Homemade Hair Gel

So…

I made my own hair gel today.

I know!  Very exciting!

I started with these:

Those are flax seeds.  I added 1/2 cup of flax seeds to 2 cups of water, poured them into a pan, and brought them to a boil.  As soon as I saw the foam on the top, I started to stir and removed it from the heat as soon as it was (almost) as thick as I wanted it to be.

Then I poured the seeds into a strainer, which was sitting on a funnel on top of a mason jar.  I used a spoon to move the seeds around so the gel could drain out.

The whole process was really pretty messy, and I let the first batch get too thick and it wouldn't drain through the strainer.  So, I added water and tried it again.

I got the recipe from here.  The blogger adds lots of helpful tips about the procedure.

After adding 3 drops of lavender oil to the mixture, I ended up with this:

It's not crystal clear, like a store-bought gel, but that's ok with me.  My hair is brown, so it won't affect the color.

I applied it to my wet hair, just like I would any other gel, and let it dry.  It did not dry as crispy as my other gels, but the curls are very soft, which I really like.

I'll see how it holds the curls in the morning, after sleeping on it.  I will spritz it with my lavender mist, and if I need to reapply it, that is easily done.  The gel needs to be stored in the frig so that it lasts more than a few days.

I'm glad I tried it.  I really do like it.  I'm going to try to make a conditioning rinse soon, too.  I'll let you know how that goes, as soon as I can find CLEAR aloe vera gel for the recipe.  All I can find here in the Sunshine State is tinted blue for sunburn! Ha!