Re: Catnip for split ends?
original post by ktani
Quote:
Ok, I did an experiment of my own tonight. My hair got unusually oily this past this week. It does that sometimes even though I did not change my routine. In the shower I did not use more shampoo than normal. I reached for the catnip I was going to use only for colour/conditioning.
I rinsed out the shampoo and used the catnip just like I do for my face. I applied it to my scalp and length and then rinsed it out right away.
Then I reapplied the usual amount to my hair, bagged and left it on for the hour. I half expected my hair to be flatter and piecy. Just the opposite happened. my hair is clean, soft, silky and full. This is exciting. It is still not completely dry but it is twice as full as usual.
Interesting:cool: fuller you say, as in fluffier, or just more volume?
If it feels clean, do you think you could have gotten away with using no shampoo?
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Update
My hair is still full and soft. I think that I will continue to use catnip with shampoo to cleanse my hair in addition to conditioning/colouring with it. I removed both sunblock and my mascara with catnip alone, today too. It is so multifunctional for me.
So far it replaces; hair conditioner, hair colour, hand cream, face moisturizer, make-up remover (mascara), face cleanser.
It may at one point, replace shampoo for me.
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
catfish
original post by ktani
Interesting:cool: fuller you say, as in fluffier, or just more volume?
If it feels clean, do you think you could have gotten away with using no shampoo?
Both actually but my waves are nicely defined. As to whether I could have gotten away with catnip alone? My hair was very oily, more so than usual. I do not know. My scalp does produce excess oil every now and then.
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ktani
Ok, I did an experiment of my own tonight. My hair got unusually oily this past this week. It does that sometimes even though I did not change my routine. In the shower I did not use more shampoo than normal. I reached for the catnip I was going to use only for colour/conditioning.
I rinsed out the shampoo and used the catnip just like I do for my face. I applied it to my scalp and length and then rinsed it out right away.
Then I reapplied the usual amount to my hair, bagged and left it on for the hour. I half expected my hair to be flatter and piecy. Just the opposite happened. my hair is clean, soft, silky and full. This is exciting. It is still not completely dry but it is twice as full as usual.
AWESOME!!! That might be something to work for me as well!!! :D
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ktani
Update
My hair is still full and soft. I think that I will continue to use catnip with shampoo to cleanse my hair in addition to conditioning/colouring with it. I removed both sunblock and my mascara with catnip alone, today too. It is so multifunctional for me.
So far it replaces; hair conditioner, hair colour, hand cream, face moisturizer, make-up remover (mascara), face cleanser.
It may at one point, replace shampoo for me.
I don't know if it's the catnip, but my regrowth doesn't seem as light to me either. It blends much better with my color. Go figure, since my hair is colored several shades darker than my natural and normally it's pretty darn obvious.
I am hoping that with continued use and experimentation that catnip can replace shampoo or DW as well.
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
rymorg2
AWESOME!!! That might be something to work for me as well!!! :D
I am still happy with the results as I write this. I do not like my hair flatter. I can get super shine with things that do that but products like that tend to make my hair dry and cause build-up because they coat the hair. With catnip I do get shine but it is healthy shine and the proof of that to me, is that my hair is stronger, my ends are not dry and I have 0 split ends. In almost 4 years, because catnip washes out so easily with shampoo, I have never had any build-up.
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ktani
I am still happy with the results as I write this. I do not like my hair flatter. I can get super shine with things that do that but products like that tend to make my hair dry and cause build-up because they coat the hair. With catnip I do get shine but it is healthy shine and the proof of that to me, is that my hair is stronger, my ends are not dry and I have 0 split ends. In almost 4 years, because catnip washes out so easily with shampoo, I have never had any build-up.
I love the shine I get too! :D
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
rymorg2
I love the shine I get too! :D
That is great!
Re: Catnip for split ends?
This all sounds so fab, I want to get fab catnip results, too. I guess I need to make the effort to experiment more systematically with it, but so far I just didn't notice much of an effect.
I also head back from my vendor today and it appears the the catnip I have does not contain flowers:
"Our organic catnip is certainly true nepeta cataria only. The catnip is grown especially for us on a Certified Organic medicinal herb farm deep in rural France. The farmer is a very experienced catnip and herb grower who harvests just before the catnip flowers, which results in a high level of active ingredient when the plant is harvested at this correct stage (and before its energy goes into flowering)."
Sooo...would you all say that the presence of flowers is the essential bit to make it good for hair conditioning? Is the ingredient that stimulates cats different from those that help hair? And if flowers are essential, how do I go about finding stuff with flowers - does anybody know a recommended brand that is available in Germany or ships there?
Just to reiterate, I never noticed any oils in my catnip tea, it was just similar to weak mint tea. Can anybody give me a more detailed insight into how "oily" a successful catnip tea should be?
Also, I have one more question, and I am sorry if I have overlooked a previous answer to this in the thread: Ktani, why do you apply the catnip to different sections of your hair in several steps rather than dumpin it all on there in one go?
Kaz x
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Kazazi
This all sounds so fab, I want to get fab catnip results, too. I guess I need to make the effort to experiment more systematically with it, but so far I just didn't notice much of an effect.
I also head back from my vendor today and it appears the the catnip I have does not contain flowers:
"Our organic catnip is certainly true nepeta cataria only. The catnip is grown especially for us on a Certified Organic medicinal herb farm deep in rural France. The farmer is a very experienced catnip and herb grower who harvests just before the catnip flowers, which results in a high level of active ingredient when the plant is harvested at this correct stage (and before its energy goes into flowering)."
Sooo...would you all say that the presence of flowers is the essential bit to make it good for hair conditioning? Is the ingredient that stimulates cats different from those that help hair? And if flowers are essential, how do I go about finding stuff with flowers - does anybody know a recommended brand that is available in Germany or ships there?
Just to reiterate, I never noticed any oils in my catnip tea, it was just similar to weak mint tea. Can anybody give me a more detailed insight into how "oily" a successful catnip tea should be?
Also, I have one more question, and I am sorry if I have overlooked a previous answer to this in the thread: Ktani, why do you apply the catnip to different sections of your hair in several steps rather than dumpin it all on there in one go?
Kaz x
That is not what your vendor is saying, as I read it. The catnip is harvested before the flowers bloom, so what you get are the flower buds.
They look like small round things in the mix. The flowers contain tannins, like the rest of the ariel parts used for the dried sold flowers and leaves but they contain more oils than the leaves. This gives a mix a nice balance, IMO.
Catnip does not do well over coatings, like conditioner, from my experience with it. If you are not getting good results you may have some coating on your hair. For me, catnip works best on shampooed hair and I am starting to use it with my shampoo. I may at one point, "shampoo" with catnip alone.
I suggest clarifying your hair first before using catnip, with a clear shampoo, for normal hair. It does not have to be a strong clarifying shampoo. When I was experimenting with catnip early on and using conditioner to follow, I found that I needed much less conditioner than I normally would have. Using so little conditioner for me, meant that the conditioner was easier to wash out.
However, because I use catnip for hair colour, as well as conditioning, even a small amount of conditioner was too much for catnip to stain properly for me. The small amount of conditioner that did not wash out with shampoo, was enough to be a problem for me. That is when I experimented further, to push catnip, to allow me to go without using any conditioner at all.
