I know, how terribly exciting!

I freaking LOVE my hair gel. About 4 years ago I discovered the genius of working WITH my hair and with it, an exciting train of fewer chemicals. Which eventually led me here.

If you’ve never heard of the Curly Girl method or the No-poo Movement, it’s essentially a way of removing harsh chemicals and treatments from your hair routine in order to allow your hair to do what it was made to do. Extra moisture, less brushing, and natural curl separation are part of the seemingly simple but entirely individual points along the way.

Although I still use a curly-hair-approved commercial shampoo and conditioner (after a disastrous few months experimenting with raw egg, lemon juice, and puréed avocado, among other food items), I make my own hair gel and LOVE it.

When I wash my hair, I apply generous amounts of hair gel while it’s still dripping wet. Once it’s dry, I scrunch my hair to break the gel cast and watch my hair grow in volume. The awesome thing about this is when I refresh my curly hair over the few days before the next wash, that gel helps to keep the waves and curls in place. Unless my activities are wild or involve a lot of activity, it usually keeps the frizz down.

On top of that amazingness, it’s super cheap and absolutely non-toxic. Free of unpronounceable chemicals. And easy to whip up.

My Favorite Hair Gel

1/4 cup of whole flax seeds
1 cup of water
Essential oil of choice (I love lavender)
Grapefruit seed extract (optional)

Heat water in a small saucepan and add flax seeds. Simmer and stir until the seeds remain suspended in water once the pan is removed from heat. (This doesn’t take long.)

Strain into a small bowl. Whisk flax water to break it up.

When cooler, add essential oil (I use about 5-7 drops but you may prefer more or less). Add grapefruit seed extract if desired (5 drops is good; this prevents spoiling).

This hair gel lasts about a week and a half unrefrigerated before it starts to smell funky. In the fridge it lasts much longer. Before I starting adding grapefruit seed extract it would grow mold after about two weeks, which was a little sooner than I could finish a full batch.