Flax seed gel that does not thicken?!

catcurlswhirls

Hello Curlies

I finally tried making my own flaxseed gel this morning and it was a complete disaster. After the water boiled, I was hoping it would get thicker...but it never did. I stirred it for over thirty minutes! I drained the water and tried again but to no avail. Then this evening, I pumped myself up enough to try another time and I failed yet again. This time, a bit of sticky stuff showed up on the spoon when I scraped the edges but the suspension of seeds in the liquid never happened. I tried for over thirty minutes. I used golden flax seeds bought in bulk for at Whole Foods if that helps explain anything...?


What did I do wrong?!?!

Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you

bubblemama

Did u buy raw or roasted? It's the raw ones that are used for gel.

catcurlswhirls

I don't remember it saying whether it was raw or roasted and the receipt doesn't say what it is either way

CurlyInTheFog

This is my first post here, but I saw your post and since I just used the same seeds I thought I would reply. The bulk golden flax seeds at Whole Foods are raw, and they should have worked just fine. I made gel with them a few days ago, no problems. Did you use a standard recipe? The only thing I can think of is if you used too much water, the mucilage would've been excessively thinned. To test the seeds, try soaking a few seeds in plain water for a few minutes; they should start to feel slimy fairly quickly. If the seeds are good, then there must be something else going on.

ETA: I signed up almost a year ago, but then never ended up posting because I was still wavering on CG. I'm a regular over at LHC, though.

Ceri

FSG on it's own is never going to be as thick as normal gels. It will thicken up as it cools down, so try giving it more time.

1/4 C seeds
2 C water
(epsom salt if using)

Place both in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down enough to keep the seeds in a rolling boil, without boiling over. Set the timer for 6 min and stir occasionally. Strain immediately and add any extras that you want.

Using that method, the gel will still be on the thin side, but will thicken up more as it cools and turn into the lovely 'snotty' mixture. I find the thin FSG is nice and easy to distribute through the hair, but that said, I do use a thickener myself.

Don't give up, it's good stuff!