Hair products can be expensive and unhealthy, but you can protect your health and wallet by making some of these products at home. It is possible to avoid aggressive chemicals, artificial fragrances and dyes that are often found in commercial products. Making your own hair care products allows you to have full control over the ingredients. Making a hair gel is very simple and requires only a few ingredients. Follow the next steps to learn how to make a gel with jelly and one with flax seeds.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Make a Flax Seed Gel
Step 1. Buy flax seeds
These produce a gel that works perfectly on thick, frizzy and curly hair. Gives shine and tames unruly tufts. Flax seeds are available in drugstores and health food stores. Make sure you buy flax seeds that are raw, tasteless and that have not been roasted or seasoned with spices.
Step 2. Boil 30g of flaxseed in 220ml of water
Put them both in a saucepan and heat them on the stove over medium heat until the water begins to boil.
Step 3. Turn down the heat
When the water boils, lower the heat and let it simmer. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon and cook for 10 minutes. The seeds will produce a gel.
Step 4. Make it thicken
Continue cooking and stirring until the mixture thickens and reaches the consistency of a gel. Cook until it resembles aloe or a commercial gel.
- If your hair is very frizzy, you may find it easier to apply a more liquid gel. Remove the gel from the heat when it has the consistency you want so it will be easier to spread it on your hair.
- If your hair isn't as frizzy, let the gel thicken as much as you like. It will hold more firmly if you let it thicken.
Step 5. Filter the gel
Pour it into a bowl through a thin tissue or strain it into a container that you can use to store it. If the gel is thick, you can wring the fabric a little. Keep filtering until you have run out of all the gel. After that discard the fabric with the seeds in it.
You can use a new pair of pantyhose to filter
Step 6. Add other ingredients
You can customize the gel by adding a few drops of essential oil, aloe or emollient agents such as liquid vitamin E. Mix the ingredients until the gel is uniform.
Step 7. Store the gel
Put it in a glass container with a lid and keep it in the refrigerator. It will last for several weeks. Use it on dry hair or spread it on damp hair after a shower.
Method 2 of 2: Making a Gel with Jelly
Step 1. Pour 220ml of hot water into a jar
Make sure you take one with the lid on, you can keep the gel and use it later as well. A jam jar or an old cosmetic jar are good options.
Step 2. Mix 5ml of neutral gelatin
You can find it in drugstores and supermarkets in the bakery department. Resist the temptation to buy flavored jelly; the sugars and dyes contained are not the best for your hair.
Step 3. Perfume the liquid
Add 2-3 drops of essential oil to the jar to perfume the gel. You can find essential oils in herbalists and specialty stores. Don't add too much, as it's very strong. A few drops will perfume for a long time.
- Essential oils are very concentrated liquids, extracted naturally from the stems, flowers and roots of plants. They contain the pure essence of plants and can be beneficial for the skin, hair and body in general.
- The most beneficial essential oils for hair health are lavender, coconut, rosemary and tea tree oil. There is no limit to the options you have available for this recipe. You can choose the fragrance you like best.
Step 4. Stir the mixture with a spoon until it is well blended
Make sure that the gelatin is completely dissolved and that the oil is well distributed in the water.
Step 5. Close the jar with the lid
If you leave it open, the contents can become contaminated with food particles and other debris, or absorb odors from your refrigerator. Keep it pure with the lid on.
Step 6. Stabilize the gel
Put the jar in the fridge and leave it for 3-5 hours. During this time it will begin to become solid like jelly.
- Your hair gel will be ready for use after it has stabilized. Evaluate the consistency before using it. It should be similar to that of a commercial gel.
- Use the same amount of gel that you would use if it were the commercial one. The amount varies with the length and thickness of your hair.
Step 7. Store your homemade gel in the fridge
If you leave it out, it will revert to a liquid state.
