Do you want to know the easiest,
most efficient way to make and store your flaxseed gel?
I'll show you my simple method and recipe without using stockings to get the
perfect gel for your curls. Plus two great ways to preserve your flaxseed gel,
To help it last up to six months.
Flaxseed gel defines my hair like no other gel and allows my washing goes to
last five days, Easy. No more making flaxseed gel every two weeks.
Let's start off with the basic recipe.
I'm going to be taking four cups of distilled water,
plus half a cup of flax seeds,
joining that together and bringing that to a boil.
it's best to use distilled water because it doesn't contain chlorine or
minerals.
And it can really help when it comes to accumulating bacteria in your gel.
When you bring your flaxseed gel to a boil, you want to keep your eye on it,
because it does come to a boil very quickly, lower to medium high heat,
and then allow it to simmer for seven to eight minutes.
That's usually the sweet spot for my hair.
Personally, I've tried 10 minutes and the gel is just way too thick, just so,
you know, the longer it boils the thicker, the consistency of the gel.
and the stronger the hold it will have on your curls.
While the gel is simmering constantly stir it to avoid burning the seeds.
And it's sticking to the bottom of the pot.
I prefer to use a whisk for this step because I feel like it really distributes
everything out well, and it really helps to knock the gel out of the flaxseeds.
But you could totally use a spoon that works too.
I used that for the longest time, until I discovered using a whisk.
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Anyone who regularly makes flax seed gel knows that half the battle is
squeezing the gel out.
I used to kind of dread that part of the process until I found the best
extraction method ever. And that is using a French press.
This is the easiest mess, free way to extract the gel.
And there are zero flax seeds that get through this thing.
Inside of the French press,
there are four layers of filters that keep all the seeds.
and allow the gel to come cleanly through.
Keep in mind that thicker you allow your gel to become the harder it will be to
push the flax gel through.
If you use a timeframe that I use to cook the flax seeds,
which is around a seven to eight minutes, then, you should be just fine.
This is the only part that is a little bit difficult,
you're going to have to finesse this just a little bit.
My gel was very thick.
I had to slightly open the top and you want to do this very carefully.
so that you don't make the seeds rejoin with the gel. But overall,
that was the hardest part.
I way prefer this method over squeezing the gel through a pair of stockings.
It's so much easier on the hands and it saves me so much time.
If you find a little bit of gel leftover, like I did.
simply just strain it and agitate the gel with a whisk to get it loose from the
seeds. This should take only a few seconds.
After you're done extracting all of your beautiful flaxseed gel from the seeds.
At this point, you can put any add ins to your recipe,
customize using any oils who prefer to amp up the health factor for your curls.
I love grape seed oil because it is very lightweight for fine curls.
and vitamin E or its antioxidant properties. It's so good for your scalp health.
You know, your girl had to put some essential oils in there because. I really,
really love essential oils kind of addicted to them lavender is my favorite.
because flaxseed gel is water based, It is essential to preserve it.
Still water is a breeding ground for bacteria, mold,
and yeast to grow once it's gone bad.
and you don't want to be putting any of that on your hair and.
to have it touch your skin.
doing so could really wreak some havoc on your hair and your health in the long
run.
The easiest way, which is perfect for beginners is to use an ice cube tray.
Basically,
all you got to do is just put it in a silicone ice cube tray and freeze
it the night before.
Go ahead and just defrost one or two cubes for your hair overnight in the
refrigerator.
I feel like the only con with this method is that it does change the consistency
of your gel. It makes it a little bit more watery.
It has a little less hold for your curls.
The second way is for all of my advanced DIY ers that are interested
in having this gel last. for a really long time at room temperature.
This is where I'm going to come in with a broad spectrum preservative.
this keeps out bacteria, mold, and yeast, and it extends the shelf life.
Let's simplify this as much as possible.
You want to get a clean and sanitized beaker or measuring cup. place on a scale,
zero out the scale,
and then pour in the flaxseed gel to get the weight measurement in ounces.
we are going to need this information to determine how much Optiphin.
we need to use in order to properly preserve the gel. Okay.
We're just going to take whatever our gel weighs,
multiply that by the decimal form of the percentage that is suggested to be
used, t. hat is going to end up being the amount of preservative that's needed.
I went ahead and put a little chart up so that you guys could see what the
formula would look like. And it's not as complicated as it might seem.
It's going to take a little bit of practice, but I promise you'll get it.
Now you'll find that with the percentage that you need, it's not even.
Going to register on the scale you have.
So you need to use a pipette to measure it out.
Usually pipettes are in milliliters.
You're just gonna simply throw whatever ounces you ended up with in Google.
to solve all of your problems like we do with everything else.
and convert that into milliliters. And there you have your answer.
That's as much preservative need for it to work.
It's also important to add it after the gel has fully cooled down or else it
will not be effective.
The one I'm using is going to be linked in the description box.
This method is great if you use a gel really frequently,
but it also changes the gel into a Milky consistency and texture.
So just keep that in mind. Although the texture changed,
I noticed that it was still very strong hold and it was a bit easier to
distribute throughout my curls.
The preservative has emollients properties.
I noticed that my curls were holding onto moisture for a lot longer period of
time. So that's a benefit that I was surprised to figure out.
preserving your gel with Optiphen can help last up to six months.
but You want to be vigilant in monitoring the texture and the smell.
to make sure that you put a preservative in right.
You want to store it in a cool dry place out of direct sunlight.
And I don't recommend storing it in the fridge because.
this can cause a preservative to harden and separate from the gel.
There are two major ways it's out of your flaxseed Gel is ready to be tossed
out. The first way is texture. As you can see here,
the one that's gone bad has gotten really cloudy.
And the second way is through odor fresh flaxseed gel has a neutral scent.
and it doesn't really smell like anything. Rancid flaxseed gel.
It gets really stinky and it smells like I don't have the right description.
to tell you how bad it smells, but it smells awful.
So you'll definitely know it.
The way I like to apply my flaxseed gel is on wet hair on top of my
serum. and leave in conditioner.
I always wait until it's a hundred percent dry and then I clap out the crunch
for soft, fluffy curls.
If you want to see an in-depth tutorial on how I style my curly hair with
flaxseed gel, I'll go ahead and link a video below with this recipe.
I wound up with about 10 ounces of flaxseed gel.
I put four ounces into the freezer,
which left me with about six ounces of preserved gel.
I use a gel once a week for all in any styles, washing goes, braid outs, twist,
outs, anything. I also use it to style my edges as well every day.
This is the flaxseed gel recipe I've been using for eight years. I mean,
minus the preservative. I just figured out how to do that.
It works for my curls, like a charm. I absolutely love it.
I share this gel with my husband too,
who washes his hair and reapplies it every day. And between the two of us,
six ounces lasts around two to three months. As you could see in the picture,
it works amazing for his curls,
even though he has different curl type than mine. If you enjoyed this video,
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Watch my homemade curl cream video next you'll really love that one.
I'm sending you all love light and good vibes, and I will see you the next one.