I brought it to a boil while whisking it slowly, and then turned the heat down. It was amazing just how quickly the seeds began to thicken the water. It took about five minutes from start to finish. But here's where I think I went wrong: I left it on the burner too long. Once the seeds began to slow their movement in the thickening water, I should have taken them off. They say you can tell when you see after stirring that the seeds are suspended in the liquid, rather than just sinking right away. I thought it looked too liquidy, so I continued to cook a bit longer. Mistake. You're supposed to dump the seeds and liquid through a strainer into a bowl immediately, which I did. However, the consistency of the liquid was to the point of a goopy, stringy egg white, and it was exceedingly hard to put it through the strainer, no matter how I pushed and prodded. Next time, if I accidentally overcook, I'll use a cheesecloth, dump a blop into it and squeeze it out. I added water to it, and that helped move enough of it through the strainer.
Once I'd strained enough, I saved the seeds in a ziplock bag in the fridge to boil again, and I inspected the gel. It really had no smell to it, so after cooking, I added a drop of cedar essence to it. Apparently you can add any essential oil you'd like at this point in the process. It makes a nice neutral base for a scent, and holds the smell really well so far. I whisked a bit more water into it to make it easier to work through my hair, and voila! It's done.
Now for the usage review: I tried washing my hair using only conditioner, as was suggested by a sister (thanks!). I also found it mentioned on several sites I'd seen about hair health. Apparently if you do that a couple times a week, it strips less of the hair's natural oil. Curly hair is supposed to be prone to dryness, and this is supposed to help. That said, this isn't exactly a pure test of the flax gel because that element of the process is different than usual.
I squeezed most of the water out of my hair and worked some of the flax gel through to the ends with my fingers. It's nice and slippery stuff-- it feels like the silicone hair serums that actually do work on my hair. I usually use two products after washing my hair--one to control frizz (like the serums) and one to hold curl (usually gel or curl spray). I've never found one product that can cover all the bases I need dealt with for this mop.
As my hair dried, I noticed it was really soft and fairly shiny. One other thing that stood out is how bright the color seemed. I dye my hair, and the flax gel seemed to sort of enhance that.
However, within an hour of being dry, my hair was starting to frizz. I went back and added more flax gel, and that calmed it down a bit, but it still is a little less controlled than if I'd used my regular regimen. I'll try using a lot more next time, and we'll see how it goes. It may end up being something I use in tandem with another product, but I do like the feel of the flax gel, and knowing exactly what's in it, so I'll give it a few more shots before I give up.
I could imagine this also being a really nice thing to use on naturally wavy hair... or any hair, actually. It defines just a bit, doesn't dry hard, and is no doubt FAR better for your scalp than a bunch of chemicals. I think it also makes hair color look a bit richer.
You can see the frizz at the edges, and it's more noticeable from the front, but I think the flax gel did a decent job. It was super fast to make--it took less than 10 minutes, so I certainly don't have an excuse not to try again.
