* Flaxseed Gel craze has entered the chat!*
Flaxseed gel is ALL the rage in the natural hair community, and especially so if you are a naturalista (like myself) that is always looking for products that are as natural as possible.
I love a nice, sleek ponytail, a twist out with a little hold, and a defined ass wash-n-go. However, the truth of the matter is that my type 4, naturally kinky-curly hair needs a stronger hold. This is typically only achieved using the gels with the ingredient lists of chemicals I became familiar with while getting my biology degree.
Knowing that you’ve literally used the ingredients in your hair gel to perform any number of college level chemistry experiments made me pause a bit. I continued to use these gels anyway because I felt like I didn’t have any other options. There were other, more natural, gels on the market. But those gels did not give me the hold I needed for my kinky, type 4 hair.
The first person I saw use (and show how to make) this holy flaxseed gel was none other than my all-natural, DIY best friend (in my head) Naptural85. I love making my own hair and beauty products, so a DIY was right up my lane. Nevertheless, it still took me 3-4 years before I even tried to make the gel because……procrastination.
When I finally got to it, I was like a duck to a pond. I was in the kitchen, wrist twistin’ like it’s stir fry (woof!). I decided to keep my gel simple: water, flaxseeds, and a couple oils in the gel, just because.
Once my gel was complete, I went for what I knew: big globs of this slimy awesomeness so that I would have the most defined wash-n-go EVER. I pick up a decent amount of “snot” (that’s what it looks like) and proceeded to try and rake it through my hair one small section at a time.
It wasn’t doing what I needed it to do.
It was providing some level of definition, but I hated how it felt trying to smooth it onto my hair. Even with my hair being deep conditioned and moisturized, the second I put this flaxseed gel on my hair it felt…dry. It was weird.
This gel had absolutely no slip or moisture.
My Final thoughts was that the hold was fine, but I felt like I couldn’t really “work” the gel in. It was a no for the wash-n-go, but its one of the only gels that I use for my twist/braid outs. It also does a great job of taming my frizzies for my buns, puffs, and ponytails, it provides pretty good hold, but the real benefits are:
- It’s high in omega 3 fatty acids to nourish and strengthen follicles and strands (source)
- It helps moisturize the hair (even though it didn’t feel very moisturizing to me when I would apply it) because it binds moisture to the strands, thus helping to reduce split ends and breakage (source)
- It promotes shiny hair
- It is cost effective
- It is all natural
- It promotes hair growth because of the lignans found in the seeds (source)
- It is a good source of vitamin E, an antioxidant that can prevent damage to the hair shaft and scalp (source)
- It rinses out well WITHOUT the use of shampoo, so it is low-poo, no-poo, co-wash, and water-rinse friendly (this was an issue for me with EcoStyle Gel. I always have to shampoo or I will have a reside left behind)
For me, flaxseed gel not having much slip means that I won’t be reaching for it for my wash n’ gos since I like to rake and smooth. While you absolutely could rake it through, for some reason, I just don’t like the way it feels on my hair. So it’s a no-go for the wash n’ gos, but it’s a YES for everything else. Buns, ponytails, puffs, braid outs, twist out, i’ll use it for literally everything else.
I’m currently working on a new recipe using a few new all-natural ingredients that are known for their slip. I’m hoping that this will give my flaxseed gel the last little umph it needs!
so basically, overall score: 7.5
Have you tried flaxseed gel? What are your thoughts?
