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How to make a natural hair gel using flaxseeds for safe, nontoxic hair care. Works especially well for curly heads!
I first learned about how to make a natural flaxseed hair gel from a friend who told me that she was looking into making some herself at home.
She suggested I look into it also as we both have long curly hair.
I started researching the idea of making this personal haircare product for myself right away as I found the concept intriguing. I’ve had success in the past making rice water for hair, and I also blend my own deep conditioning hair mask. So why not try my hand at making gel too?
I scoured the internet for various recipes and started experimenting to see which would work best for my type of hair. (1)
In the video included with the recipe below, I demonstrate the best natural hair gel formulation I tried for curly or wavy hair, and it only takes about 10 minutes to make!
Commercial vs Natural Hair Gel
If you use store hair gel, I would recommend that you give this homemade gel a whirl and see what you think.
If you’ve ever checked the label on commercial hair gels, you know that they are loaded with chemicals and synthetic fragrances.
Even though these toxins aren’t going to absorb into your bloodstream like they would if you slathered it on your skin, these chemicals still get on your pillowcase at night potentially contacting your skin while you sleep. Â
In addition, anything on your hair is close to your nose so you would breathe in the hormone-disrupting fragrances.
I would particularly recommend this natural hair gel if you are pregnant or nursing as you don’t want to come into daily contact with the toxins that could potentially harm your baby.
Do you make your own homemade, natural hair gel? Â If so, please share your recipe in the comments section!
The natural hair gel I demonstrate in the video below is made with flax seeds, but there are many other ways to make it. Â
Don’t worry that you can’t use this recipe if you have thyroid issues because flax seeds are a bit goitrogenic. Â
While this would be a problem if you ate them, putting them on your hair is fine!
Homemade Hair Gel How-to Video
Flaxseed Hair Gel Recipe
Makes about 4 oz
Ingredients
1 cup filtered water
2 Tbl organic whole flax seeds (sources)
Few drops of essential oils for natural fragrance (optional)
Few drops of aloe vera gel for a moisturizing effect (optional)
Directions
Bring the cup of filtered water to a boil. Â Stir in the flax seeds, turn down the heat to medium and let simmer for between 7-10 minutes.
*Do not simmer longer than 10 minutes else you won’t be able to strain out the flax seeds from the gel.
Strain out the flax seeds using a strainer or fine cheesecloth and let the gel cool. Mix a few drops of essential oils and/or aloe vera if desired.
Pour natural hair gel into a small bottle and use immediately or refrigerate.
Pour a dollop into the palm of your hand and mix through wet hair as frequently as desired.
Because this natural hair gel has no preservatives, it will last about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
I’ve not frozen this natural hair gel before as I prefer to use it fresh or cold out of the fridge. But if you’ve tried it, let us know if it maintains the proper consistency when it thaws!
I prefer hair putty over gel so I make my own hair putty. The putty from the store is horrible and can even sometimes have hydrogenated oils in it! I don’t want that anywhere near my skin, head or brain. So I make a hair putty out of beeswax, coconut oil & essential oils. I usually use rosemary, lavender, & tea tree.
You need a double boiler to melt chunks of beeswax with the coconut oil. The ratio of oil to wax depends on how solid or liquidy you want it. The more oil you use, the more liquid it will be. I generally usually use twice as much wax as oil to make for a hard putty that holds the shape of your hair for a long time. Avoid adding more wax than a 2:1 ratio, b/c it will not rub easily into your hair. After it is melted & off the heat is when you add the essential oils. You must stir the mixture until it is cooled significantly enough for the essential oils not to separate. You want a homogenous mixture. This is evidenced by solidification/thickening. To apply: dampen hair, rub putty into hands until smooth (you don’t want yellow chunks showing in your hair), and then rub into hair + style it.
Thanks for this recipe, I can’t wait to try it. I would love it if you did a post on the cosmetics that you use, and shampoo and conditioner. Thanks for all you do!!
What does it take to remove this from your hair? Would water alone do it? If not, would conditioner? I don’t use shampoo anymore, and only use products that rinse out with water. Thanks!
I wonder if this gel would tame the frizzies. I have natuaral wavy/frizzy hair and I would love to be able retire the flat iron (or at least have hairstyle alternatives!). I’ll give it a try.
I have curly hair too. 2 drops of almond oil works great. I’ve also used coconut oil. Have to be careful or it could look too oily with either. But very cheap and no trouble at all.
I have recently been using drrons.com MSM shampoo and MSM condition. It makes hair very soft. But it doesn’t help my curls so I still need to add a moisturizer afterward for that. No bad stuff in the shampoo/conditioner.
I have straight hair and need a gel to try and hold curl. Do you have a gel that would work with a curling iron?
i use this and an iron
My hairdresser from Honduras gave me that tip years ago but I never used it! I’ll try it now =)
I have tried plain coconut oil but it just leaves my hair a little greasy, even when I am careful to barely use any.
I have hair like yours, Sarah, and I live in a humid area. So I dealt with both frizzy “big” hair but also hair that would really dry out horribly (I have Hashimoto’s which I assumed contributed to that). Several years ago I read a book I got at my library called Curly Girl. She suggests that “curly girls” not use shampoo! I know that sounds jarring, but I was desperate and I stopped using shampoo. I am amazed at the difference. I “wash” my scalp with conditioner, then condition my hair. After a couple of weeks my hair already looked better. It is incredible. I will never go back to shampoo! That was probably 4 or 5 years ago.
I second your rave reviews for the Curly Girl book. ☺
Great recipe. Any suggestions on what to use for a shampoo/hair cleanser?
baking soda in a lil water. say 1Tlb to 1 cup water put in hair rub then raise then cider vingar for conditioning. again about same as above. if really greesy use lemon juice to help get out greese, smae as above. been doing this for over 5m works great.hair will go thro detox so it will look bad for a week or 2. just push thru and ened up with great hair. I could see my scalp before now I can’t!!! looks thicker now. i igure there was something in shampoo even the natural on es that was killing my hair.
I don’t recommend baking soda, vinegar, or lemon juice on hair. Please research it on online. On YouTube, there’s a very informative series done by Kimmaytube called The Structure of Hair. She explains the scientific reasons these substances are really harsh on your hair (has to do with pH levels being drastically different than our hair/skin). It’s a great idea to use natural substances as much as possible, but it’s also good to remember that even natural substances can cause harm, just like their chemical counterpoints. I’m not trying to be rude or controversial. Just thought you might like to have a heads-up on that (no pun intended).☺
When I saw the caption that said “Natural Hair Gel” I couldn’t stop thinking about the movie “Something About Mary.” Enough said!
Too funny!
I’ve found just aloe gel and jojoba oil to be very effective for frizz, and the jojoba adds condition and shine (and it’s the closest thing to natural skin sebum there is, so you can also use it for skin too). Just mix the proportions to your taste (very dry hair = more jojoba) and no refrigeration required!