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I did steep it for an hour back then. Since then and in the catnip article I changed my brewing time to 5 hours, initially to darken the stain but I also get better conditioning. You can experiment with a brewing time that suits. you. I started out with a brewing time of 30 minutes which worked well too but from my experience, catnip needs about 1.5 hours to cool down enough to pour into a plastic shampoo bottle.Quote:
Originally Posted by deviantkitten
I bought catnip! I'm excited to start my catnip experiments on my next wash day (probably Friday, unless I get bored tomorrow). Unfortunately, my pet shop only had it in 1/2 oz amounts, so if it does work out, I'll have to find somewhere else to buy it. But I have a 1/2 oz bag to be getting on with :)
Tried another nip soak last night (was bored, why not....) Still feeling crispy ends, but maybe another 1/4" or so of "good" towards the end. I need to try to get a decent picture of my ends so others can maybe see what they think.
Tho' this weekend is trim time, gak, can't stand the pixie grow out. I keep thinking now I'm almost done having to trim, but not quite yet. And I don't want long hair more than I hate the mullet look, so it's trimming time.
I have a couple of questions before I use catnip later today (it's steeping now :D).
ktani mentions sifting/filtering the steeped mixture. Is there any purpose to this other than for messiness/stuff-in-your-hair reasons? Will it matter if there are pieces of catnip in the mixture when I apply it to my hair? Would it be alright to sjip this step altogether, for laziness reasons?
It's also mentioned in the article that catnip cannot penetrate as well if there is coating/buildup on the hair. I use (cone free) conditioner, and a little oil, and I usually wash only my scalp with shampoo. I don't feel like there is build-up on my hair -- but should I shampoo my length before trying the catnip, just in case?
Thanks very much to anyone who answers :)
I once used catnip without filtering out the bits, the catnip worked as usual, but my hair was full of bits of catnip leaves/buds/sticks which took forever to wash out. I still found bits after it had tried which I spent forever brushing out. So it's far easier to strain it and get rid of the bits. I just use a little tea strainer, easy peasy.
I never wash with 'poo anymore (last time I did, it took my hair over a week to forgive me!), just condish or herbs, and I've had wonderful results with catnip soaks. I even added some tea to my CO and my hair *loved* it!
I have catnip on my head! :D
Okay, so, after reading this thread and the article, thank you all for your amazing knowledge. This is what I did today:
I boiled the kettle, and poured ~350ml of boiled water into a mug. I took that upstairs to my room, added approx 1/3 of a tablespoon (yeah, I couldn't find a teaspoon :o) and covered with a small plate. I left it for about 2 hours, occasionally lifting the plate to stir again and pour condensation back in.
I then seived the catnipwater mixture to get the 'bits' out. It wasn't perfect, there were still lots of tiny fragments in, but the larger amounts of 'gloop' seemed to be gone.
When I showered this afternoon, I washed all of my hair (including length) with SLS-free shampoo. I then squeezed the majority of water out of my length, and attempted to coat my hair with catnip, sometimes rubbing it in with my hands, sometimes pouring it straight from the mug. When the whole mug was gone, I ponytailed my hair, wrapped it in a plastic bag, and tied the bag on with a hair elastic. I left this on for about an hour, then rinsed out with the showerhead, kneeling over the bath. I applied a TINY TINY bit of conditioner (a little bit more than a 'pea sized drop') through my length to help with detangling and slip. I then rinsed this out, and used cold water for the last rinse.
I dried using a t-shirt for a few minutes, and I'm now air drying.
So far, my hair feels much the same as normal (it's still a little damp). I'll update when it's dry :) I really have no idea how I will be able to tell if it's working for stopping splits, though. I guess I'll have to keep it up for a little while, and S&D a lot, and see if they begin to disappear :)
Forgive me if thus question has already been asked and answered, but has anyone successfully used catnip as a rinse/leave in after shampooing and conditioning?
I would still love to use catnip for less breakage and splits, but I can't give up my shampoo and conditioner combo! LOL (tried 'poo bars, just didn't work for me)
I find I only have really "happy" hair when I use my shampoo and conditioner both. I have tried catnip after shampooing only, but my hair was still pretty tangly, so I thought it might work after shampooing AND conditioning.
Thoughts?
What if you mixed some with conditioner?Quote:
Originally Posted by deviantkitten