The 7 Best DIY Natural Hair Gel Recipes
When it comes to makeup and personal care items, natural hair products seem to take the backseat. Though not a direct delivery route like skin, chemical–laden hair products seep into your bloodstream via your scalp, face, and hands. That’s why it’s important to take note of the ingredients in your shampoos, conditioners, and other hair products, and whenever possible, make them yourself.
Commercially manufactured hair gels can cause damage by drying hair, and leaving it flaky and crunchy. Furthermore, they contain synthetic fragrances, parabens, sulfates, and other harmful chemicals. Also, they often come in single–use plastic packaging, adding to the problem of plastic pollution worldwide.
For these reasons, many people have opted for natural, homemade hair gels. The following recipes for homemade natural hair gels eliminate the toxins found in store–bought variations and enhance your natural hair texture. Hair gel is a lot easier to make than you might guess. With a quick recipe, whip up a batch that can be customized to give you just the right amount of hold. Not only are these homemade natural hair gel recipes easy to make, the ingredients are also relatively inexpensive.
Where To Start
There’s been controversy over whether hair gel is healthy for hair, especially for those with curly, dry, damaged or kinky hair. It’s essential that you use a product that isn’t damaging to your hair. Hair gel can be used for a variety of things like flyaways and updos. Whenever I feel like I need a health and beauty product but cannot use one that is commercially manufactured due to my allergies and chemical sensitivities, I make it myself.
A homemade DIY is a great way to explore the option of making your own unique hair products. Don’t be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone when making these hair gels. If you have frizzy or unruly hair, a hair gel may be the solution for you. I’m going to give you some homemade natural hair gel recipes that you can make in the comfort of your own home.
Which Hair Gel Should You Make
When choosing a hair gel to DIY, you should first understand your hair type. Is it fine and straight? Is it kinky or curly? Your hair type will ultimately determine which kind of hair gel to make. Any of these hair gels will be beneficial, but you wouldn’t want to make something that won’t provide hold for your hair type.
For me, I find the Xanthan gum hair gel is the fastest to make since it requires no cooking. There’s also the flaxseed and Chia seed hair gels that have myriad beauty benefits. After trying out my first homemade natural hair gel DIY, I fell in love with the process and the end products. Also, these methods are super easy, fun, and fast, and don’t require a ton of ingredients. Each hair gel has different benefits.
In terms of hold, I’d say the flaxseed hair gel recipe has the strongest, the gelatin hair gel has medium, and the Aloe Vera hair gel has the lightest, but all have worked really well. My daughter, who has super long curly hair, gets help taming the frizz, too.
Check out these 7 homemade natural hair gel recipes that you can try yourself at home:
1. Homemade Natural Hair Gel
Gelatin contains keratin proteins which bind with hair to strengthen it. It adheres especially well to damaged areas and helps smooth the hair cuticle, boost shine and reduce breakage. The amount of gelatin in this Homemade Natural Hair Gel recipe is so small that this likely won’t be an issue even if used very frequently.
2. Homemade Aloe Vera Hair Gel
Homemade Aloe Vera Hair Gel makes hair soft, moisturized, and easy to detangle. It benefits your scalp by removing inflammation, dirt, and bacteria. It restores pH levels, decreases frizz, and helps with hair growth.
3. Homemade Flaxseed Hair Gel
Homemade Flaxseed Hair Gel leaves hair soft, shiny, and moisturized. You can actually reuse the flax seeds multiple times to make this gel. It provides hold with no crunching or flaking, and it mixes well with other products.
4. Homemade Chia Seed Hair Gel
Similar to flax seeds, Chia seeds can also be reused. Homemade Chia Seed Hair Gel offers the same benefits of an all-natural hair gel: moisture and hold without crunch or flakes. Chia seeds are a mixture of tiny black and white seeds, with virtually no odor and no flavor.
5. Agar Agar Hair Gel Recipe
The Agar Agar Hair Gel Recipe doesn’t use regular gelatin, derived from animal bones. Instead, it uses a vegan alternative called Agar Agar which comes from seaweed.
6. Xanthan Gum Hair Gel Recipe (Vegan)
Xanthan gum is a common food additive that is produced from simple sugars using a fermentation process. It is an effective thickening agent and stabilizer that has the added benefit of not requiring heat in order to activate. Like Agar Agar, the Xanthan Gum Hair Gel Recipe is vegan.
7. Marshmallow Root & Flaxseed Hair Gel
Marshmallow Root & Flaxseed Hair Gel is a ridiculously easy, quick, inexpensive and organic hair detangler and hair gel to help out with curls and frizz. Marshmallow root is a great detangling aid. And the flax seeds leave hair soft, shiny, and moisturized.
Suggestions for Tweaking These Recipes
- You can add Epsom salts or Magnesium flakes (Magnesium Oil) to define curls. While Epsom salts produce more defined curls, they also leave your hair dry. An alternative would be Magnesium flakes (Magnesium oil) that produce curls but won’t leave your hair dry.
- You can add a few drops of Vitamin E oil as a preservative, or for nourishing your hair. I used Argan oil as it won’t weigh hair down, and also contains Vitamin E.
- If your hair is dry, you can add a teaspoon of Avocado or Apricot kernel oil.
- You can combine flax seeds together with the Chia seeds.
- You can use Xanthan gum in lieu of Agar Agar (China Grass) powder.
- You can use gelatin (unflavored) in lieu of Agar Agar powder.
- You can opt for any essential oil. I chose Tangerine and Eucalyptus for their scent and energizing properties.
- Aloe Vera can be added for its moisturizing and nourishing properties. However, if you dislike the natural scent of this plant, skip it.
- If you want a hair gel that helps with detangling add Slippery Elm or Marshmallow root.
If You Want Natural, But Don’t Have Time to DIY
If you don’t have the time or desire to make your own (or DIY hair products just aren’t working out for you), you can check out these products from manufacturers that have a history of ethical and transparent practices.
Other Resources
If you are curious how toxic your current hair gel brand is, I highly recommend checking it out through EWG’s Skin Deep cosmetic database. Enter your product and it will rate how toxic it is and even break those toxins by individual ingredients.
Having so many options to making your own homemade hair gel means the possibilities are endless. Have you tried to make you own hair gel? How did it work out? Do you have any tips to share? If so, please leave a comment below.
Sources:
How to Make Homemade Hair Gel (18 DIY Recipes)
https://brightstuffs.com/how-to-make-homemade-hair-gel-diy/
DECEMBER 10, 2018
3 Natural Hair Gel Recipes
https://mommypotamus.com/diy-hair-gel/
Heather Dessinger
5 DIY Homemade Hair Gel Recipes
https://www.healthynaturalhairproducts.com/homemade-hair-gel-for-natural-black-hair/
Hair Recipes By Jonna
The Best Natural DIY Hair Gels That Are A Hair Win!
https://www.privatelabelextensions.com/blogs/hair-blog/diy-hair-gels
Jul 26, 2018