Catnip for split ends?

[saskia_madding]

I went cone and sulfate free about 3 weeks ago. I don't think I have any residue left from my coning days. I use AO Calaguala Fern Treatment shampoo:

INGREDIENTS: Deionized Water, Coconut Oil-Corn Oil Soap, Soap Bark Extract, Yucca Root Extract, Carrageenan, White Pine Bark Extract, Organic Lemon Peel Oil, Calaguala Extract, Cade Wood Essential Oil, Organic Evening Primrose Oil, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

And AO Honeysuckle Rose conditioner:

INGREDIENTS: Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Organic Shea Butter, Wheat Germ Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Rosa Mosqueta® Rose Hip Seed Oil; Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile, Yarrow, Chrysanthemum, Angelica, Forsythia and Magnolia; Honeysuckle Oil, Carrot Oil, Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

The leave-in is still up in the air, but I've been filling the gap by using the conditioner or some coconut oil. I'm now trying Karen's Body Beautiful stuff, all of which have vegetable wax as the only waxy ingredient in it. Nothing that won't wash out with shampoo in one wash.

So ... yeah. I don't think I had anything to prevent the catnip from being absorbed into my hair. But that's good, right?

I've learned now that no matter how tasty my hair feels after catnip, I have to use a leave-in, and preferably one good at detangling. My hair was so light and fluffy that it tangled a lot more easily after a catnip treatment than I remember it doing in a while. Of course, previously I was using cones, so ...

[ktani]

I went cone and sulfate free about 3 weeks ago. I don't think I have any residue left from my coning days. I use AO Calaguala Fern Treatment shampoo:

INGREDIENTS: Deionized Water, Coconut Oil-Corn Oil Soap, Soap Bark Extract, Yucca Root Extract, Carrageenan, White Pine Bark Extract, Organic Lemon Peel Oil, Calaguala Extract, Cade Wood Essential Oil, Organic Evening Primrose Oil, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

And AO Honeysuckle Rose conditioner:

INGREDIENTS: Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Organic Shea Butter, Wheat Germ Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Rosa Mosqueta® Rose Hip Seed Oil; Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile, Yarrow, Chrysanthemum, Angelica, Forsythia and Magnolia; Honeysuckle Oil, Carrot Oil, Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

The leave-in is still up in the air, but I've been filling the gap by using the conditioner or some coconut oil. I'm now trying Karen's Body Beautiful stuff, all of which have vegetable wax as the only waxy ingredient in it. Nothing that won't wash out with shampoo in one wash.

So ... yeah. I don't think I had anything to prevent the catnip from being absorbed into my hair. But that's good, right?

I've learned now that no matter how tasty my hair feels after catnip, I have to use a leave-in, and preferably one good at detangling. My hair was so light and fluffy that it tangled a lot more easily after a catnip treatment than I remember it doing in a while. Of course, previously I was using cones, so ...

I put in bold the things I know that can leave a residue. I suggest trying a vinegar rinse after the shampoo, if your hair has tangled that much. I get no tangling at all following my shampoo and catnip.

Try using less leave-in each time, but go by how your hair detangles. Catnip does tangle when there is residue on the hair from anything, as I remember.

Yes, it is good not to have any residue so catnip can access the hair more. I think from the tangling, that you have some but not a lot.

[saskia_madding]

Okay, so you suggest shampooing, then apple cider vinegar rinse, then catnip treatment?

What shampoo do you use, that leaves no residue? I'm not married to my shampoo choice.

[ktani]

1. Okay, so you suggest shampooing, then apple cider vinegar rinse, then catnip treatment?

2. What shampoo do you use, that leaves no residue? I'm not married to my shampoo choice.

1. Only if you continue to use the shampoo you listed. Yes, shampoo, vinegar rinse to help remove residue, then catnip.

2. I use a sulphate shampoo I import, Sunsilk Lively Blonde Shampoo I get from http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatalog/Sunsilk.html

It has one cone but I get no buid-up from it at all. I have used the newst formula for over 3 years now. I love it. With shipping it works out to something like $20 a tube and a tube lasts me over 6 months. There is no equivalent Sunsilk shampoo in North America. I prefer the European formulas. They contain less film formers.

[saskia_madding]

Thanks for the tip! I'll try that next time. I don't want to switch to sulphate shampoo, as that tended to make me shed a lot more and increased the breakage I experienced. Also, I use only non animal tested products, and sunsilk is made by Unilever, so I can't use it.

[ktani]

Thanks for the tip! I'll try that next time. I don't want to switch to sulphate shampoo, as that tended to make me shed a lot more and increased the breakage I experienced. Also, I use only non animal tested products, and sunsilk is made by Unilever, so I can't use it.

No worries. I have used other shampoos but my problem is a sensitive scalp. I shed very little with my shampoo but you should find a non suplhate one that can work as well. I am sensitive to certain additives, including some fragrance oils.

[saskia_madding]

As long as an ACV rinse will get rid of the residue I seem to have left in my hair, I'll stick with the shampoo I'm using. I really appreciate the tips! I might be back for more later.

[ktani]

As long as an ACV rinse will get rid of the residue I seem to have left in my hair, I'll stick with the shampoo I'm using. I really appreciate the tips! I might be back for more later.

It should help. You should be able to tell by the tangling how well the vinegar is working. The more you use catnip and the longer you leave it on, bagged, the better it gets, in terms of results, from my experience.

[ktani]

There is a difference between white dots and split ends but a white dot can result in a split end. Mine do not since my catnip use has improved, from a good while back. I know my white dots are from mechanical damage. I have found hairs with more than one white dot on them, from the hairs catching, and my not having done an s&d in a while.

When I was recently briefly, experimenting with catnip "shampoos", and then a catnip treatment, and the treatment was not being absorbed into my hair as well as following conventional shampoo, I was just starting to see split ends again and my hair was knotting. Since going back to my regular routine, of conventional shampoo followed by the catnip treatment, I have not seen any split ends. I think the difference is a matter of dryness. Catnip as a treatment, bagged and timed, keeps my hair balanced with moisture and protein and breakage does not result in my ends getting frayed and split.

A white dot is actually breakage that can but not always, result in a split end. I still get a few white dots but they do not result in split ends (I have found them between long times between s&ds (search and destryoy or snippong off ends and they have not resulted in split ends) and I used to get split ends, with no white dots on them.

"Trichorrhexis nodosa is a defect in the hair shaft characterized by thickening or weak points (nodes) that cause the hair to break off easily.... The hair actually grows but is broken before it can become long. .... the defect often appears at the ends of the hair shaft with splitting of the ends, thinning and whitish discoloration. .... This condition is self-limiting. Improvements in grooming techniques and in environmental conditions will correct the abnormality."

"Hair disordersSymptoms of hair shaft disorders are split ends and hair that is dry, brittle, and coarse, as well as skin and other abnormalities."

"Definition of Trichorrhexis nodosa:
Trichorrhexis nodosa is a problem in which thickened or weak points (nodes) along the hair shaft cause your hair to break off easily. .... Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Your genes may play a role in whether or not you develop trichorrhexis nodosa. Certain things you do to your hair -- such as blow-drying, over-brushing, perming, or excessive chemical use -- appear to trigger the condition. In some cases, trichorrhexis nodosa may be caused be an underlying disorder such as hypothyroidism, argininosuccinicaciduria, Menkes' kinky hair syndrome, Netherton syndrome ...."

[mugglemomof3]

I just posted this elsewhere. There is a difference between white dots and split ends but a white dot can result in a split end. Mine do not since my catnip use has improved, from a good while back. I know my white dots are from mechanical damage. I have found hairs with more than one white dot on them, from the hairs catching, and my not having done an s&d in a while.

"A white dot is actually breakage that can but not always, result in a split end. I still get a few white dots but they do not result in split ends (I have found them between long times between s&ds and they have not resulted in split ends) and I used to get split ends, with no white dots on them.

"Trichorrhexis nodosa is a defect in the hair shaft characterized by thickening or weak points (nodes) that cause the hair to break off easily.... The hair actually grows but is broken before it can become long. .... the defect often appears at the ends of the hair shaft with splitting of the ends, thinning and whitish discoloration. .... This condition is self-limiting. Improvements in grooming techniques and in environmental conditions will correct the abnormality."

"Definition of Trichorrhexis nodosa:
Trichorrhexis nodosa is a problem in which thickened or weak points (nodes) along the hair shaft cause your hair to break off easily. .... Causes, incidence, and risk factors: Your genes may play a role in whether or not you develop trichorrhexis nodosa. Certain things you do to your hair -- such as blow-drying, over-brushing, perming, or excessive chemical use -- appear to trigger the condition. In some cases, trichorrhexis nodosa may be caused be an underlying disorder such as hypothyroidism, argininosuccinicaciduria, Menkes' kinky hair syndrome, Netherton syndrome ...."

Thank you for these links. I have had a difficult time in convincing my best friend that my individual hairs are weak (and different than hers). She is able to grow long and strong hair with no babying or care whatsoever and claims that all these things that we do here at LHC are just hogwash. I used to have better hair but do suffer from hypothyrodism and think that's my main problem. I also apparently suffer from this "Trichorrhexis nodosa" !

I've only been able to do one catnip soak but have another in the fridge which I hope to do tomorrow. My hair did feel great after the first soak, and I have full faith this will be one of the greatest things I can do to strengthen my hair from this point on - thanks to all those who have gone before me! Thanks again