Catnip for split ends?

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Originally Posted by Nevb1973

Ok I need to try tjis. So I need to go to the pet store and buy loose catnip. Then I put a tablespoon full in a mug of water hot but not boiling let it steep covered about an hour. Wash my hair apply let sit for an hour then I can apply conditioner let sit a few more minutes then rinse? I am hoping it will stain my grays. If I put 2 tablespoons in two mugs of water amount in a glass bowl I have will this will work too? I do have a basin ao I was hoping to put my head over that and really soak the ends and pour it over my scalp to soak it good for staining of grays. Does this sound like a good plan? Will my hair pick up an odd sent from this? I only wash my hair once a week could I do this weekly in this order and will it work, or does it need to be more often?

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So the basic recipe is 1 teaspoon to about 1.25 cups of water. When I mix up my large batch every couple of weeks, I use 5 cups of water to 4 teaspoons of catnip. I cover and steep for 5 hours, and I have never deviated so I don't know if more/less time steeping will change the effects on your hair. (I freeze the large batch in ice cube trays and just thaw it out as needed, it's the only way I'll use catnip regularly because otherwise it's too much hassle to make it)

As for coloration, I believe one hour is the time that ktani was using to stain her grays, so that should work. There's no need to hang over a basin for that whole time, maybe you could put the tea in a spray bottle and keep misting it to keep applying. I'm not sure how often you'd need to apply to get good gray coverage, but once a week might be plenty, so give it a try!

And as for scent, it definitely doesn't smell bad. The scent is sort of like chamomile-mint-sweet green tea... very pleasant and herbal. :)
HTH!

I really like using catnip spray on dry hair. My hair after washing it yesterday is picture perfect, probably due to the repeated applications of catnip. I used a tiny amount in my hair to style this morning, and it's slipping out of its updo, it's so smooth! The flyaways are pretty much tamed too.

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Originally Posted by Vanilla

I really like using catnip spray on dry hair. My hair after washing it yesterday is picture perfect, probably due to the repeated applications of catnip. I used a tiny amount in my hair to style this morning, and it's slipping out of its updo, it's so smooth! The flyaways are pretty much tamed too.

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:cheer: So glad it's working out! Lol, I keep wanting to tell non-hairy people about it, but even my family members (who know how weird I am) think it's odd.

I think one of the really great bonus effects for me is that it's really helping with my little winter dryness dandruff. Whether the tea is helping by moisturizing, or merely keeping the flakes attached ( :shudder: ), it's definitely a big improvement.

I guess it depends on where you live...but do you guys use tap water? Or do you have a filter or buy bottled water? I live in Chicago, but I just moved here...not sure if I should use tap or buy bottled.

Lurker popping in here! :) I use catnip on wash days, but I never thought of applying it regularly for dandruff/dry scalp. Do you spray it directly on your scalp and leave it in that case?

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Originally Posted by TheHowlingWolf

I guess it depends on where you live...but do you guys use tap water? Or do you have a filter or buy bottled water? I live in Chicago, but I just moved here...not sure if I should use tap or buy bottled.

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I've never used bottled water, or even Brita filtered. Maybe if you have really hard water or highly chlorinated water you'd use bottled water, but most tap water isn't really bad.

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Originally Posted by Colochita

Lurker popping in here! :) I use catnip on wash days, but I never thought of applying it regularly for dandruff/dry scalp. Do you spray it directly on your scalp and leave it in that case?

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Yeah I generally almost soak my scalp with my spray bottle of catnip tea every day (I use it to style my hair every morning).
I'll have to see how well it's working when I scritch my scalp before my next wash, but it's certainly improving the appearance, and I'm happy with that!

I order a lot of things from Mountain Rose Herbs and I notice they sell catnip hydrosol and catnip essential oil. Rather than making the tea - it would be easier to use the oil, I think? Have any of you tried just the oil? perhaps even diluted? Thank you.

Ok, so I'm just getting back to starting to use catnip again, so aside from these last few pages that I just read, i haven't read this thread in over a year. But from what I recall, in regards to using just an essential oil - I seem to remember that the multiple good effects that we get from the catnip tea coke from two different portions of the catnip - the flowers have the oil content, and the leaves have tannins. So, without the leaves and tannins you would only have a partial effect from using just an oil. Perhaps the oil might repair the split ends and provide moisture, but maybe not give the shine and conditioner 'slip' feeling? Like i said i dont really remember the specifics about which does what, but I suspect using only the oil would be beneficial but not leave the same full effects that you would get from the tea.

Dropped off the bandwagon, now I'm back and pregnant, wanting to take advantage of my crazy hair growth.

If I use catnip 3x a week, when do you think I should be getting fewer splits?

My hair is past waist heading for tailbone and the ends have gone crazy, velcro like and dry. I have tried clarifying, moisture treatments, herbal treatments and today it struck me I have not used catnip in ages. Not since the last time my hair was this long! Before I lost it all to chemo it was at waist so it has been several years of growing and not having to deal with ends. So I am going to start my catnip soaks again and hopefully that will resolve the end issues. I do not want to cut at all, not even a trim. My hair is very fairy tailed due to growing out from bald and I jealously guard every inch. To get a blunt hemline I would have to cut 8 inches off so that is not happening. So catnip tea it is! I will post on progress.

Update - between an SMT and the catnip soak, my hair is soft, shiny, full and back to where it should be! The only trouble is now it is slippery so ficcares are all that work to hold it any more. Sticks slide right out, sigh. Oh well, I love my ficcares!

So, I tried the catnip. FANTASTIC!!! I sprayed it on as a leave in conditioner and saturated a cotton ball for my skin as well. My hide and hair are happy! Hair feels conditioned and hide's blemish sores are healing quickly.

I don't know why I didn't think of using it sooner.

PS- my Persian/Himalayan thought the infusion was quite tasty and proceeded to lick the heck out of my cotton ball, but didn't go for my hair.

I have a question...

In the beginning post Ktani says she lets it steep for 30 minutes but it seems like what I've read recently is that people are letting it steep 5 hours? Which is correct? :confused:

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Originally Posted by hidetheice

I have a question...

In the beginning post Ktani says she lets it steep for 30 minutes but it seems like what I've read recently is that people are letting it steep 5 hours? Which is correct? :confused:

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I have been using catnip for years and steep it for 4.5 to 5 hours which I find works well for conditioning. Here is a link to Ktani's old article about the use of catnip and her experiments with it. Hope this helps. :bluebiggr

Hmmm... Thanks. So she does hers for 4.75 hours. Well I let mine steep today for a little over 1 hour and left it on for 1 hour. I really love the results. Best my damaged hair has looked in quite a while and I've been trying SMTs, oil, you name it. Next time I'll let it steep for the 4.75 hours and see what happens. =)

I do not pay attention to how long it steeps. I have used it less than an hour when I failed to plan. I have also steeped it over night.

I also do not accurately measure. Here is what I do. I take a hefty pinch (maybe 1 to 2 Tablespoons) and put it in a small steel saucepan. I boil a cup of water and pour it in. Cover and let steep. Strain through a coffee filter. Then I dilute it to the color of medium tea. I put it in a tall stainless steel water bottle and stick in the last 1 to 2 feet of my hair. I can carry around the bottle without it sloshing or having to stay in one place for a long time. it works well.

Right now I have my tea in the refer because plans to wash the hair 2 days ago did not happen.

ave now been doing catnip soaks and leave in for 2 years.

I steep for 20 to 30 minutes - until it cools enough to use and soak the length for 20 minutes and rinse. I have used catnip for years.

I did a rinse with catnip the other day and my hair was still kind of dry. I did not condition prior to the rinse. Should I have? I also only steeped mine for about an hour; does increasing the steeping time increase the conditioning?

Quick question, and sorry if it's already been answered somewhere, I can't be bothered to search through 300 pages :rolleyes:
But, I use manic panic to dye my (unbleached) hair purple every other month. Do you think that the catnip could affect the color or fade the dye in any way? Will I still get the benefits on dyed hair? Thanks in advance if anyone has answers! :)

I don't think the tea would fade. And I don;t have experience with dye. But on my untreated, dark blond hair with ends a bit lighter due to sun exposure over time, the tea imparts a reddish cast. It cover gray also. It is not permanent, it washes out. But since I soak in catnip tea every wash, it is always like this.

Sorry if this question has already been answered, but can you freeze brewed catnip to use later? Could I just make up a big batch of catnip and thaw it as needed? Or will that ruin it's effectiveness?

I wonder if it works too, so I'll be watching this thread. May I just comment on the Hunger Games reference?

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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Originally Posted by pixietail

Sorry if this question has already been answered, but can you freeze brewed catnip to use later? Could I just make up a big batch of catnip and thaw it as needed? Or will that ruin it's effectiveness?

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I freeze mine in individual "servings" and have not noticed any change in effectiveness using frozen and thawed versus freshly brewed.

Hey! So happy to see this thread still active in the last couple months. Idk if anyone will be around to answer, but I was wondering how catnip works in conjunction with cowashing?

Oh, another question! Can you use fresh catnip for this? And if so, do you have to change the measurements?

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.

How often should you do this at first if you have a lot of split ends?

It won't heal your splits, you need to snip them off, but it is supposed to help prevent new ones forming, just rinse after your hair wash :)

Hi,

The best way to get rid of split ends is to trim your hair or only where the hair is split. You need to oil your hair regularly and once a week a hot oil treatment would really do good to your hair.

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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: