I've been making my own hair gel for about a month now. Pretty easy process. I make a cup at a time which lasts close to a week. I boil a cup of water, add 3/4 tsp of unflavored gelatin and stir for 2 minutes. When it cools, I dump the homemade hair gel into a spray bottle. I store it in the cabinet, out of the light to help it stay fresh.
My thoughts on making your own hair gel:
The bad:
After a few days, the homemade hair gel starts to smell kind of nasty. I'm going to try adding a drop or two of lavender essential oil and see if that improves the smell any.
It's not as strong of a hold that I'm used to with store bought hair gel. Adding more gelatin helps, but tends to clog the spray bottle. I've tried putting the gel in a bowl and putting it on my hair with my hands. That works ok when you use more gelatin, but I prefer to spray the gel on. I've been reusing the store bought gel spray bottle, but am going to give a spray bottle for plants a try.
I do supplement with the store bought hair gel. I don't use much, just a bit to control the frizz. My hair is very thick and wavy. It needs a lot of help to keep it under control.
On the upside:
Homemade hair gel is very easy to make.
Homemade hair gel is much cheaper than store bought. I bought a pack of unflavored gelatin for $1.44 at Walmart. It lasts about 2 months. One bottle of spray gel for $2.00 lasts about a week.
My hair is no longer crispy. The homemade hair gel leaves it very soft.
The homemade hair gel doesn't contain all the harmful chemicals of store bought hair gel.
Overall, I'm going to keep using the homemade hair gel. However, I'm going to keep trying to tweak my recipe, so that it smells better and has a little stronger hold without clogging the sprayer.
If I achieve my perfect homemade hair gel recipe, I'll let you know.
UPDATE: I bought a plant sprayer bottle at Walmart for $1.00. It works great for homemade hair gel. The homemade hair gel recipe I am satisfied with is:
3 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup + 1 1/2 cups of water
5 drops lavender essential oil
Boil 1 cup of water and add the unflavored gelatin. Stir about 2 minutes or until the gelatin is dissolved. Add the 1 1/2 cups of water. When the homemade hair gel is cool, add to the plant sprayer bottle along with the 5 drops of lavender essential oil.
UPDATE 9/14/11 - I'm still using homemade hair gel. Good thing too, since I can no longer find the Suave spray gel I was using. I am completely satisfied with the homemade hair gel. It works & is so much cheaper.
Take note though: the first few days of using a fresh batch of homemade hair gel, use caution. It doesn't take much to get a strong hold. After that, use a little more each day. The hold seems to decrease as the end of the bottle is reached.
If my recipe is too strong, just decrease the amount of unflavored gelatin. I have really thick, wavy hair, so I need a strong hold. Otherwise, I get frizz.
UPDATE 12/31/15 - This is my current recipe: 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 - 2 cups of water
5 drops lavender essential oil
I also keep this refrigerated.
More Make Your Own Beauty Product Recipes
My thoughts on making your own hair gel:
The bad:
After a few days, the homemade hair gel starts to smell kind of nasty. I'm going to try adding a drop or two of lavender essential oil and see if that improves the smell any.
It's not as strong of a hold that I'm used to with store bought hair gel. Adding more gelatin helps, but tends to clog the spray bottle. I've tried putting the gel in a bowl and putting it on my hair with my hands. That works ok when you use more gelatin, but I prefer to spray the gel on. I've been reusing the store bought gel spray bottle, but am going to give a spray bottle for plants a try.
I do supplement with the store bought hair gel. I don't use much, just a bit to control the frizz. My hair is very thick and wavy. It needs a lot of help to keep it under control.
On the upside:
Homemade hair gel is very easy to make.
Homemade hair gel is much cheaper than store bought. I bought a pack of unflavored gelatin for $1.44 at Walmart. It lasts about 2 months. One bottle of spray gel for $2.00 lasts about a week.
My hair is no longer crispy. The homemade hair gel leaves it very soft.
The homemade hair gel doesn't contain all the harmful chemicals of store bought hair gel.
Overall, I'm going to keep using the homemade hair gel. However, I'm going to keep trying to tweak my recipe, so that it smells better and has a little stronger hold without clogging the sprayer.
If I achieve my perfect homemade hair gel recipe, I'll let you know.
UPDATE: I bought a plant sprayer bottle at Walmart for $1.00. It works great for homemade hair gel. The homemade hair gel recipe I am satisfied with is:
3 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup + 1 1/2 cups of water
5 drops lavender essential oil
Boil 1 cup of water and add the unflavored gelatin. Stir about 2 minutes or until the gelatin is dissolved. Add the 1 1/2 cups of water. When the homemade hair gel is cool, add to the plant sprayer bottle along with the 5 drops of lavender essential oil.
UPDATE 9/14/11 - I'm still using homemade hair gel. Good thing too, since I can no longer find the Suave spray gel I was using. I am completely satisfied with the homemade hair gel. It works & is so much cheaper.
Take note though: the first few days of using a fresh batch of homemade hair gel, use caution. It doesn't take much to get a strong hold. After that, use a little more each day. The hold seems to decrease as the end of the bottle is reached.
If my recipe is too strong, just decrease the amount of unflavored gelatin. I have really thick, wavy hair, so I need a strong hold. Otherwise, I get frizz.
UPDATE 12/31/15 - This is my current recipe: 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 - 2 cups of water
5 drops lavender essential oil
I also keep this refrigerated.
More Make Your Own Beauty Product Recipes
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