Experimenting with Flax Seed Gel for a Wash-and-Go

                                       


Happy  New Year to everyone!  I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season.  Mine has  been super busy.  I am really glad that things have slowed down and I'm back to my regular schedule.  Since I was so busy, I had no spare time to twist my hair at night.  I pretty much did wash-and-go styles for the entire month of December.  I decided to try flax seed gel because I heard lots of reviews about its awesome hold.  I thought I could use it to replace my Herbal Essences Gel because now that my hair is a but longer, it doesn't have much hold at all. 

Day 1
A little crunchy! Lol!

I watched a few YouTube videos on how to make the gel.  I think any of the recipes would have worked just fine but the one I really liked was by Hey Fran Hey.  In her video, the recipe called for 4 tablespoons of flax seed and 2 cups of water.  After removing it from the stove and straining off the seeds, she adds Jamaican Black Castor oil and some other oils.  I customized mine by adding a tablespoon of each coconut oil and vitamin E oil.  Honestly, I don't think that the kind oils that you add are really important.  The oils are supposed to promote the health and shine of your hair, so whatever oils work best for your hair should be used in the gel.  Some people say, you should add the oils when the gel is still warm and others say to wait until it is cooled.  Personally, I added my oils while the gel was warm because the oils mix with the gel better.  After I made the gel I had to be sure to refrigerate it because since it is organic it will spoil if left at room temperature too long.  In the fridge it will last for about ten days, so if you are not planning to use a lot, don't make a huge batch.

Day 2

I absolutely loved the flax seed gel!  I would definitely stop buying Herbal Essences for this stuff.   After I cowashed, deep conditioned and detangled my hair, I added a small amount of Tresemme Naturals as a leave-in conditioner and put my hair in four plats and went to bed.  In the morning, I dampened my hair and started to add the flax seed gel.  The very first time I used it, I didn't think that I would get that much hold from the gel, so I used a lot of it.  A few hours later after my hair dried, it was little on the crunchy side to say the least.  So, of course I thought I used too much.  I just went with the flow and pineappled my hair as close to the top of my head as I could get.  The next day the crunchiness was gone, but the hold was still there.  I was utterly impressed!  I was able to get several days wearing it down and a few in a puff or bun (approximately 7 days).  It was amazing!  Of course I tried it again and again and I got the same results. 

Day 3

Day 3

Well, there were some down sides to the gel.  My number one issue was the smell.  It literally felt like I was putting food on my hair.  I really like sesame seeds in my food so it reminded me a lot of them.  That part was a little weird, but I'm sure there is an essence oil that I could use for that part.   Also, the consistency was like slime.  I was expecting this because I saw the videos.  However, it didn't stop it from feeling sort of gross.   My solution was to put in a travel size squeeze bottle instead of sticking my fingers in the jar.  That way, I could squeeze it in the palm of my hand.  Plus, I think it's more sanitary if you are not contaminating the jar with your fingers.  Lastly, it wasn't enough hold for my edges.  They tend to frizz easily.  So, I will probably continue using Eco Styler gel on my edges. 

Day 4
It's beginning to get fuzzy.

Day 5
Day 6 was another puff and day 7 was a bun.

Overall, it is definitely a keeper.  People who see me on regular basis were asking me what I had done differently to my hair.  So, it was surely a big difference from Herbal Essences.  Why didn't I find this stuff sooner?!

 

Have you tried flaxseed gel? What are your thoughts and suggestions on how to use it?