Catnip substitute

[Shigure]

I am all for natural hair care. I've read threads about catnip and I thought it's perfect for me. But... it's extremely expensive in Poland and hard to find.
Price is between 2 and 3 bucks for 1 oz.
Can you suggest another herb/plant with similar properties?

[Chromis]

Wow, even in the pet stores? If you have a place to do so, it is easy to grow

It is a member of the mint family, so I wonder if trying other mints might work. I haven't heard of them as much for hair lately, but what herbs are talked about comes and goes. There are a lot of mints you can try, peppermint is only one of them. Lemon balm is another common mint (might be known for you as Melissa) and so is bee balm and coleus. Actually many of our aromatic herbs are mint cousins! Basil, rosemary, sage, sage, savory, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender, perilla, horehound, marjoram, za'atar are all mints. Also a fun fact, teak is a mint too! Yes, the tree! It's the largest mint. There are quite a few landscaping mints you might be able find growing around you already, and they grow fast so I know I'd certainly be happy to share if someone asked. I have not heard of them for hair, but if you can find them for free, I see no harm in trying - things like ajuga, obedient plant, lamium, and salvia are often weeds. Here some are invasive species so you can harvest at will. Perhaps worth looking into.

My hair loves sage and rosemary, both give a good shine and more clear scalp, but be aware they are known to be darkening.

[Shigure]

Wow, even in the pet stores? If you have a place to do so, it is easy to grow

It is a member of the mint family, so I wonder if trying other mints might work. I haven't heard of them as much for hair lately, but what herbs are talked about comes and goes. There are a lot of mints you can try, peppermint is only one of them. Lemon balm is another common mint (might be known for you as Melissa) and so is bee balm and coleus. Actually many of our aromatic herbs are mint cousins! Basil, rosemary, sage, sage, savory, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender, perilla, horehound, marjoram, za'atar are all mints. Also a fun fact, teak is a mint too! Yes, the tree! It's the largest mint. There are quite a few landscaping mints you might be able find growing around you already, and they grow fast so I know I'd certainly be happy to share if someone asked. I have not heard of them for hair, but if you can find them for free, I see no harm in trying - things like ajuga, obedient plant, lamium, and salvia are often weeds. Here some are invasive species so you can harvest at will. Perhaps worth looking into.

My hair loves sage and rosemary, both give a good shine and more clear scalp, but be aware they are known to be darkening.

Catnip is not sold in pet stores here. they sell spray with catnip smell.
I have many of the herbs you mention in my garden but in summer. It's mid of the winter now. And I use them fresh so I don't harvest and dry them when the season is ending.
I know how some of them work and they have completely different properties hair-wise.

[Nightshade]

hhaha Chromis said everything I was going to say, so I'll also second that it's very easy to grow, both outdoors and in a pot.

Catmint is another similar herb that I often blend in with my catnip because it works the same and I think smells nicer

[Angry Cockatiel]

If you find this is a long term solution for you, have you thought about just growing it yourself? If you don't have a dehydrator you can just bundle the cut catnip stalks by the stems with string and hang it upside down to dry (preferably in front of a window) until dry, then remove the leaves and freeze them for later use. I suppose this just depends if you enjoy outdoor or indoor growing. The plant seems to grow like wildfire wild so I don't see why it would be difficult to get going elsewhere.

[Shigure]

If you find this is a long term solution for you, have you thought about just growing it yourself? If you don't have a dehydrator you can just bundle the cut catnip stalks by the stems with string and hang it upside down to dry (preferably in front of a window) until dry, then remove the leaves and freeze them for later use. I suppose this just depends if you enjoy outdoor or indoor growing. The plant seems to grow like wildfire wild so I don't see why it would be difficult to get going elsewhere.

I am going to do that this year I have seeds and few last year platns. But it's going to happen in few months. Until then I need something else.

[veryhairyfairy]

How about packaged mint tea, Shigure? I'd think it would be very refreshing but I haven't tried it myself, I've got some bags right now though so maybe I'll experiment next wash

Wow, even in the pet stores? If you have a place to do so, it is easy to grow

It is a member of the mint family, so I wonder if trying other mints might work. I haven't heard of them as much for hair lately, but what herbs are talked about comes and goes. There are a lot of mints you can try, peppermint is only one of them. Lemon balm is another common mint (might be known for you as Melissa) and so is bee balm and coleus. Actually many of our aromatic herbs are mint cousins! Basil, rosemary, sage, sage, savory, oregano, hyssop, thyme, lavender, perilla, horehound, marjoram, za'atar are all mints. Also a fun fact, teak is a mint too! Yes, the tree! It's the largest mint. There are quite a few landscaping mints you might be able find growing around you already, and they grow fast so I know I'd certainly be happy to share if someone asked. I have not heard of them for hair, but if you can find them for free, I see no harm in trying - things like ajuga, obedient plant, lamium, and salvia are often weeds. Here some are invasive species so you can harvest at will. Perhaps worth looking into.

My hair loves sage and rosemary, both give a good shine and more clear scalp, but be aware they are known to be darkening.

How do you use sage? I've got sage brush all over the top acre and love the way it smells, it'd be great to find even more uses for it!

[Chromis]

How about packaged mint tea, Shigure? I'd think it would be very refreshing but I haven't tried it myself, I've got some bags right now though so maybe I'll experiment next wash



How do you use sage? I've got sage brush all over the top acre and love the way it smells, it'd be great to find even more uses for it!

Packaged teas work just fine! I dry my own, but have used tea bags in a pinch.

Alas, sagebrush does smell fantastic, but is not the same as culinary sage. I tried a quick search, but you get a lot of false hits....however this came up: https://www.borealfolk.ca/products/s...nt=22218797827 so that does sound promising! I'd keep looking

[Shigure]

Packaged teas work just fine! I dry my own, but have used tea bags in a pinch.

Alas, sagebrush does smell fantastic, but is not the same as culinary sage. I tried a quick search, but you get a lot of false hits....however this came up: https://www.borealfolk.ca/products/s...nt=22218797827 so that does sound promising! I'd keep looking

How do you use sage? And what are benefits? I have nice stash of dried sage I can use for hair.

[Chromis]

How do you use sage? And what are benefits? I have nice stash of dried sage I can use for hair.

Sage darkens hair, adds shine, and is supposed to help strengthen roots and help with hair loss or thinning as well as treat dandruff. It stimulates cell growth and has a mild antiseptic effect. (I am guessing it is helpful perhaps with mild fungal problems, much like how some people use Monistat). I liked the darkening effect when I was doing henna since I didn't actually want red-red (cloves and rosemary are also good for this, although indigo and amla make the most dramatic difference), but now that I have more silvers coming in, I am trying to just let them shine.