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buffalosoldier said:
kittenlongpaw would you mind sharing your recipe for flax seed gel please?
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I got this recipe off naturallycurly.com/longhaircommunity.com to give credit where credit is due
It is pretty simple really.
*3-6 Tbsp whole brown flax seeds (Whole Foods or health food store)
*1 cup water. I use distilled
*1 vitamin E gelcap (acts as preservative), though I have never used a preservative before because I never had one handy, and it's kept just fine in the fridge.
*Lavender essential oil, or EO of your choice for scent, though you don't need one if you don't want.
Mix the seeds with the water, bring it to a boil, boil for 8 minutes. Less boiling time will yield a thinner gel. You can experiment until you get the consistancy you like.
Strain through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl. You want to strain it while it's still very hot, otherwise the gel will thicken more and be hard to strain. This part can be rough. Those little seeds are very slippery. Thinner gel is easier to strain.
Let it cool until it's OK to touch it. It thickens as it cools. You don't want it to get too thick before you stir in the rest of the ingredients.
Pierce the vitamin E and squeeze it into the gel, and add a few drops EO. Stir, and let it cool to room temperature.
Keep the gel in the refrigerator; it will stay fresh for a couple of weeks.
If you want a thicker or thinner gel, use more or less flax seeds and experiment with the boiling times (less boiling = thinner gel).
I like this gel because it is all natural. It offers a light, non crunchy hold (I make it on the thinner side). No ashy cast either
It can be sort of a pain to make, but I find it last a very long time, weeks and weeks in the fridge. You know it's going bad when it start to take on an odd smell. HTH!
