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This easy homemade hair gel can be made with or without aloe vera, and is the perfect natural hair gel for when you are on the go. It can be preserved with natural preservatives for up to 3 months.

Easy Homemade Hair Gel (With or Without Aloe Vera)

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Last Modified: January 9, 2018 // by Tracy Ariza, DDS // June 24, 2017 I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. Learn more here.

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Jump to Tutorial Jump to Video Print Tutorial Tracy Ariza, DDS
This easy homemade hair gel can be made with or without aloe vera, and is the perfect natural hair gel for when you are on the go. It can be preserved with natural preservatives for up to 3 months.

This easy homemade hair gel can be made with or without aloe vera, and is the perfect natural hair gel for when you are on the go. It can be preserved with natural preservatives for up to 3 months.

A homemade hair gel in a silicone travel tube, next to a wooden comb

A couple of years ago I showed you how to make a homemade hair gel using flaxseeds. I really loved how natural it was, and how it left my hair with defined curls while feeling soft to the touch. I had previously been blow drying my hair almost all of the time, and had finally decided that I wanted to leave my hair to do its thing and be its naturally wavy self.

With as much as I love a flaxseed hair gel, it isn’t the most convenient thing to make and keep up. Not only do you need to cook the flaxseeds with water over the stove and strain the mixture, but most people store it in the fridge and make a new batch each week.

I love making things myself, probably more than anybody I know, but I still don’t have time for that sort of thing. Every week.

Since then I’ve learned a thing or two about natural preservatives, and I’ve been meaning to make a new batch of flaxseed hair gel to test the pH (although I have read that it is usually around 6-7) and see how well it would work with natural preservatives. Being able to naturally preserve it for up to 3 months with something like Leucidal (which is possible at a pH of 6-7) would greatly increase the convenience factor of  the old gel. That said, I haven’t gotten around to trying it because I’ve since gotten hooked on something new. This new, easy homemade hair gel keeps for so long that I haven’t been inspired to make the old flaxseed gel in quite some time now.

How to Make an Aloe Gel

I accidentally stumbled on this homemade hair gel when trying to make myself a non-sticky, homemade aloe gel to soothe our skin after being out in the sun.

I had recently bought some aloe vera juice, and I figured that xanthan gum was a good thickener to use to make a gel-like substance with it. I went ahead and made myself a homemade aloe gel using aloe vera juice and xanthan gum.

The homemade aloe gel was great, and it didn’t feel slimy like a homemade aloe gel made from blending up the pulp of aloe vera leaves. Plus, it had the consistency of a store bought aloe gel- well, kind of, sort of…

Overhead view of a homemade aloe gel next to an aloe leaf.
Homemade aloe gel made with aloe vera juice and xanthin gum

The problem with aloe gel made with xanthan gum?

When you put a xanthan gum gel on your skin and allow it to dry, it leaves a bit of a dry, cracking feeling. It doesn’t feel sticky, but does feel slightly weird on your skin. Once the formed skin cracked, though, it wasn’t really noticeable anymore. (I’ve since found that one of the more natural brands of aloe gel that my husband bought also leaves the same sort of feeling on your skin as it dries.)

Because my homemade aloe gel gave the same sort of sensation that my homemade flaxseed hair gel left on my hair, it dawned on me that it may make a perfect hair gel. The flaxseed hair gel dries stiff, which helps hold your curls, but when you play with your hair and “crack” it, it feels soft and clean, but keeps its shape.

What is xanthan gum?

Xanthan gum is a thickener and stabilizing agent that is used in foods, cosmetics, and industrial products. It is made by fermenting glucose with a bacteria, Xanthomonas campestris. It is solidified when reacted with alcohol, and then the solid precipitate is dried and ground into a powder.

The powder is often used in the same way as gelatin is used to thicken certain foods.

The benefits of a xanthan gum hair gel

When I first posted my flaxseed hair gel recipe, a lot of people told me that they loved it, but that they found it inconvenient to make, especially when traveling. They wanted to know if I could suggest something that could be made on the go.

While a pre-made and preserved flaxseed hair gel should keep for the length of most travel stays, some people prefer to not travel with liquids and gels.

Xanthan gum is a powder that you can easily take with you and mix with water as needed once you’ve reached your destination. Since you don’t need a stove or a strainer, like you do when making flaxseed gel, the process of making the gel away from home is simplified.

Tricks for blending xanthan gum with liquids

While you don’t need a stove to make this gel, I will admit that it can be tricky to mix xanthan gum with water without it clumping. Xanthan gum is so good as a thickening agent that it starts thickening before it gets well dispersed throughout the liquid, making thick, hard clumps within your gel.

To avoid getting a clumpy mixture, the ideal way of mixing xanthan gum with either water or aloe juice is to pour the powder right into the whirl cause by an immersion blender as you blend and pour simultaneously. Of course, if you’re traveling, it isn’t likely that you have an immersion blender on hand. I have a tiny, inexpensive milk frother that I like to use for this sort of thing, but most people don’t take even something like that along with them on their trips.

Another way to help blend the xanthan gum with the liquids is to divide the liquid in half, and slowly add the powder to half of the liquid while stirring constantly. Then, more liquid can be added as needed until all of the water or juice has been used. I’ve found that any clumps that do remain will eventually hydrate enough so that stirring later on will break up the clumps. So, if you do end up with lot of little clumps in your gel, just allow the gel to rest for a couple of hours before stirring again.

If you do have access to a stove, using a double boiler to help slightly heat the gel with the xanthan gum powder is another option for keeping the clumps out. I used to always heat up my liquid before adding the xanthin gum powder, but now rarely do anymore.

Video


Easy Homemade Hair Gel

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This easy homemade hair gel can be made with or without aloe vera, and is the perfect natural hair gel for when you are on the go. It can be preserved with natural preservatives for up to 3 months.

Easy Homemade Hair Gel (With or Without Aloe Vera)

This easy homemade hair gel can be made with or without aloe vera, and is the perfect natural hair gel for when you are on the go. It can be preserved with natural preservatives for up to 3 months.
4.28 from 11 votes
Print Rate
Total time: 10 minutes
Author: Tracy Ariza, DDS

Materials

  • 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum (1g)
  • 1/3 cup aloe juice or distilled water (80g)
  • 2,5 g Leucidal or another natural preservative in the amount needed for that particular one
  • essential oils optional, for scent

Instructions

  • Mix together the xanthan gum with the aloe juice or distlled water. This is easiest when using an immersion blender.
  • Add in the Leucidal, or another natural preservative if you plan on keeping the gel for more than a few days. You can also add in any essential oils that you like for scent and hair beneficial properties. Lavender and rosemary are great oils for your hair and smell great in a homemade hair gel.
  • If you have lumps of xanthin gum, you can either heat up the mixture to help dissolve them. You can also leave the gel to rest for several hours so that the clumps are better hydrated. After several hours, you can blend the mixture again and the clumps should disappear.
  • Pour the gel into storage containers. I prefer silicone travel tubes because it’s easy to dispense the gel without contaminating it with bacteria from your fingers. They also travel well without spilling or leaking.
  • You can use the gel on both wet or dry hair. I usually use it right after having towel dried my hair. I find that it defines my curls well as my hair dries. You can also apply it to frizzy hair or dry hair when you want to smooth it or define your curls. I often wet my hands and dampen my hair slightly with my wet hands before working the gel in so that I can distribute the gel well more easily.
Tried making this? Tag me today!Mention @thethingswellmake or tag #thethingswellmake!
Category: Face & Body, Hair, Make it Yourself

About Tracy Ariza, DDS

Tracy Ariza, B.A., D.D.S., left dentistry and the United States to found Oh, The Things We'll Make!, writing to you from the Spanish Riviera. She loves making things herself in order to keep control of what goes in them. While far from perfect, she strives each day to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.

Previous Post: « Clear up your skin with this easy, DIY charcoal face mask which is great for oily, combination, and acne prone skin. #activatedcharcoal #bentoniteclay #facialmask DIY Charcoal Face Mask for Acne Prone Skin
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cindy

    June 27, 2020 at 4:44 PM

    I truly try to only use essential oils or vitamin e for preserving products. Would you have a suggestion for anything other than the Leucidal?
    If you answered this previously and I missed the response, I do apologize.
    Thank you,
    Cindy

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      February 7, 2021 at 12:15 AM

      Hi Cindy,
      I have a post that details my thoughts on natural preservatives here. (And why EOs and vitamin E aren’t really preservatives.)

      Reply
  2. Mohammad Romman

    June 22, 2020 at 10:50 AM

    5 stars
    this is a great article for using aloe in cosmetics for specific skin issues. It also has the percentage of aloe used in the studies, For example, studies on acne, dandruff and scalp issues, psoriasis, eczema, etc.
    .

    Reply
  3. Mauro

    January 3, 2020 at 10:48 PM

    I have a question? Would this be good for thinning hair? My doubt is between using Xantham Gum or Gelatin (vegetable) to make this gel.
    I would like to know what you think is healthier. Also, I read that Glycerin could be negative on hair as it tends to absorb humidity so it might actually dry hair. I live in South Florida. Any thought?

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      February 10, 2021 at 5:05 PM

      Hi Mauro,
      Generally, glycerin will help draw humidity into the hair, but you are right that in extremely dry environments, it can have the opposite effect. Some people (most?) do well with it. Others don’t. You can experiment with and without it.
      I would be afraid that gelatin would get really sticky and harden in hair. (I tried a gelatin mask on my skin and it was quite difficult to remove.)
      I’d probably stick with xanthan gum.

      Reply
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Hello, I’m Tracy!

I love making my own natural products like soaps and lotions and my own pantry items like yogurt and salad dressings.
Why do I do it? Sometimes to save money, sometimes because it's healthier, but I always love having control of the ingredients!​
Oh, the things we'll make!...

More about Tracy

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking toĀ Amazon.comĀ and affiliated sites.

Jump to Tutorial Jump to Video Print Tutorial Tracy Ariza, DDS
This easy homemade hair gel can be made with or without aloe vera, and is the perfect natural hair gel for when you are on the go. It can be preserved with natural preservatives for up to 3 months.

Want to learn how to make cosmetics professionally?

While I will continue to show you, as best I can, how to make your own cosmetics, Formula Botanica has classes that cover a lot of information that I don’t- like the legalities of selling your own products.

They also have professional cosmetic formulators as tutors that can answer all sorts of questions.

Pre-register for the free masterclasses running from April 19-28th!

Sign up for the free classes now!

Featured on Buzzfeed, Lifehacker, Fitness, Shape, Country Living, Healthline, Redbook, Redfin

Jump to Tutorial Jump to Video Print Tutorial Tracy Ariza, DDS
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