Catnip for split ends?

[Deborah]

Well, I decided to give this a try, so I have done it the past two Saturdays (one hour with my hair bagged after freshly washing.) My hair is lovely and nice and soft, but that first week I had noticeable SHEDDING, something I have NEVER experienced with any product, natural or otherwise.

I went ahead and did it again yesterday (the second time.) Today my hair was quite nice, but if I have lots of shedding this week, then that will be the end for catnip and me.

[Kazazi]

I am also reporting back in after my latest round of catnip experiments. After not getting noticeable results with my preferred method, which was to bag the catnip but to then not rinse it out (to avoid excessively wet hair during sleep or commute to work), I followed Ktani's instructions to the dot last time and rinsed my catnip out after bagging for at least an hour.

I still didn't get any better results than if I follow my Dairy Whip wash with a straight citrict acid or VitC rinse; in fact I didn't notice any conditioning effect at all. Now, whether this is because my hair doesn't need much conditioner or whether my catnip isn't working for me, I cannot yet tell for sure, but I don't think it quite is the former, because my hair does react quite a bit to lack or excess of conditioning. It mostly does this with a barbed wire frizz halo and if anything I got a little more of this than when using DW & acid only.

So for now, I must conclude that catnip just isn't doing much for me. However, my batch hardly contains any buds, so I'd be keen to obtain some catnip that does and see how my hair improves with that. Only problem is, that so far, I haven't been able to find any here in Germany. I shall keep looking and if anyone finds a good source that I can obtain over here, please do let me know!

Kaz x

[ktani]

Well, I decided to give this a try, so I have done it the past two Saturdays (one hour with my hair bagged after freshly washing.) My hair is lovely and nice and soft, but that first week I had noticeable SHEDDING, something I have NEVER experienced with any product, natural or otherwise.

I went ahead and did it again yesterday (the second time.) Today my hair was quite nice, but if I have lots of shedding this week, then that will be the end for catnip and me.

That is odd because for me, catnip reduces shedding, compared to my using conditioner. With my shampoo and catnip I have less shedding than I have ever had. No one else has reported shedding to be a problem with catnip either. Sorry to hear that shedding is part of your results.

[ktani]

I am also reporting back in after my latest round of catnip experiments. After not getting noticeable results with my preferred method, which was to bag the catnip but to then not rinse it out (to avoid excessively wet hair during sleep or commute to work), I followed Ktani's instructions to the dot last time and rinsed my catnip out after bagging for at least an hour.

I still didn't get any better results than if I follow my Dairy Whip wash with a straight citrict acid or VitC rinse; in fact I didn't notice any conditioning effect at all. Now, whether this is because my hair doesn't need much conditioner or whether my catnip isn't working for me, I cannot yet tell for sure, but I don't think it quite is the former, because my hair does react quite a bit to lack or excess of conditioning. It mostly does this with a barbed wire frizz halo and if anything I got a little more of this than when using DW & acid only.

So for now, I must conclude that catnip just isn't doing much for me. However, my batch hardly contains any buds, so I'd be keen to obtain some catnip that does and see how my hair improves with that. Only problem is, that so far, I haven't been able to find any here in Germany. I shall keep looking and if anyone finds a good source that I can obtain over here, please do let me know!

Kaz x

Have you tried using diluted DW with catnip? That works best for others using DW. I have never tried DW.

[tabitie]

I just used catnip over commercial shampoo per Ktani's instructions (over very rough, damaged, chemically treated hair). Here are my results (photos: see my album).

I shampood, clarified with a white vinegar and water rinse (1-2 tbp per cup for shine and smoother cuticles), then applied catnip. Brewed a double does for my thick hair (550 mL water and 2 tsp catnip from PetMeds.com). Kept hair under shower cap and towel for 1.5 hours, adding more for coverage. Kitty sniffed my head!

RESULTS:

It amazed me I could get the comb through. I've never used a natural conditioner and am a dimethicone hair smoothing adict. The properties of catnip are truly remarkable! While not as "slippery" feeling as commercial shampoos, it does give you that same feeling. No tangles, good texture considering my texture without this would be terrible due to the chemical processing.

However, I am not a convert. My curls look like a caucasian afro right now. This does not compliment my face as I don't have Nicole Kidman's or Andie MacDowell's china-doll features. My medium-fine, thick curly hair is going to need a conditioner a lot heavier than this!

I can see how catnip would be a miracle product for those with short thin hair (guys), natural blondes, people with very fine hair or straight hair they want to fluff up and have a "cloud" of body. Many thanks to ktani for this.

I think there are many people whose hair would suit them great with catnip-only. I'm not one of them.

Next I will try amla or fenugreek/meshi to see if I can weight myself down a bit!

See my albums for pictures and previous posts about the miracle of ACV rinses. New discovery for me. Whoop!

[tabitie]

By the way my scalp has never felt better though.

And I came here two weeks ago with scalp problems and itching.

And I haven't seen ringlets on my head since childhood. But they will be going down the memory-hole where they belong. Thank you ktani.

[ktani]

By the way my scalp has never felt better though.

And I came here two weeks ago with scalp problems and itching.

And I haven't seen ringlets on my head since childhood. But they will be going down the memory-hole where they belong. Thank you ktani.

LOL, before catnip goes down the memory hole, lol, my hair is naturally wavy. I have let it do its thing with catnip and I prefer my hair straighter as well.

However, I can make my hair straighter with catnip just by smoothing it out with my hands, so that the waves are deeper and stretched out. They stay that way too, in between washing. No ringlets and my hair can do that on its own. Once your hair becomes softened with catnip on a regular basis (1 or 2 times is not enough, IMO) you should be able to do what I do too.

Great news about your scalp!

[Sia]

I am also reporting back in after my latest round of catnip experiments. After not getting noticeable results with my preferred method, which was to bag the catnip but to then not rinse it out (to avoid excessively wet hair during sleep or commute to work), I followed Ktani's instructions to the dot last time and rinsed my catnip out after bagging for at least an hour.

I still didn't get any better results than if I follow my Dairy Whip wash with a straight citrict acid or VitC rinse; in fact I didn't notice any conditioning effect at all. Now, whether this is because my hair doesn't need much conditioner or whether my catnip isn't working for me, I cannot yet tell for sure, but I don't think it quite is the former, because my hair does react quite a bit to lack or excess of conditioning. It mostly does this with a barbed wire frizz halo and if anything I got a little more of this than when using DW & acid only.

So for now, I must conclude that catnip just isn't doing much for me. However, my batch hardly contains any buds, so I'd be keen to obtain some catnip that does and see how my hair improves with that. Only problem is, that so far, I haven't been able to find any here in Germany. I shall keep looking and if anyone finds a good source that I can obtain over here, please do let me know!

Kaz x

This is my first post, woohoo!
I wanted to respond to this because I just went through a similar experience. I was interested in catnip for the colour as well as for the conditioning benefits, so I REALLY wanted it to work and tried and tried again following ktani's instructions. Result: On the up side, my greys did take on a little colour but unfortunately, I didn't notice any conditioning at all and ended up with a tangly mess on my head.

Interesting that both Kaz and I live in Germany and had similar experiences. I had the hardest time trying to even find catnip here. The stuff I eventually found was called 'Katzenminze' which literally translates as 'Cat Mint' and I believe ktani explained it to be a different plant entirely. The translation on the package was 'Catnip' but maybe it really is just a different herb that doesn't have the same properties..

Has anyone else tried (perhaps accidentaly) cat mint instead of catnip? And, repeating Kaz's question, does anyone here in Europe (particularily Germany) have any good experience with/good source of catnip?

Thanks!!

[Kazazi]

Welcome to LHC, Sia

First off, I bought my catnip in the UK, when I still lived there. However, I have since looked for a different batch here in Germany and the only one I have found so far had just as few buds and looked less fresh. I haven't tried it on my hair yet.

To my best knowledge, what they call Katzenminze here is true catnip. The key is to look for the latin name Nepeta cataria.

The German batch that I found I bought at Fressnaps and they should have had a wider selection there, but when I went, everything except the brand I bought was sold out. So I might try again in the future to see if I can source some catnip with a decent amount of buds.

In the meantime, if you haven't seen this already, there is also a German long hair site with a longish thread about using catnip for conditioning; you can find it here and read it without being a member.

Good luck with any further experiments and let me know if you find a great source of catnip here in Germany!

Btw, Ktani, I think I do use the equivalent of diluted Dairy Whip as I always dilute a little bit with water in the palm of my hand before applying to wet hair. I think the lack of catnip results, for me, has to do with the catnip I am using, or a combination thereof, my water and my hair...

[ktani]

Welcome to LHC, Sia

First off, I bought my catnip in the UK, when I still lived there. However, I have since looked for a different batch here in Germany and the only one I have found so far had just as few buds and looked less fresh. I haven't tried it on my hair yet.

To my best knowledge, what they call Katzenminze here is true catnip. The key is to look for the latin name Nepeta cataria.

The German batch that I found I bought at Fressnaps and they should have had a wider selection there, but when I went, everything except the brand I bought was sold out. So I might try again in the future to see if I can source some catnip with a decent amount of buds.

In the meantime, if you haven't seen this already, there is also a German long hair site with a longish thread about using catnip for conditioning; you can find it here and read it without being a member.

Good luck with any further experiments and let me know if you find a great source of catnip here in Germany!

Btw, Ktani, I think I do use the equivalent of diluted Dairy Whip as I always dilute a little bit with water in the palm of my hand before applying to wet hair. I think the lack of catnip results, for me, has to do with the catnip I am using, or a combination thereof, my water and my hair...

That could be the case. I just know that when DW is used in a diluted form (perhaps more so than you are doing), it works well with catnip, compared to using it full strength, based on reports.

The catnip quality can affect results but I did have positive results with catnip conditioning from every catnip I have used.

I changed my timing and method and my results are better with pet store catnip, which is much higher quality.