catnip.

[Linda K]

I'm after conditoning. I have sort of regular Malibu treatments for the well water mineral build-up. I've SMT'd and a couple conditioner washes since the last one ... (VO5)

I'm thinking of a Suave clarifying and the catnip - bagged for 10-15 minutes ...

I noticed some where about using a leave-in after the catnip until the hair is taking the catnip oils better - that still works? I read that correctly (in the wee hours)? Thank you ...

[ktani]

I'm after conditoning. I have sort of regular Malibu treatments for the well water mineral build-up. I've SMT'd and a couple conditioner washes since the last one ... (VO5)

I'm thinking of a Suave clarifying and the catnip - bagged for 10-15 minutes ...

I noticed some where about using a leave-in after the catnip until the hair is taking the catnip oils better - that still works? I read that correctly (in the wee hours)? Thank you ...

Some people found that going to straight catnip and nothing else following shampoo was not right for them and they still needed something else like a leave-in or oils. It may have been that there was still residue or a coating of some sort on their hair.

I do know that eventually a few of these people were able to not need anything further after a while.

The idea is that a small amount of leave-in or oil, (small enough to wash out easily) can not be a problem in causing a barrier for catnip to be effective.

[Linda K]

Ok, Thank You Ktani - I appreciate the info.
I think I'm just going to go "do it" - mainly on the pony tail and hope I can find some other catnip (mmm - ebay!)