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View Full Version : So I just ordered some Catnip!!



goldloli
June 27th, 2012, 06:43 AM
I've looked around and read it helps with breakage. Figured this may help with my reverse v taper breakage problems, if nothing else add to my arsenal of hair lengthening procedures and perhaps reduce trims :D Anyone have personal experiences or methods of using this for best success? I've read not to use this after conditioner?


Oh and I will be posting pics and updates. Mayyn I'm so exited to try this stuff :o

I took a look at my hair from the back (i was tryna take pics like you guys do) and the reverse v doesn't even look bad so I probably wont need to go for a salon cut :cheese: Although i'm scared to post pics because the old layered ends are quite ugly now :eek:

Iolanthe13
June 27th, 2012, 07:13 AM
Here's the article ktani wrote on catnip: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=118

I've been using this method successfully for a while now, though it's not that convenient having to steep the catnip for four hours before using it. I found using conditioner before the catnip lessened the split-end prevention and made my hair feel funny. Using conditioner after is okay, though.

MonaMayfair
June 27th, 2012, 07:14 AM
I prepare it like ktani (the catnip guru!) does

.http://ktanihairsense.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/part-3-of-4-on-innovative-approaches-to.html


Level teaspoon of catnip and I leave it to brew for nearly 5 hours, then put it in the fridge over night (I like to wash my hair in the morning)

I didn't have breakage or split ends, but I've found catnip the best conditioner I've ever used. It makes my hair very smooth and extremely shiny.
I've never got round to putting any hair pictures up on this site (and I won't for a while because I'm growing out henna, and the roots are hideous!) but catnip is amazing.
If I can find a good deposit only dye (this is what I'm experimenting with at the moment) that totally disguises my blonde roots and red lengths, I might take a picture, lol!
People always say how shiny henna makes hair - I always had shiny hair anyway, so didn't notice any difference with henna - but I do with catnip...

MonaMayfair
June 27th, 2012, 07:19 AM
I forgot to say, I read the whole of ktani's catnip thread, and she said that anything else on the hair interferes with the catnip uptake, so it has to be totally clean of conditioner etc.
This is especially important if you also use it for color (she was coloring white hairs with it)
Most people rinse the catnip out (I leave it on for one hour, then rinse very lightly, so a lot of it is probably left in) It feels fine in my hair, but others have said their hair feels coated if it's left in or not rinsed properly. You'll have to experiment!

goldloli
June 27th, 2012, 07:44 AM
Oh wow, ty!


I found using conditioner before the catnip lessened the split-end prevention and made my hair feel funny. Using conditioner after is okay, though.


I forgot to say, I read the whole of ktani's catnip thread, and she said that anything else on the hair interferes with the catnip uptake, so it has to be totally clean of conditioner etc.
This is especially important if you also use it for color (she was coloring white hairs with it)
Most people rinse the catnip out (I leave it on for one hour, then rinse very lightly, so a lot of it is probably left in) It feels fine in my hair, but others have said their hair feels coated if it's left in or not rinsed properly. You'll have to experiment!

So it seems I could use it post shampoo, leave it on for a while, rinse and condition :D Thanks so much because that's the exact info that was lacking elsewhere.

How much colour does it deposit? I have light auburn hair, leaning to the blonde side from spending time in texas. I started using chamomile tea rinse again yesterday after seeing how shiny curlycurves hair turned out. That makes my hair more honey toned... Not my fave but the shine it imparts is worth it. Can catnip be used in conjunction with other teas? Will i have to do 2 individual rinses? Will that build up like cray cray?


*goes off to search for catnip hair pics* :beerchug:

ravenreed
June 27th, 2012, 08:06 AM
I don't follow Ktani's method at all and have great results anyway. I CO, use a vinegar rinse, then when everything is rinsed out, I use the catnip as a final, leave in rinse. To prepare it, I put a heaping tablespoon in about 2 cups of water, cook for 3 minutes in a microwave, and let sit for a few hours.

MonaMayfair
June 27th, 2012, 08:12 AM
Oh wow, ty!





So it seems I could use it post shampoo, leave it on for a while, rinse and condition :D Thanks so much because that's the exact info that was lacking elsewhere.

How much colour does it deposit? I have light auburn hair, leaning to the blonde side from spending time in texas. I started using chamomile tea rinse again yesterday after seeing how shiny curlycurves hair turned out. That makes my hair more honey toned... Not my fave but the shine it imparts is worth it. Can catnip be used in conjunction with other teas? Will i have to do 2 individual rinses? Will that build up like cray cray?

*goes off to search for catnip hair pics* :beerchug:

If you can find ktani's catnip thread, all the info is on there (it's LONG!)
But she (and others) experimented a lot and came to various conclusions such as:
catnip is very unlikely to change your color unless you have white or very very blonde hair. Even then, some people said it didn't make any difference to their grays.

I don't think mixing it with another tea is recommended, there's not really any point.

The "no conditioner" thing is because catnip is an amazing conditioner on its own. If you conditioner afterwards, next time you use catnip, you must make sure there is no buildup of conditioner left in the hair (if there is, the catnip will be much less effective)
You really shouldn't need it though. If you use catnip as conditioner every time you wash, you won't need any other conditioner.
This is what I do. When I've had to use an ordinary conditioner instead (because I had very little time for the hair washing process) I used a clarifying shampoo the next time I washed, so that the catnip would work properly.

The-Young-Maid
June 27th, 2012, 09:38 AM
I made a rinse/spray with catnip and a few other herbs and my hair loved it! I harvested about a tbsp of each then steeped them for an hour.(I didn't want to wait for five:stirpot:) I used it before and after I conditioned my hair. My hair is still soft and shiny.:)(my last wash was friday)

MonaMayfair
June 28th, 2012, 06:21 AM
I made a rinse/spray with catnip and a few other herbs and my hair loved it! I harvested about a tbsp of each then steeped them for an hour.(I didn't want to wait for five:stirpot:) I used it before and after I conditioned my hair. My hair is still soft and shiny.:)(my last wash was friday)

Lol, I do the steeping for nearly 5 hours thing just because ktani did, and she did SO much experimenting. Of course, that was for HER hair and all our hair is different and different things work for us.

I forgot to make my catnip tea at the usual time last night, and ended up only brewing it for around 2 hours instead. My hair's still damp, but it will be interesting to see if it feels any different than usual. I did leave in on for an hour as I always do.

I don't know why, but I still find it almost miraculous that a tea rinse can have such a positive effect on my hair!

goldloli
June 28th, 2012, 09:49 AM
What incredibly strange stuff :bigeyes:

Results:
My hair was dry and a few splits had appeared over night due to blow drying then using curling tongs on my hair for a night out. I CWC or treatmentWC if it's extra dry. Last night I applied my usual version of SMT and left it in over night.

I put a heaped tsp of bud and leaf catnip into 350mls just below boiling water, I left this for about 2 hours. Then went in bath and used a sls shampoo to clarify and get the SMT out. Wrung my hair and poured half of the catnip on it making sure to smush it all over.

At this point I will admit I was underwhelmed, it added no instantaneous slip and was well, just some watery, odd smelling, lukewarm tea sitting in my hair.

I left it on for about 10-15 minutes while I did a face mask, then lightly rinsed it off. It felt different, not necessarily thicker, but the strand texture seemed different, stronger. Also there was a huge amount of slip, that as noted, wasn't there when first applied. I followed up with gvp conditioning balm, only needing half my usual amount to fully coat hair.

I'ts damp now, some bits are already dry. The weirdest effect has been the shine and colour, which i didn't know it could change. Pronounced natural, non brassy highlights and glass like shine similar to my avatar pic, an effect I've been unable to recreate for 2 years since I could no longer afford the high end products I was using. Oh my, I'm just uber ecstatic about this.


It's fluffier, I wouldn't say it's helped with frizz at all either, but my application was not the same as ktani and I have wurly hair. Obvi it's too early to mention on split ends. Also I did shed a lot in the bath, the jury is out on that as I wore my hair up yesterday so it could be fall from that. If it does cause hairfall, I would probably still use it just applied on length since my hair looks soo freaking fantastic. :heart:

Demi-Plum
June 28th, 2012, 09:59 AM
I forgot to say, I read the whole of ktani's catnip thread, and she said that anything else on the hair interferes with the catnip uptake, so it has to be totally clean of conditioner etc.
This is especially important if you also use it for color (she was coloring white hairs with it)
Most people rinse the catnip out (I leave it on for one hour, then rinse very lightly, so a lot of it is probably left in) It feels fine in my hair, but others have said their hair feels coated if it's left in or not rinsed properly. You'll have to experiment!
Do you know if it has to be catnip tea or could I use fresh catnip, but more obviously since fresh is never as strong as dried? I grew catnip for my cat but she won't touch it if it's not dried and in a toy and now I'm stuck with the plant, but if I can get use out of it that would be great!

ravenheather
June 28th, 2012, 12:05 PM
You can use fresh. I'm not sure of the proportions, but I think it's 3 times as much as if you were using dried.

goldloli
June 28th, 2012, 02:02 PM
Hey, I read up on every thread I could find over the last day or so. People using 3 times the amount in fresh form reported some dryness, the same was reported with brews that were too concentrate. It seems the fresh form contains more volatile oils. Ktani suggested that not much was actually needed, so maybe go with just double the dry amount.

islandboo
June 28th, 2012, 06:22 PM
goldloli, my hair sheds pretty badly but catnip doesn't seem to exacerbate the shedding like oiling and stretching washes for too long do.

MonaMayfair
June 29th, 2012, 02:28 AM
Do you know if it has to be catnip tea or could I use fresh catnip, but more obviously since fresh is never as strong as dried? I grew catnip for my cat but she won't touch it if it's not dried and in a toy and now I'm stuck with the plant, but if I can get use out of it that would be great!


Again, I'm going by ktani's long catnip thread, but she said she preferred the dry catnip. You can use the fresh though.
If I had access to fresh I'd definitely try it. Dried is probably just easier to obtain and use.

MonaMayfair
June 29th, 2012, 02:32 AM
Lol, I do the steeping for nearly 5 hours thing just because ktani did, and she did SO much experimenting. Of course, that was for HER hair and all our hair is different and different things work for us.

I forgot to make my catnip tea at the usual time last night, and ended up only brewing it for around 2 hours instead. My hair's still damp, but it will be interesting to see if it feels any different than usual. I did leave in on for an hour as I always do.

I don't know why, but I still find it almost miraculous that a tea rinse can have such a positive effect on my hair!

So I used the catnip yesterday I'd brewed for less time than usual (just over 2 hours as opposed to nearly 5) and my hair feels exactly the same as if I'd brewed it for longer.
If I were using it to color white hairs, maybe the extra brewing time would help, but my roots are a darker blonde so it doesn't affect them, and the conditioning effect was just as good with the shorter time.

kdaniels8811
June 29th, 2012, 05:03 AM
I have used catnip tea for years and here is what works for me. I brew the tea until it is cool enough to pour on my hair, about lukewarm. I make a high ponytail, dunk the ponytail in the tea, and put a plastic sandwich bag over the ponytail to catch the drips and leave it on for 20 - 30 minutes and rinse. Any conditioner on my scalp makes my hair flat and catnip is no exception. Bagging really helps soak my hair and the catnip prevents splits and breakage in my fine, fragile hair. Good luck! I use whatever dried catnip I find at the store in the pet food section.

goldloli
June 29th, 2012, 06:41 AM
follow up to results on page 1:

The shine carried on into today. By the end of the evening signs of my usual porosity were coming through (tangles, crunchy dryness), it isn't as bad as usual but the catnip didn't help more than any kind of acidic rinse would. From first treatment impressions I would still go as far to say that this has been a miracle product, from 1 treatment it has replaced shine, while being voluminous yet feeling strong, that only £60 of kerastase products could do. However for me and the dilution I used, it's not a one product for all problems. I will play around with treatment time, but for my curly porous hair, I can't imagine skiping conditioner


goldloli, my hair sheds pretty badly but catnip doesn't seem to exacerbate the shedding like oiling and stretching washes for too long do.

I quite agree, the night before i had worn hair curly followed by heavy SMT and light oil scalp massage. it was probably that.


I'll most definitely be doing another treatment tomorrow morning *must remember to take pics of this shine*

Also from what I read, if experiencing dryness, the dilution was too strong or left too long. If experiencing tangles, try clarifying before applying as waxy conditioners still on the hair or used with will interfere and cause buildup.

goldloli
July 1st, 2012, 12:00 PM
Did a second application of catnip, same as before. I haven't been to a hair salon since last year and I use straighteners/tongs. Look how healthy and shiny my ends are!!!!!!!

First pic is in direct sunlight and it's soo shiny that it looks a golden blonde colour <3

http://img.makeupalley.com/thumb.asp?sb=h&f=4_5_1_8_2274005.JPG&maxSize=600

This is same day outside when cloudy

http://img.makeupalley.com/thumb.asp?sb=h&f=4_5_1_8_2274006.JPG&maxSize=600

When I took out my simple spin pin bun and seperated the twist curls, I had way less velcro ends feeling. I hadn't used any leave in or product. Just frikkin fantastic, I think I can put trims on hold and grow for a while.

Thank you guys and special thanks to the wealth of info from ktani :flower: