Has anyone ever made their own curl cream?

[jesis]

I use a ton of hair gel when I get out of the shower and I'm afraid it might be damaging my hair.

Has anyone ever had any luck making their own natural curl cream? I need something that defines my curls and keeps frizz at bay, but also isn't too heavy because my hair is weighed down easily.

My hair forms into clumps with the gel, which allows for big spiral curls that I adore!

So any suggestions? I know Jessicurl has a line of more natural products, but if I could make something that works at home, why not?

Thanks in advance :D

[myria]

Not exactly curl cream but I use a mix of aloe vera gel and jojoba oil when I'm rag/pin curling my hair and find that it defines the curls nicely so you might want to try it. Its about 3tsp aloe vera gel to 1tsp oil (i'd guess most liquid ones would work).

[rhosyn_du]

Have you tried flax seed gel? You make it by boiling a tablespoon or two of whole flax seeds in a cup of water for about five minutes, then straining. It works really well! The only downside is you have to refrigerate it, which can make it a bit unpleasant during the winter months.

[jesis]

I will take these into consideration. I just want to avoid anything that causes my strands to stick together. My hair is so fragile now. :(

[StormVixen]

flax seed gel is AWESOME! I add a tiny bit of epsom salts and a few drops of whichever essential oil i feel like smelling of and occationally add some aloe vera and a drop of honey too... oh and grapefruit seed extract helps it keep longer too! (just so you know my avatar is after an Iron Age day at work and my hair was crazy not because of flax gel ) :D

ETA: you need to SATURATE your hair with the gel until its slimey

[virgo75]

Not exactly curl cream but I use a mix of aloe vera gel and jojoba oil when I'm rag/pin curling my hair and find that it defines the curls nicely so you might want to try it. Its about 3tsp aloe vera gel to 1tsp oil (i'd guess most liquid ones would work).


I've done this and works nicely.
For some reason aloe vera gel does absolutely nothing for my hair by itself. But mixed with oil it's great.

I've also made a "curl cream" by mixing conditioner w/ gel. I'd start with 50/50 ratio and see what your hair likes. Conditioner by itself(the rinse out kind) often has quite a bit of hold on its own. If you try this method, make sure you mix it in your hand before putting it into your hair. Some gels and conditioners don't get along and will form a sort of cottage cheese, chunky thing and it will do the same thing in your hair. So mix it in your hands, if it's creamy then you you can put it in your hair. If it's chunky, you can either add water or try a different conditioner/gel.

Eventually I found out I didn't even need gel and now if I wear my hair "curly" I just use conditioner as a styler.

Here's a site by a woman with long(hip length), gorgeous curly hair that talks about her method of using conditioner as a leave-in.

http://www.tightlycurly.com/welcome

I've never taken the time to do it exactly how she does it.
I just wet my hands, pour some conditioner into my hands, and smooth it through my hair one section at a time while it's still damp. Wetting my hands first make the conditioner a little more runny/creamy so it spreads easier.

Hope that helps. :flower:

[jesis]

flax seed gel is AWESOME! I add a tiny bit of epsom salts and a few drops of whichever essential oil i feel like smelling of and occationally add some aloe vera and a drop of honey too... oh and grapefruit seed extract helps it keep longer too! (just so you know my avatar is after an Iron Age day at work and my hair was crazy not because of flax gel ) :D

ETA: you need to SATURATE your hair with the gel until its slimey

Yeah, I saturate my hair with my current gel. So my question is, will this "gel" make my hair stick together like other gels? That's what I'm worried about, as I read it can cause your hair to tear on the hair strand and I have noticed some breakage throughout.

Thanks!


I've done this and works nicely.
For some reason aloe vera gel does absolutely nothing for my hair by itself. But mixed with oil it's great.

I've also made a "curl cream" by mixing conditioner w/ gel. I'd start with 50/50 ratio and see what your hair likes. Conditioner by itself(the rinse out kind) often has quite a bit of hold on its own. If you try this method, make sure you mix it in your hand before putting it into your hair. Some gels and conditioners don't get along and will form a sort of cottage cheese, chunky thing and it will do the same thing in your hair. So mix it in your hands, if it's creamy then you you can put it in your hair. If it's chunky, you can either add water or try a different conditioner/gel.

Eventually I found out I didn't even need gel and now if I wear my hair "curly" I just use conditioner as a styler.

Here's a site by a woman with long(hip length), gorgeous curly hair that talks about her method of using conditioner as a leave-in.

http://www.tightlycurly.com/welcome

I've never taken the time to do it exactly how she does it.
I just wet my hands, pour some conditioner into my hands, and smooth it through my hair one section at a time while it's still damp. Wetting my hands first make the conditioner a little more runny/creamy so it spreads easier.

Hope that helps. :flower:

Thanks!! Does the conditioner weigh your hair down at all? My curls are very big, so I kind of count on their springiness/weightlessness to get through the day. If they have too much oil in them, or leave in, they get stringy and tighter and I don't like that look at all!