Catnip for split ends?

Feli, the flower buds contain most of the oil, so it's not surprising that you get a drying effect using just the leaves. (The leaves contain most of the tannins, and tannins are drying). I'd just try again with a different brand, one that consists of leaves AND flower buds.

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Originally Posted by ktani

It can take time to see results. It can depend on the catnip itself, what is or was on your hair, your hair, in terms of the thickness of the strands, the amount you use and the timing and method. I get better results with it bagged and timed for 1 hour altogether than I did with previous methods.

See the last link at the end of the Catnip Article, http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/...&articleid=118.

I changed my brew time to exactly 5 hours this last time and my hair has been perfect all week, no curlover, no friction (in varied weather conditions), just amazing. But my hair is mostly fine so this brew time may be the best for my type of hair in particular. Different brew times, timing, methods and dilutions may work better for others and their hair, and in fact such has been reported to be the case.

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Thank you! :)

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Originally Posted by iris

Feli, the flower buds contain most of the oil, so it's not surprising that you get a drying effect using just the leaves. (The leaves contain most of the tannins, and tannins are drying). I'd just try again with a different brand, one that consists of leaves AND flower buds.

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Wow, that is interessting! I have to check if my catnip contains flowers...:p

Silly question time, but what do you mean by bagging? I have my catnip on for the first time at the moment with a shower cap on, and it dripped everywhere for the first half hour or so.

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Originally Posted by pelicano

Silly question time, but what do you mean by bagging? I have my catnip on for the first time at the moment with a shower cap on, and it dripped everywhere for the first half hour or so.

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I use a freezer bag but a shower cap is fine, so is plastic wrap.

Catnip leaves contain oils too but there are more in the buds. The flowers contain tannins as well. One should look for "leaves and flowers" but the best catnip I have used is actually leaves and buds (floweres harvested before they open) and they contain oils that are are lost once the flowers bloom.

Thanks for the reply. I just found it dripped past my shower cap (wasn't tight enough), and into my ears, which is a bad thing for me (I get lots of ear infections). I think I need to find a swimming cap or something... depending on my results, of course! :)

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Originally Posted by pelicano

Thanks for the reply. I just found it dripped past my shower cap (wasn't tight enough), and into my ears, which is a bad thing for me (I get lots of ear infections). I think I need to find a swimming cap or something... depending on my results, of course! :)

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I have not had that happen but I can understand your concerns. Catnip is antibacterial and antiviral though. Good luck!

Pelicano - I make a ponytail and dip just the ponytail in the catnip, then cram the wet hair into a plastic baggie, hence "bagging". Just means to put the dripping hair into a small plastic bag and put a scrunchy elastic around the top of the bag to hold it in place for the "soak". Much better than dripping down my neck and I do not need conditioning on my scalp, just the length. Does that make sense?

Thanks! I'll have to try some things out. :)

OK, I'm trying not to get too excited yet, as I won't really know till later or tomorrow whether my scalp is happy with the catnip, but... my hair really loves it!! :cheese: I washed with a non-sulfate shampoo, but used more than usual to try to remove build up of oils, conditioner, butters, glycerine etc. I then left the catnip on for an hour and rinsed. I didn't put anything in my hair afterwards, whereas I would normally put some shea butter and olive oil in, or some glycerine.

It has dried into really soft ringlet curls. There are still some dry, frizzy short bits, but they are really quite damaged. I'm not sure about any possible colour change yet, as I need to see it in daylight, and also because I normally have leave-ins darkening my hair.

Considering how dry my hair felt after the shampoo, this is a miracle. Here's hoping the scalp will put up with it OK!!

Just a quick question for you catnippers (!) How do you apply it? Yesterday I used a jug and today I used a spray bottle. I water washed today and am just about to rinse... hope it will be OK, as I really can't shampoo every day, but I do need to wash my scalp.

My hair really puffed up in the evening yesterday, so I was really disappointed. Then I looked outside and there was thick fog! Not great weather to be trying something new in!