Be Whole

This do-it-yourself flaxseed hair gel is easy to make, easy to use, all natural, and really good for your hair.

Sound too good to be true? That’s exactly what I thought until I tried the recipe which I discovered on Youtube via Naptural 85. She’s my go-to Youtube personality when it comes to sourcing tips and tricks on how to maintain my thick, natural afro hair. Check out her channel, here.

I love my hair. This kind of statement doesn’t come easily from a woman with ‘kinky’ hair or hardly any woman in this day and age for that matter. The world is so conditioned on perceptions of what is deemed beautiful that we forget we are the world create those perceptions ourselves. You’re beautiful if you think you are. It’s as simple as that.

Back to the gel recipe – made with only two ingredients. The first is flaxseed or linseed as we call it in South Africa, and the second is water. You can add an optional third ingredient like an essential oil (I usually add 1 tbsp. of olive oil) but for first-time *DIYers, it’s not necessary.

What you will need:

• 4 tbsp. Flaxseeds/ 3tbsp. flaxseed powder
• 3 cups of cold water
• Spoon for stirring
• 1 small cooking pot
• 1 sealable container
• 1 stocking (that you’re not planning to reuse)
• Scissors
• A heat source (stove)

How using flaxseed gel will benefit your hair

I’ve been using flaxseed gel for months and personally prefer it because my hair has never had such a healthy shine in its natural state before. My hair texture is softer and doesn’t break off as easily as it used to. Previously, I used Revlon‘s alcohol-free gel to style my wash-and-go and stocked up since I would use two tubes of gel per month; now I swear by Flaxseed gel. If anyone wants to buy some Revlon gel from me, please feel free to email me. Even the alcohol-free gel was drying my hair.

Flaxseed offers quite a few health benefits and not surprisingly so since the 3 major components of this seed includes Omega-3 essential fatty acids, Lignans, and fiber.  There are also different ways to consume its nutrients; sometimes I will have flaxseed powder and yoghurt for breakfast as a cereal. Take a look at Tips for Flaxseed, here.

If sealed and refrigerated, the flaxseed gel lasts for up to three weeks. The only drawback of using this gel is that it goes off quickly since it’s a natural product. Other than that, it rarely flakes, it’s really cost-effective, and helps to give my curls optimal definition.

Would you like me to share more hair tips? Chat to me in the comment section below or email me directly to robyn@bewhole.co.za. I’d love to hear from you.

Related: Excited to announce my collaboration with beauty bulletin