Catnip for split ends?

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Originally Posted by maborosi

I cut some (read- a lot) of catnip leaves from our gigantic plants in my garden. I'm letting them sit for a few hours in hot- not boiling- water, but haven't seen any color change in the water.

Should the leaves be dried? Or can I use fresh leaves and still get benefit?

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Yes you can use fresh catnip but you may want to cut up or mash the leaves to help the oils to be extracted from the leaves. Also, maybe your water wasn't hot enough :confused: Have you tried again since posting this?

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Originally Posted by alexis917

As a lazy co-washer who is silicone free- will catnip tea be cleansing enough for my hair for me to just use that? I love the idea of catnip preventing my split ends, but don't see the point of extra conditioning when I have to douse my head in conditioner anyway.

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I have no idea, every scalp is different and I've never tried to cleanse my hair via catnip tea. However, I have used the tea in conjunction with CO-washing and saw no ill-effects. I would pour the tea over my hair then add the conditioner and let it sit for 30 mins to 1 hour before shower time.

So is it used before or after shampooing? That part I'm a little confused about as I read it can be sticky.

I don't let my kitty near catnip(crazy kitty) so I was thinking I could use the bag that came with a toy to try it out.

Is it better to immerse your hair in the catnip water or dump it over your head, or is it better to apply with a spray bottle?

I just immersed my hair in it :)

Not sure whether I should be posting this here, but I tried catnip the first time and my. Hair loved it.
Second time I used a little more than a teaspoon, steeped it for longer and I think I might have left it longer than an hour on my hair since I lost track of time. I first immerse my ends in for 15 mins as my ends needed more love and didn't feel moisturized enough after the first time, then I poured it all over my. Hair and left it sit. My hair seemed to stick to itself, and kept getting tangled; the tangles got worse the next day. I shampooed it out after 2 days just incase it builds up or leaves residue with cowash. Does anyone have thoughts about this?

miss--donya, this has been my routine for the past 3 years: wash length with vo5 clarifying conditioner, wash hair with my preferred shampoo, gently squeeze out excess water and either finger comb or comb with a wide tooth comb, put catnip tea in a tall metal water bottle and put in as much of my length that will fit. soak 10 to 20 min, depending on time, then dump the rest all over the top of my head so all the hair gets it, squeeze gently in towel or tee shirt,let air dry. When ends are still damp I apply some generic baby oil to ends, about 1 foot up. I have it in a little spritzer and I spritz once on my hands and rub together and then gently apply it to the ends and about 1 foot up. Then let air dry. This gives me great waves. I will comb out the waves later and wear up. Every night before bunning I do another spritz of baby oil (on my hands and apply with my hands - it only takes a little, maybe one to two drops if used right out of out of a bottle) and then comb and bun or what ever for sleep. I wash about every 4 to 6 days. My hair does not tangle, but then it really never has been a big problem for me unless I am trying out new braids.

This routine is what is saving my ends. I have far fewer splits than ever before. A year ago I tried conditioner after washing again and hated it. Back to the catnip I went. I found out my hair hates coconut oil and coconut products. Every persons hair is different. You just have to experiment to see what YOUR hair likes best. Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by miss_donya

Not sure whether I should be posting this here, but I tried catnip the first time and my. Hair loved it.
Second time I used a little more than a teaspoon, steeped it for longer and I think I might have left it longer than an hour on my hair since I lost track of time. I first immerse my ends in for 15 mins as my ends needed more love and didn't feel moisturized enough after the first time, then I poured it all over my. Hair and left it sit. My hair seemed to stick to itself, and kept getting tangled; the tangles got worse the next day. I shampooed it out after 2 days just incase it builds up or leaves residue with cowash. Does anyone have thoughts about this?

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It sounds like it left a fair amount of residue in your hair, probably from steeping longer? I'd try doing it the exact same way you did it the first time and see how that goes.

Thank you for sharing, lunalocks

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Originally Posted by Decoy24601

It sounds like it left a fair amount of residue in your hair, probably from steeping longer? I'd try doing it the exact same way you did it the first time and see how that goes.

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I believe so; the tea was significantly darker the second time, probably too concentrated .

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Originally Posted by miss_donya

Not sure whether I should be posting this here, but I tried catnip the first time and my. Hair loved it.
Second time I used a little more than a teaspoon, steeped it for longer and I think I might have left it longer than an hour on my hair since I lost track of time. I first immerse my ends in for 15 mins as my ends needed more love and didn't feel moisturized enough after the first time, then I poured it all over my. Hair and left it sit. My hair seemed to stick to itself, and kept getting tangled; the tangles got worse the next day. I shampooed it out after 2 days just incase it builds up or leaves residue with cowash. Does anyone have thoughts about this?

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I've been following Ktani's original method of using catnip for more than 6 years. In the past there were times when I left the catnip steep for longer than recommended but still went ahead and used it. The colour looked a lot darker and it always made my hair feel very coated (almost sticky) and the tangles were awful. I usually steep the tea for between 4.75 and 5.5 hours but if I forget and it goes over this time I now make a new batch. Ktani mentions in her blog that she experienced this herself when she steeped the tea for longer periods. There are many different ways of using catnip and I have tried a number of them but each time I've gone back to Ktani's method which works best for me.:thumbsup: I hope you work out what works for you. :ponder: