Summer Beauty: Summer Braid Gel

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Ordinary bottles holding Summer Braid Gel (front) and Parsley Mint Toner (rear) are dressed up for gift-giving with raffia braid around the necks and unique cork stoppers.

Makes 1 cup

Keep your hair in place with this simple styling gel made from the seeds of flax (Linum usitatissimum), the blue-flowered annual plant whose stalks yield fiber for linen cloth. The small, shiny brown seeds are the source of linseed oil. When soaked in water, they form a gel that gives hair extra body and lift.

• 3 tablespoons flaxseed
• 1 cup water

1. Mix the flaxseed and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Off heat, let the mixture stand for 15 minutes. Strain out the seeds and allow the jellylike liquid to cool completely. Pour the gel into a clean container and cap it. The mixture will continue to thicken if left uncovered.
2. Apply a small amount to wet or dry hair as you would any other styling gel.

Janice Cox is author of Natural Beauty at Home and Natural Beauty for All Seasons, both published by Henry Holt. Her books contain more than 400 recipes for body, bath, and hair care products, some of them passed down through three generations of her family. She lives in Medford, Oregon.

Click here for the more recipes from the original article, Summer Beauty.