honey/coconut milk in flaxseed gel?

Annika

Has anyone tried this?

I bought a gel last week but it isn't working for me as it contains alcohols and seems to dry out my hair, which I really don't need. I'm trying to save money so I thought I should try making my own gel - been reading a lot about homemade flaxseed gel which sounds very appealing.

I've tried honey rinses a couple of times and really like what it does to my hair (unless I use too much honey, that is! :shock: ) but as I'm a fan of simple haircare with as few steps as possible, I came up with the idea of adding a tablespoon or so of honey to the flaxseed gel.

Another idea was to add coconut milk to it, kind of making a leave-in and gel 2-in-1.

Perhaps BOTH coconut milk and a dash of honey? What do you think?

Annika

Ok, I have just prepared three gels:

1) 2 tbsp flaxseed, 1 cup water
(keeping it pure for reference)

2) 2 tbsp flaxseed, 1 cup water, 1 tbsp honey

3) 2 tbsp flaxseed, 1 cup water, 1 orange cut in chunks (combining flaxseed gel with a recipe for homemade hair spray I found online)

I'll let you know how they turn out.

Annika

Allrightythen, here's the verdict:

The gel with orange definitely has more hold than the others. It also has a nice yellow color instead of that boring beige-clear hue of the natural flaxseed gel. The scent is - well, boiled orange, and I'm not crazy about that, but I think next time I'll try adding a cinnamon stick which is easily removed (and reused, if you're so inclined) to make a nice cinnamon-orange gel.

xcptnl

Have you tried all 3 recipes yet?? Any thoughts about adding aloe in?

Annika

The gel with honey turned out to be very runny so I never used it. I also read another thread where someone was warned about adding honey to conditioner in the bottle because there's a risk of the honey fermenting - don't know if that changes if the honey is part of the original ingredients, or if it changes when cooked... if anyone has any light to shed on this I'd be most grateful!

I used the gel with orange yesterday and the "natural" flaxseed gel today and noticed a quite big difference in hold and frizz.

Adding AVG sounds like a good idea, I don't know what it would do for the hold but it is very moisturizing which is good.

This is fun!

xcptnl

I have had very good luck using a cream styler ([buylink=http://www.curlmart.com/AG-Recoil-p-24.html?utm_source=naturallycurly.com&utm_medium=text-link&utm_content=curltalk-post-text&utm_campaign=ag-hair-cosmetics-recoil-curl-activator]re:coil[/buylink], [buylink=http://www.curlmart.com/Jessicurl-Confident-Coils-Styling-Solution-p-116.html?utm_source=naturallycurly.com&utm_medium=text-link&utm_content=curltalk-post-text&utm_campaign=jessicurl-confident-coils-styling-solution]jessicurl CCSS[/buylink], or the alagio curl cream) under a combo of aloe/flax seed gel. Then before I diffuse I have been spraying with the all in one spray that is one here.

mafalda

Annika wrote:

Ok, I have just prepared three gels:

1) 2 tbsp flaxseed, 1 cup water
(keeping it pure for reference)

2) 2 tbsp flaxseed, 1 cup water, 1 tbsp honey

3) 2 tbsp flaxseed, 1 cup water, 1 orange cut in chunks (combining flaxseed gel with a recipe for homemade hair spray I found online)

I'll let you know how they turn out.

For the orange one, did you use the cut up pieces of the rind or the juice or an the actual orange chunk?

Annika

I took a whole orange, cut it in half and then in half again so that I got four chunks with the rind still on them, and put that in the pan.

legette68

I added a few drops of honey to the flaxseed gel in the palm of my hand right before applying it to my hair. It gave great hold. Loved it.

Magoo

I'd be afraid to add coconut milk for fear of it going bad but I've added aloe to mine and really like it. I also add a couple of drops of lavender oil for a nice scent. I want to try adding a few drops of glycerin to my next batch to see how that turns out.