About a year ago, I shared a post about the benefits of flaxseed oil and gel for hair (see it here). I tried making the gel in 2010 with disappointing results and last year, I tried Botticelli Botanicals pre-made Flax Gelee with very nice results (and boy did it smell amazing!!). But, being the PJ that I am, it was a passing fancy and I forgot about FSG for a while.
Well, this past weekend, I decided to revisit making my own flaxseed gel (FSG). But, this time, the plan was to make an flaxseed cream gel. “Cream Gel” you ask? Well see, I mentioned here that my last attempt at making FSG resulted in it being too thick. CrystalJ commented on the post and suggested that I whip the gel with a little oil to create a cream gel if that happens again! Well, I was immediately intrigued by the idea of a creamy, moisturizing gel, so I decided I wanted to make one regardless of whether I “overcooked” my flaxseeds.
But first, I needed to be reminded of the ratio of seeds to water again, so I reviewed this well-known tutorial, which I’ve watched many times in the past:
via Naptural85
Okay, got it.
Basic Flaxseed (FSG) Gel Recipe
1/4 c. whole flaxseeds
2 c. distilled water
optional: Vitamin E oil (preservative), essential oils, carrier oils
As to what I decided to add to make my FSG cream gel, I decided to add a scoop of coconut oil that was mixed with Maychang oil and a scoop of shea butter.
- Bowl prep.
- Straining the seeds out from the gel.
- Gel extracted. Seeds saved to be refrigerated and reused.
- Coconut oil with Maychang EO and shea butter to be whipped with gel.
- FSG, coconut oil and shea butter whipped together with a hand-held mixer.
- All done and ready to package in a re-purposed bottle.
- All done with a little extra!
- FSG whipped with coconut oil and shea butter.
- Room temperature gel emulsified.
- I tried to whip the gel, solid coconut oil and solid shea butter together at once. Not a good idea. It was not working. If using solid oils/butters, whip those FIRST into a smooth consistency, THEN whip in the gel.
- I probably used too much coconut oil and shea butter. I threw in about 1/4 of a cup each. CrystalJ suggested that I use a “dollop.” The reason I think I used too much is because, when I refrigerated the gel, the coconut turned solid and made little tiny chunks all through the gel.
- Because the coconut oil solidifies, I am not able to squeeze the gel out of the bottle. It’s too thick, so I have to open the bottle to extract it!
- As I used a decent amount of oil/butter, the gel doesn’t have as much hold as I think it would have with less oil.
Now the GOOD:
- It’s very moisturizing!
- Although the coconut oil made chunks in the gel, the coconut oil does melt from body heat when emulsified in my palms! (I have also placed it in a cup of heated water and that makes the coconut oil melt in the gel.)
- It has not left any flakes in my hair.
- I’ve been wearing a bun almost all week and it has provided my edges with a light hold.
- I’ve been applying it to my edges every morning and it doesn’t seem like I’m getting product build-up.
