Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
iris
Ah, I had missed that addition, thank you for including it here! Point 1 I knew but I must admit that I've been slacking on it. Point 2 I'd missed completely, I thought that you added more halfway through the soak, but not right at the end.
Point 3 is interesting because I had tried rinsing with cool water, on the theory that cool water would close the cuticle and cause it to hold in more of the catnip color, but I went back to rinsing with warm water because I found that rinsing with cool water just left my hair way too oily - warm water takes out more oil.
Which again points into the direction of me using just too much catnip. I'm noticing that I find it a bit hard to make the conceptual step of accepting that just a bit will be enough. It was already hard enough to accept that a herbal rinse could work just as well as (if not better than) conditioner, I'm having some mental resistance on accepting the notion that a small amount will even do. :laugh: Will have to work on that.
I found a 200ml old shampoo bottle that I'll be using to limit my catnip overindulgence.
Do you find that the catnip stains better for you further down the length than closer to the scalp? In your picture from a few years ago the stain looks quite even from the roots down the length.
And yes, I get crazy curls with catnip, too. My hair is almost BSL when stretched out, on its own it'll curl/wave up to about APL, but with catnip there are days where I get curl shrinkage almost all the way up to shoulder length. I quite like that, though.
kdaniels8811, my first batch of catnip always brewed up olive green. I'm using a different batch now that brews up yellow. In terms of conditioning, I don't notice a difference. There could be a difference in stain, although I don't notice it, but that would be because neither of them stain at all for me so far! :lol:
Catnip has never been green green (not a grammar mistake) for me but the first catnip I used way back sometimes looked yellow green.
It could be the better quality I use now (pet store) or Hagen's catnip which is Nepeta cataria or common catnip. There are several species and my current catnip does not resemble all of the catnips I have used before in the past. They all worked though. They probably were the same species but harvested at different times and the others did not always have buds included, although they all said leaves and flowers on the labelling.
There is no exact amount to use iris. Just because you brew an amount that does not mean you have to use it all up at once. I did the same thing at first, lol. Keeping some behind for my skin seemed like a good idea and I find I keep more left over now than I did at the start. It is about finding the amount that works best for you. I also do not have to brew separate catnip for my skin this way, so it saves me time.
I have used less than what I use now on my hair and not been as happy with the results. It depends though on hair length, hair thickness and what you are trying to achieve. I am after colour too, so that influences the amount I use. You need to find your balance for what you want and your hair.
Since too much catnip on my length can give me separation I am not too fond of, and I want the length coloured too, I am using more directed application there for colour and keeping it restricted. Lately, washing my hair all forward as usual, I do the length in 3 sections, the 2 sides and the front length hanging straight in front of me. I hold the hair section in one hand and pour a bit of catnip on the top part of the section, and work that down the length, then a bit more poured on the middle section and work that down squeezing it through but not out of my hair and finally a bit on the ends. I do that for each section. The idea is not too much catnip but enough to cover that area well and thoroughly. I have already done the hair close to my scalp underside by the time I do the length. That comes last and that is then pinned up and bagged as my step 1.
Something else I am doing lately for both steps is this. Applying catnip on any part of the hair for colour in particular, gets the top or surface areas best but I want coverage all the way through (that is why I do 2 steps). However, even that cannot get all of the grey/white hair as well as I would like sometimes. So now, I apply the catnip to an area, and follow holding it there for a few seconds with taking my fingers to the section and spreading the section with my fingertips (four fingers applied to the area then spreading them apart), before I reapply more catnip to that area. It works. It gets more catnip through to the hair under the section better. It adds no extra time to the whole process either. I just make changes as I go and as I need to, then judge the results. This, I have only done a few times but I really like the results.
Because you are not washing the length each time, I can see why you can get extra oily hair if you are adding more catnip each time. Catnip does contain oils. However, because my scalp is not oily the way it was years ago, when I too needed to wash my hair every second day, I can go longer between washes.
I can go longer with catnip and my length does not get oily except rarely. Like I said I have gone almost 2 weeks without washing my hair and my hair was still not oily, even on the scalp. That is rare but over a week between washing? No. That is pretty normal for me these days. It is not because catnip is drying. It is because it is not that oily and I am not using anything else on my hair afterward.
I think 2. and 3. are equally important. If body heat does (and it does for me) help the colour take better, letting it cool off a bit before rinsing helps and so does adding extra catnip to the greyest areas at the start of cool down, more in case the amount added at first was not enough, than it being strictly necessary. If as I said, body heat is a factor, rinsing in very warm water would as you say remove some oil but also some colour with it. In the winter in particular, I favour tepid not cool water, lol but definitely not warm water for rinsing catnip out.
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Things to watch out for to avoid in shampoos for using with catnip. They are adding more conditioner type ingredients these days to many shampoos, even ones not for dry or colour-treated hair. I avoid polyquaternium anything (it usually has a number like 7 or 10) because I noticed years ago I had more breakage when they were in a shampoo I used but it depends on where it is on a label. It is a polymeric film former.
Other things include anything with stearyl in the name (it is stearic acid and is waxy), too many cones (Lively Blonde has one and it is not a problem), mucilage, polysaccharides, hydrolyzed protein (film former), quats.
Now quats are interesting. A quaternium compound is in just about all conditioners. It is a combing aid but it coats the hair. Again one is in Lively Blonde, the Sunsilk shampoo I use but it is not high up on the label. I am pretty sure one shampoo I tried a while back had a quat in a higher concentration and my catnip staining was less.
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
KarpatiiSiv
Iris said
Just thought I'd respond to this part of your question as well, the staining of my length improved over a couple of weeks but I was still having problems closer to the scalp, I now make sure that I concentrate more on my new growth and it is improving. I've been experimenting by soaking a cotton wool pad with catnip and holding it for a short while on the areas that need more staining, I've been doing this just before I rinse.
Ah, so that's another vote for more catnip right before rinsing. The cotton wool is a good idea, that should keep the liquid there a bit longer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ktani
Catnip has never been green green (not a grammar mistake) for me but the first catnip I used way back sometimes looked yellow green.
It could be the better quality I use now (pet store) or Hagen's catnip which is Nepeta cataria or common catnip. There are several species and my current catnip does not resemble all of the catnips I have used before in the past. They all worked though. They probably were the same species but harvested at different times and the others did not always have buds included, although they all said leaves and flowers on the labelling.
My first batch, the olive green batch, was nepeta cataria, organic, but not a 'brand' - I got it on ebay from a herb supplier and it just came in a plain plastic bag. Interestingly, it has been brewing up more yellow and less green lately. So, it was greener when it was fresher. I've had that batch for over a year now I'd say.
For the past few weeks or so I've been using the Hagen brand (ordered from the UK). It has more flower buds in it than my other batch does, and there's hardly a hint of green in the tea :shrug:.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ktani
There is no exact amount to use iris. Just because you brew an amount that does not mean you have to use it all up at once. I did the same thing at first, lol. Keeping some behind for my skin seemed like a good idea and I find I keep more left over now than I did at the start. It is about finding the amount that works best for you. I also do not have to brew separate catnip for my skin this way, so it saves me time.
I have used less than what I use now on my hair and not been as happy with the results. It depends though on hair length, hair thickness and what you are trying to achieve. I am after colour too, so that influences the amount I use. You need to find your balance for what you want and your hair.
Yeah, I'm aware of the tailoring aspect, but since I'm getting no color from it whatsoever, I figure a good way to start would be do to what people do who do get color from it.
What I'm getting from your description is that you actually focus on the roots more than I've been doing, and then work through to the length and ends. I've been doing almost the opposite of that really - I've been dunking my length in, and then applying extra to the areas where my whites are.
My whites are sprinkled through the top middle part of my hair, with extra whites where my part naturally falls :rolleyes: :justy:. That is also where I just simply have the most hair - it's a very densely populated area of my scalp, at least half my hair lives on about 20% of scalp area right there at the top middle, and that is where the whites live, too. I may have been getting bad coverage there simply because of the density of the growth there. I like your idea of separating the hair there with your fingers while you're applying, I'll have to try that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ktani
Because you are not washing the length each time, I can see why you can get extra oily hair if you are adding more catnip each time.
Oh, but I do wash the length every time now. I didn't when I tried catnip earlier about a year ago, but I have been washing the length this time around, I really have to. It was a bit of a conceptual hurdle to overcome for me since I hadn't used shampoo on the length for about thirty years :laugh:, but after I realized that most conditioners have some sort of surfactant in them too, I got over it.
ETA: While we're sharing fine-grained tips and tricks :lol:, here are two things I've been doing that work well for me:
1. I use a swimming cap to do the bagging. Since I'm washing every day or every other day, I obviously can't stay in the shower for an hour (lovely though that would be). So after I finish applying the catnip, in the shower, I put on my swimming cap, put a buff on over it (that is just so I don't look like a freak for the man), and go downstairs to have coffee and answer emails for an hour. The swimming cap works very well, it doesn't leak and it keeps my head warm. The only downside is that you can't hear very well through a swimming cap. But since my man is a musician who practices 24/7, I don't really mind losing my hearing for an hour a day ;). I don't really lose any time doing it this way, I've always taken about an hour for coffee and email in the morning, I just used to shower after and now I shower before, not a big change in my routine.
2. Straining. I got terribly annoyed with the little bits of catnip that would go through the tea sieve that I used to use to strain the catnip tea. My solution: Senseo reusable pads. They're rather pricey (about 7 euros for two), but the permeable screen has such small holes that they keep all the catnip bits in.
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
iris
Ah, so that's another vote for more catnip right before rinsing. The cotton wool is a good idea, that should keep the liquid there a bit longer.
My first batch, the olive green batch, was nepeta cataria, organic, but not a 'brand' - I got it on ebay from a herb supplier and it just came in a plain plastic bag. Interestingly, it has been brewing up more yellow and less green lately. So, it was greener when it was fresher. I've had that batch for over a year now I'd say.
For the past few weeks or so I've been using the Hagen brand (ordered from the UK). It has more flower buds in it than my other batch does, and there's hardly a hint of green in the tea :shrug:.
Yeah, I'm aware of the tailoring aspect, but since I'm getting no color from it whatsoever, I figure a good way to start would be do to what people do who do get color from it.
What I'm getting from your description is that you actually focus on the roots more than I've been doing, and then work through to the length and ends. I've been doing almost the opposite of that really - I've been dunking my length in, and then applying extra to the areas where my whites are.
My whites are sprinkled through the top middle part of my hair, with extra whites where my part naturally falls :rolleyes: :justy:. That is also where I just simply have the most hair - it's a very densely populated area of my scalp, at least half my hair lives on about 20% of scalp area right there at the top middle, and that is where the whites live, too. I may have been getting bad coverage there simply because of the density of the growth there. I like your idea of separating the hair there with your fingers while you're applying, I'll have to try that.
Oh, but I do wash the length every time now. I didn't when I tried catnip earlier about a year ago, but I have been washing the length this time around, I really have to. It was a bit of a conceptual hurdle to overcome for me since I hadn't used shampoo on the length for about thirty years :laugh:, but after I realized that most conditioners have some sort of surfactant in them too, I got over it.
Ah I did not know you had changed your routine for catnip to include washing the length.
I have always focused on where most of the grey/white is but I also have it in my length. Like you, it is just more noticeable at the top and I have probably gotten greyer over the last 4 years. Since I have been trimming my hair fairly frequently (about every 4 months) I no doubt cut off the older, less grey length.
My Hagen catnip is over a year old but still going strong. It is just a better quality catnip in my opinion and it may be that it is harvested at just the right time as well. It was yellow to start with, never green yellow. It is supposed to be harvested just before the buds open, according to catnip experts I corresponded with, a Hagen rep and a catnip farmer/vendor.
I still do not add shampoo to the length separately as a rule. I just use the lather from the scalp wash but I have added more to the length on occasion if necessary, just a very, very small amount. I can tell what the length needs by now from how it feels when wet.
Just holding my hand over the area when applied at the scalp works for me. I do not use extras like cotton wool but it sounds like a good idea.
Did you see the post and part of the Catnip Article where I changed how wet my hair is to start a while back? I gently squeeze out as much water as I can after shampooing and the catnip is absorbed better, in terms of less drips. It makes the directed application process less messy and much more controlled.
Re: Catnip for split ends?
ok thats it , i'm on strike till my new batch of catnip has not arrived yet and i've just run out today. that means it has half week to a week at most before i start panicking and putting bags over my head. catnip is a must dam it!!!!!!! (in my routine)
i'm ok :o
Re: Catnip for split ends?
maybe i'm getting a tad obsessed with my routine . la la la, but but my hair needs it. it eats so much!!!!
Re: Catnip for split ends?
ignore me, i'm fine. my hair is fine it's just i don't want to slack because it's doing so well for the first time ever.
Re: Catnip for split ends?
iris Like Ktani I only rarely add shampoo to my length, I just let the lather from my scalp run down my length but this is the way I have been washing my hair for years. I'm also using Hagen catnip. Give it time, it will work.
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
rach
ignore me, i'm fine. my hair is fine it's just i don't want to slack because it's doing so well for the first time ever.
Catnip can be addictive, lol but at least it is legal, lol. Glad to hear you like it so much!
Re: Catnip for split ends?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
rach
ok thats it , i'm on strike till my new batch of catnip has not arrived yet and i've just run out today. that means it has half week to a week at most before i start panicking and putting bags over my head. catnip is a must dam it!!!!!!! (in my routine)
i'm ok :o
If I was anywhere near you I'd drop some of mine around to you.:) I wouldn't want to be without either - my hair loves it.:heartbeat: