LA Looks hair gel and Aussie hair spray…
Those were my go-to hair products for many, many years. They teamed up to produce sensational curly hair — at an affordable price!
However, the toxins my skin absorbed were anything but sensational.
My convictions for healthy living increased, and so did my hope for better, potentially homemade hair products. I found and liked an organic hair gel — and then cringed every time I paid for it.
I didn’t want to go back to the old blue gel and purple spray, or break our budget on the organic gel, so I scoured the internet to find a homemade hair gel.
Cue a lot of bloopers! Coconut oil made my hair a greasy mess; another concoction gave me a flat head.
Then… I found an affordable product that also worked: flax seed gel. After experimenting with the consistency and playing around with essential oils, I now have a homemade hair gel that I love! In fact, I love it so much that I traveled with it in a cooler halfway across the country!
My homemade hair gel provides better, healthier, and more holistic results than everything I used to buy. Especially when teamed up with my citrus hair spray, too.
I should add — my hair is naturally curly. I haven’t used the gel to style it straight, but I have used the citrus spray to keep my sometimes straight (due to natural circumstances) hair from flying away.
Both recipes are very flexible. Gel too thick? Add water and shake the jar vigorously. Citrus spray too sticky? Add water and shake. My recipes turn out just a bit differently every time I make them, but they produce the same results anyway.
So there you have it. A homemade hair gel recipe + a citrus hair spray = bona fide homemade hair products. Enjoy using real food, from nature, to style your hair!
Citrus Hair Spray
I use this citrus hair spray to keep my sometimes unruly hair from flying away. Makes 1 small spray bottle.
Ingredients
- 1 organic orange
- 1 organic lemon
- 2 cups pure water
- pint-sized Mason jar
- spray bottle
- cheesecloth
Instructions
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Cut up the orange and lemon into small pieces (leave the peel on).
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Pour water into a saucepan and add the orange and lemon pieces.
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Bring to a boil.
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Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer until about 1/2 of the water is absorbed (or evaporated).
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Cover a pint-sized mason jar with a piece of cheesecloth and secure it to the jar with a rubber band.
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Pour the liquid through the cheesecloth into the jar, letting the cheesecloth catch the fruit pieces.
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Squeeze the remainder of the fruit (through the cheesecloth) into the jar.
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Let cool.
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Pour the strained citrus liquid into the spray bottle.
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Store in fridge when not in use.
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Lasts about 1 month.
Recipe Notes
- Enjoy using real food, from nature, to style your hair!
Homemade Flax Seed Hair Gel
This is a homemade hair gel that I LOVE. So much that I traveled with it in a cooler halfway across the country! Teamed up with a citrus hair spray (below), I think my homemade hair gel provides better, healthier, and more holistic results than anything I used to buy! Makes 8 ounces.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pure water
- 1/3 cup whole flax seeds
- 2-3 drops essential oils my favorites: tea tree and lavender
- pint-sized Mason jar
- piece cheesecloth
- rubber band
Instructions
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Pour water and flax seeds in a saucepan.
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Bring to a boil, but keep watch on it so you can turn it down to medium as soon as it begins to boil.
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Leave it to simmer on medium-low for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until it’s the consistency you would like. (The more water you boil out, the thicker the gel will be.)
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Cover a pint-sized mason jar with a piece of cheesecloth and secure it to the jar with a rubber band.
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Slowly pour the flax gel into the jar through the cheesecloth. Depending on the thickness of your gel, you may need to squeeze the gel through the cheesecloth into the jar. If the gel is too thick, you can always add a bit of water — experiment and make the consistency work for you.
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Let cool to room temperature.
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Add a few drops of essential oil and stir, or just leave it unscented.
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Cover and refrigerate. (If you don’t refrigerate it, it will get stinky in a day or two.)
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Lasts 1 to 2 weeks.
Recipe Notes
- A homemade hair gel recipe + a citrus hair spray = bona fide homemade hair products.
Do you make your own homemade hair gel or homemade hair products? Give these a try and let me know how you like them!
By the way, there’s no shame in purchasing hair care products you can feel good about. Wardee particularly loves the Blood of the Dragon styling gel from Morrocco Method for her curly hair!
...without giving up the foods you love or spending all day in the kitchen!
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Hi! This is some great information! My only question is: which do you put in your hair first? The gel or the spray, or does it really matter? I have thick, wavy, mind-of-its-own hair, and I’ve been looking for styling products that are natural and actually work, so I really appreciate your efforts! Thank you!
Hello Jodi,
I usually put in the flax gel, towel my hair up for a while (sometimes overnight), then spray my hair with the citrus spray when it is almost dry. Sometimes I use the hair dryer, but mostly just air dry.
I hope that helps. : )))
Tracey
How can you make it a flax seed gel hairspray
I have been using a flax seed gel for over a year now and love it! However my fridge isn’t anywhere near my bathroom so i want refrigerating and was having the stinky issues. I started adding about a 1/2 tsp of sugar and a splash of vodka while my mixture is still hot and it has done wonders for making it shelf stable and it will last for months instead of weeks.
Great!!!! Thank you so much for the suggestion- I need to make a new batch soon and will try this. : )
I made this hair gel about a half hour after I read about it here 🙂 I’ve used it twice now, and am very impressed with it. It’s not sticky and it didn’t leave my hair too ‘crunchy.’ I live in high heat and humidity, and didn’t even have any frizz! I’m sold 🙂 Thanks!
Yay!! Glad to hear that it works for you! We also live in high heat and humidity for part of the year and it tames my hair quite well (most of the time).
Blessings. : )
I have a friend who simply uses aloe vera gel. She had natural curly hair, and it works just great. I have straight hair, and when I would use a curling iron in an attempt to curl it, the curl would last about 10 minutes and quit. I thought about what my friend used, then saw an aloe vera spray online so decided to try spraying my hair with it before using the curling iron, then roll it up before my hair was dry. The curl lasts a LOT longer, and it also improves the condition of my hair. I am 66 years old, and when I go to the hairdressers for a cut, they almost always comment about the great condition of my hair. Seems it would be easier to use straigh aloe vera gel than to go through the trouble of cooking and refrigerating the flax gel. And I’m very happy with the aloe vera spray. (I think ti may actually just be aloe vera juice, which I buy to drink for a healthier gut. – I use George’s variety becaue it just tastes like water. When I run out of my current spray, I’m going to refill it with the juice and see if the results are the same.) Might be worth a try. 🙂
I love a good DIY, so you can bet that I’ll be trying this out. Your hair looks awesome and if mine looks half that good I will be pretty pleased. Thanks for the idea!
I’m glad to read the Vodka/sugar trick because I was thinking if this got stinky, it would do so on your hair as well–unless you wash it every day.
Just wondering if you could make a big batch and freeze in smaller portions? Anyone ever tried it?
I tried this but with very questionable results. The first time I couldm’t squeeze more than a smear out of the gooey mass. I tried it again and made sure I took it off the heat at exactly 5 minutes, but it wasn’t much better. I got enough for maybe 2 applications, and it was of a rather snot-like consistency (sorry, there’s no other way to describe it. I was afraid to leave it on the bathroom counter for fear that a family member would really think I had lost it) . I used golden flax seed – could that have anything to do with it?
Because I stabilize mine with a little vodka and sugar water I cook mine extra long and then pour it into a knee high stocking sitting in a glass to cool. Then I squeeze it through the stocking to remove the seeds and whisk in the vodka and sugar water. I store it in a small spray bottle for easy dispensing. It does still look like snot but it is more stable on the counter this way and works great.
Hello Evelyn,
I too have gotten some gooey results from time to time. I have found it can be solved quickly by adding some more water.and thinning out the final product. In addition, usually when it gets goey, I have let the heat on too strong and too long, dissipating the water. I have used both types of flax seed, so I do not think that to be the issue. If you try again making this, babysit it a bit more by stirring more frequently during the cooking time and removing it from the heat when it is the consistency you want. 🙂 I hope that helps.
I love flaxseed gel!! It works fantastically in so many ways – even for ballet performance buns that need to have no stray hairs! I use either flaxseed gel or gelatin gel – the flaxseed is neat in that it can be brushed out without shampooing, if desired. Looking forward to trying the citrus spray.
Great! How much gelatin do you add? If you want a stickier product with the citrus spray, let it boil down a bit more to remove some of the water- you should get some good hold then. If you want it less crunchy, keep the above consistency. : )
I use gelatin separately (1/2 – 1 tsp in 1 C hot water then refrigerate until it gels). Sometimes I layer it with the flaxseed gel for a super duper hold for performances. The flaxseed works for short times and when the girls want to brush out their hair. The gelatin gets a little crunchy (depending on how strong I make it) and needs to be rinsed out.
I usually use hair spray on top of the above, so that’s why I’m looking forward to trying the citrus.
I just finished making my second batch of this hair gel. During the process of making my first batch I was quite discouraged and grossed out as it was very thick and snot like. I added essential oils which helped the smell and made myself use it in spite of the process and turns out I LOVE this hair gel! My hair is on the thick side and wavy, almost curly and I love love love how it works for me and how it feels. My hair has never felt better. I added a lot more water to my second batch and it was much easier to make. I am looking forward to washing and styling my hair again using this 2nd batch 🙂
Has anyone tried this to spike short boy hair? My son has a lot of allergies and his hair gel is soooo expansive. Wondering how this would work for him.
I have multi-chemical sensitivity and I have used the orange and lemon hairspray for years. I always add vodka to my spray bottle for preservative. I found 2 oranges worked better than one. It makes a stronger hold. The orange spray seems to hold my “straight as a stick hair” better than the lemon.
I’m so confused. I am only seeing a recipe for the sprayand not one for the gel but I see all these comments about people trying out the gel recipe and loving it. Was the gel recipe removed? I’ve scrolled up and down this post multiple times just in case I missed it but it’s not there.
I agree with you… I can only see the citrus spray recipe as well. Really want to try the gel recipe!
Same. I only find the hair spray recipe.
Add me to the list of those unable to find the homemade hair gel recipe. Where’d it go?
Does the citrus hair spray got stinky or spoit when it not refrigenated?