Catnip for split ends?

[Zombiekins]

Ok, so I gave it a go today. Thanks, Ktani, for your quick responses to my questions. Many of which I realize could've been answered by flipping through the first few pages of this thread - which I'm slowly but steadily working through.

So, my last two washes have been done with aritha/amla which cleaned my hair in the same way shampoo bars seem to. Which is to say "gently", but while leaving my hair a little rough feeling - like the cuticle needed closing, even though a vinegar rinse was used. Aritha/amla has changed the texture of my hair somewhat into waviness that hasn't been present in a very long time, but it seems to be leeching the henna out, damn. Anyway, back to the relevant parts of the catnip discussion: I used catnip tea (one largish stalk of fresh catnip leaves (by my estimate it would've been close to 1tsp if dried) steeped in 300mL boiled water) that sat around until cool (a couple of hours at least) on freshly washed (with the amla/aritha) and lightly towel-dried hair. So, the a/a was on there for maybe 15-20 minutes prior to rinsing, and then the catnip was left on (covered with saran wrap, my shower cap, and a towel around the shoulders for drippies) for an hour prior to cool water rinsing.

Woah, my hair felt rough after the a/a wash, but now it's almost oily feeling again. Heavy. Like my scalp feels like it's day three after a wash and my length honestly feels fabulous. It's not tangly and lacks that same coarseness that a/a was doing to it - but at the same time still has body (and feels like it might hold a wave) compared to before introducing amla to my henna and herbal washes.

So it looks like the catnip was brewed at a good measurement, because hey, it did some conditioning, and didn't dry out my hair. On the other hand, holy crap it's conditioning! I wish my scalp didn't feel so oily, I'll never stretch this out to three or four days. Heck, I'll be shocked if I don't wash it again tomorrow.

So, Ktani, the aritha powder can still contain mucilage? Very interesting. I wanted to continue with using it and amla as a wash, but upon seeing more henna leeched out (two weeks later) kind of makes me hesitant, and now to hear it could interfere with the catnip is pretty much the deciding factor. Now I just need to find something that cleans my hair without stripping it (like most store bought shampoos) or leaving behind a little something extra. COs would leave behind a coating, wouldn't they?

[kdaniels8811]

Zombienkins - just to let you know of my method which prevents exactly the oiliness you are referring to - I soak the length in catnip tea and put the hair into a baggie, wrap a coated elastic around the top of the baggie, and go about my business for an hour. Meanwhile my herbs are steeping - the same as you are using but I added fenungeek and sharika (sp?) and I apply that mixture to my scalp, leaving the bagged hair alone. Let that soak for 15 minutes, remove the baggie and rinse the whole thing out. My scalp is clean, my length is conditioned. This method has worked really well for me. Let me know if you try it.

[ktani]

Ok, so I gave it a go today. Thanks, Ktani, for your quick responses to my questions. Many of which I realize could've been answered by flipping through the first few pages of this thread - which I'm slowly but steadily working through.

So, my last two washes have been done with aritha/amla which cleaned my hair in the same way shampoo bars seem to. Which is to say "gently", but while leaving my hair a little rough feeling - like the cuticle needed closing, even though a vinegar rinse was used. Aritha/amla has changed the texture of my hair somewhat into waviness that hasn't been present in a very long time, but it seems to be leeching the henna out, damn. Anyway, back to the relevant parts of the catnip discussion: I used catnip tea (one largish stalk of fresh catnip leaves (by my estimate it would've been close to 1tsp if dried) steeped in 300mL boiled water) that sat around until cool (a couple of hours at least) on freshly washed (with the amla/aritha) and lightly towel-dried hair. So, the a/a was on there for maybe 15-20 minutes prior to rinsing, and then the catnip was left on (covered with saran wrap, my shower cap, and a towel around the shoulders for drippies) for an hour prior to cool water rinsing.

Woah, my hair felt rough after the a/a wash, but now it's almost oily feeling again. Heavy. Like my scalp feels like it's day three after a wash and my length honestly feels fabulous. It's not tangly and lacks that same coarseness that a/a was doing to it - but at the same time still has body (and feels like it might hold a wave) compared to before introducing amla to my henna and herbal washes.

So it looks like the catnip was brewed at a good measurement, because hey, it did some conditioning, and didn't dry out my hair. On the other hand, holy crap it's conditioning! I wish my scalp didn't feel so oily, I'll never stretch this out to three or four days. Heck, I'll be shocked if I don't wash it again tomorrow.

So, Ktani, the aritha powder can still contain mucilage? Very interesting. I wanted to continue with using it and amla as a wash, but upon seeing more henna leeched out (two weeks later) kind of makes me hesitant, and now to hear it could interfere with the catnip is pretty much the deciding factor. Now I just need to find something that cleans my hair without stripping it (like most store bought shampoos) or leaving behind a little something extra. COs would leave behind a coating, wouldn't they?

You are most welcome!

The aritha rough feeling may be a coating. That is my opinion, based on reading aritha constituents and reading reports of people stating that their hair feels coated and tangly, after using it, mostly with those reports, without them pre-oiling. Aritha can be drying. It can also add a bit of a red tinge to hair. Traditionally and here on the boards, most people pre-oil before using it to cleanse their hair, to keep it from drying out the length.

mellie, whose hair is naturally oily, loves soapnuts and uses it with lime juice, which, as it turns out naturally contains less mucilage than lemon juice. Most fruits contain mucilage. The content varies. Aritha, powdered or soapnuts whole, is a dried fruit. mellie has had no problems just using soapnuts with lime juice. She does not need to pre-oil, nor does she need conditioner of any kind to follow and her hair looks great. The lime juice may cut the level of mucilage in the soapnuts.

You need to see what works best for you as a hair cleanser with catnip. I know what works best for me. Your results will tell you how well something is working. They have for me.

As to the oiliness, that is not what happens after I wash my hair and use catnip but I am using a cut and dried mix of leaves, some stems and catnip buds. The buds contain more oils than the leaves but my mix, based on observation, balances my hair so that it is moisturized and clean.

I am glad that so far, you are pleased with your results.

[ktani]

Zombienkins - just to let you know of my method which prevents exactly the oiliness you are referring to - I soak the length in catnip tea and put the hair into a baggie, wrap a coated elastic around the top of the baggie, and go about my business for an hour. Meanwhile my herbs are steeping - the same as you are using but I added fenungeek and sharika (sp?) and I apply that mixture to my scalp, leaving the bagged hair alone. Let that soak for 15 minutes, remove the baggie and rinse the whole thing out. My scalp is clean, my length is conditioned. This method has worked really well for me. Let me know if you try it.

Great advice!

[Zombiekins]

Thanks, KDaniels! I don't have any fenugreek or shiraki. Is shiraki the same as shikakai (acacia concinna) you think? My local Indian Grocery has been letting me down here of late concerning beauty products...not to mention raised their prices quite a bit on certain products (like rose powder jumping up three times what it was and my henna by half). Next time I wash - I think I have enough powder for one more - I'll try your method.

Ktani - So aritha adds a red tint? Hmm...perhaps that explains why my water is colored after rinsing, and why the catnip tea was dribbling orange. Although I still believe it is pulling henna color from my hair. It's lighter than it was a week after hennaing (and after two CO washes) and looks very different after each wash and dry.

Ok, so aritha is definitely making my hair weird... maybe I'll try out the method of mixing a little lime juice in with it. Oh - wait - I don't have any lime juice on hand. How about freshly squeezed orange juice? I'm only hesitant to do that because of the henna. I henna repeatedly to get my hair darker, and I don't want anything to lighten it. Oh, as far as mucilage and buildup and whatnot, would a vinegar rinse help get rid of any of that for the catnip to then work its magic?

Thing is, my length is usually quite dry, and my scalp doesn't get "oily" under normal conditions until the third day, and around four or five days its kind of greasy looking while the length is still "ok", if not a little dry. Working on a new way to clean my hair takes so damn much experimenting! Sheesh! Good news is that I got very soft hair from the catnip. Soft hair that isn't sticky or more tangly than normal, so something is right. The a/a wash makes my hair fluffy, but I definitely need oil or a mist with watered down conditioner to keep it from feeling too dry or tangly. Not so with the 'nip.

Thanks again for the tips. I look forward to further experiments with catnip. I certainly don't mind experimenting to find what works for me, but gentle nudgings into tried and true methods for others is always welcome.

[ktani]

Thanks, KDaniels! I don't have any fenugreek or shiraki. Is shiraki the same as shikakai (acacia concinna) you think? My local Indian Grocery has been letting me down here of late concerning beauty products...not to mention raised their prices quite a bit on certain products (like rose powder jumping up three times what it was and my henna by half). Next time I wash - I think I have enough powder for one more - I'll try your method.

Ktani - So aritha adds a red tint? Hmm...perhaps that explains why my water is colored after rinsing, and why the catnip tea was dribbling orange. Although I still believe it is pulling henna color from my hair. It's lighter than it was a week after hennaing (and after two CO washes) and looks very different after each wash and dry.

Ok, so aritha is definitely making my hair weird... maybe I'll try out the method of mixing a little lime juice in with it. Oh - wait - I don't have any lime juice on hand. How about freshly squeezed orange juice? I'm only hesitant to do that because of the henna. I henna repeatedly to get my hair darker, and I don't want anything to lighten it. Oh, as far as mucilage and buildup and whatnot, would a vinegar rinse help get rid of any of that for the catnip to then work its magic?

Thing is, my length is usually quite dry, and my scalp doesn't get "oily" under normal conditions until the third day, and around four or five days its kind of greasy looking while the length is still "ok", if not a little dry. Working on a new way to clean my hair takes so damn much experimenting! Sheesh! Good news is that I got very soft hair from the catnip. Soft hair that isn't sticky or more tangly than normal, so something is right. The a/a wash makes my hair fluffy, but I definitely need oil or a mist with watered down conditioner to keep it from feeling too dry or tangly. Not so with the 'nip.

Thanks again for the tips. I look forward to further experiments with catnip. I certainly don't mind experimenting to find what works for me, but gentle nudgings into tried and true methods for others is always welcome.

I think that is supposed to be shikakai. I do not think vinegar can remove mucilage. It does wash out with conventional shampoo. It is in cassia and washes out gradually. It is not only in fruit. It is in fenugreek too. I think that it is in most plants but the degree certainly varies.

Linden tea gave me terrible mucilage build-up. It very gradually washed out though and I used catnip over it. I still saw results, enough to keep me working on experimenting with catnip. However, I did not see catnip optimal results, as in no split ends, until all of the build-up was gone.

[ktani]

Update

Another happy, carefree, catnip wash day!

The directed extra catnip on my length, has completly, again (third time), solved the roll over problem and my ends have been behaving, since I have been sleeping in the light synthetic sleep sets. I am very pleased!

[HotRag]

[...] and my ends have been behaving, since I have been sleeping in the light synthetic sleep sets. I am very pleased!

OT, but what is that? (I bolded in the quote.) A cap? Or something for the bed or pillow?

[ktani]

OT, but what is that? (I bolded in the quote.) A cap? Or something for the bed or pillow?

No, the full explanation, is here.

[HotRag]

No, the full explanation, is here.

I guessed all but that

(I learn a lot of English by being on this board )