I Tried Flaxseed Hair Gel

Thanks to a very helpful video posted by a G+ fave of mine, Keenya Williams, I discovered homemade flaxseed gel.



Now, first, let me tell you that I was a little put off by the texture of the finished product. I made a jar for my sister and she refuses to use it. Why? The gel is the same texture and consistency of the snot I have cleaned from the face of my little nephew. I'm pretty sure that anybody working on special effects for movies has used this very recipe for creating boogers.

But, as icky as the product is, I have to say that I love what it does for my hair. (Note: I wore gloves and refused to look in a mirror as I applied it!)

I haven't used the gel for a twist-out yet. I just applied it to my damp (shampooed & conditioned) hair. I like that it brings out my curl pattern without being oily or sticky. Once the gel dries, my hair is soft, and there is none of the "crunch" I've gotten with other products. (By the way, I lied. There is a crunch factor when the gel dries, but I find that it goes away once I sort of massage the dried curls.)

Some sites suggest using the gel for skincare as well as for the hair. Another nice thing is that the gel is beneficial for all types of hair textures: from very fine and straight to all levels of kinky-curly. (As a test, I'm going to have my niece test it on her straight, half-Caucasian hair texture for conditioning and style-control. I'll try to remember to do a post on her results.)

Because I am lazy as hell, and because I hated scrubbing the pot I cooked the gel in, I modified the recipe a bit to a "no-boil" method. I just let the seeds soak overnight in a container of cold water. In the morning, I used a strainer to separate the gel from the seeds and mixed in the honey and some olive oil and Jamaican Black Castor Oil. (The "booger factor" is still present with this method!) Of course, I am storing the product in the fridge. Since flax is a food, I'm hoping that someone can tell me how I will know when the gel is "old" or turned bad.

I am so glad that Keenya posted her video. Thought I've been using milled flax in my smoothies, I had never heard of using flaxseed (gel) for the hair. Like I said, I've now seen information (whether verified or not) about using flax for a variety of beauty and health issues:

• lotion and scrub
• face & hair mask
• flax & chia substitute for eggs, here, here, and here, and many others

I've read that some flaxseed users like the gel on their hair but not on their skin. This is a discussion about the issues a person experienced with their hair and skin after using flaxseed topically. As with everything, folks are going to have different reactions and experiences.

Big bonus to using flax seed (for whatever purpose) is the price. Living in Alaska, I am used to things costing more her than elsewhere. I bought my seeds in bulk at our local healthfood store (Natural Pantry). The golden flax cost $2.29/lb while the brown flax cost $2.19/lb. I got a little bit of both, but I've read that there isn't a lot of nutritional difference between the two types. For cooking, the golden seeds tend to blend better into most foods -color-wise - same as white pepper vs black pepper. ~shrug~ 

There ya go.

Peace

--Free