Making DIY Homemade Lemon Hair Gel is easy, all natural, and way more affordable than store bought! It takes just minutes to make and has been the perfect way to control frizz!
This lemon hair gel is great to have around for a little frizz control. My family and I have been making this hair gel for 20 years now! That feels so crazy to say, but it really has been that long.
My parents starting going more natural with bath and body products and eating organic back in the early 90’s. It was a wildly different time where options for natural bath and body products were almost non-existent. And things like health food cookies meant they most likely had carob chips in them. Thankfully times have changed!
But at the time, my mom got creative and started making her own gelatin based hair gel. It’s worked so well, I’ve been making it ever since. It’s just the perfect amount of hold for my curls. But I’ve also had so many people write in to say they’ve loved it on their straight hair as well.
At one point I tried the popular flaxseed gel, and it did work really well. But it’s a bit messy, and I’ve never made it again because it was too much hassle for me.
So… that’s where gelatin comes in. I need something around for those ‘we have an emergency’ frizz days, which let’s face it with curly hair is almost ever day! It keeps for several weeks in the fridge, and about a week at room temperature.
Let’s dive into some tips below for this DIY Lemon Hair Gel!
I make 3 different versions of this hair gel. For the first, after the gelatin has completely dissolved you can pour it into squeeze bottles.
Or you can add the moisturizing ingredients to the lemon-gelatin version as the second option.
And finally down in the recipe you’ll find my favorite most stable version which makes way less. It also omits the lemon juice and uses a few drops of essential oil. I love lemon, but you can use any essential oil you love the fragrance of.
Tip #1: Use a good quality gelatin like the Great Lakes brand for the best long lasting shelf life. You can definitely use the standard Knox brand. But I’ve found through a lot of testing it goes bad much faster.
How to make natural hair gel:
Warm the gelatin and water in a saucepan over low until completely dissolved. Or heat up some water until it’s hot but not boiling and pour it over the gelatin. Stir until the gelatin dissolves. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice or essential oil.
From here, you can leave it plain or follow the moisturizing variation. Refrigerate whatever you think you won’t use in a week. And if some of it does go bad there’s no need to worry because this recipe costs just pennies to make!
Tip #2: Use a small funnel to help you pour the gelatin mixture into the squeeze bottle.
Tip #3: Experiment with a less gelatin to water ratio for a lighter hold and softer gel.
I put my two different gels into small squeeze bottles for ease of use. You want to keep your hands out of it if you can, or it will spoil more quickly.
Tip #4: Pour the gel into several small squeeze bottles. That way you can put one in the bathroom, and refrigerate the rest to keep it longer.
As a bonus, it only cost me $0.60 to make my own hair gel. And it works just as good as the one from the store that cost $10.00.
Looking for more natural bath and body recipes? Check out my favorite basics below!
- Easy Buttercream Lotion
- Grapefruit Body Wash
- How to do an at home facial
- Facial Oil Cleansing Method
- Lavender Sugar Scrub
What’s your experience with natural hair care? Do you have any favorite natural products?
Print
DIY Lemon Hair Gel
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
Ingredients
1 tablespoon plain gelatin
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
For Conditioner Version Add:
1–2 Teaspoons of coconut oil
4 Tablespoons of aloe vera gel
Small batch essential oil version:
1 teaspoon plain gelatin
1/3–1/2 cup water
a few drops of lemon essential oil, or oil you desire
Instructions
Mix together the water and gelatin in a saucepan. Then place it over medium heat and stir just until the gelatin dissolves.
Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Let cool until it’s set up.
For the conditioner version, add the coconut oil and aloe vera to the lemon-gelatin mixture, after the gelatin had set.
Place everything in the blender and blend on low until creamy. You can also whisk this together by hand, but you will need to melt the coconut oil first.
Store the first and second hair gel options in squeeze bottles and use within 5-7 days at room temperature. I’ve had both versions keep for 2+ weeks refrigerated. So you can store the extra and get the bottles out a week or 2 later to use at room temperature.
For the small batch essential oil version, heat the water and pour it over the gelatin. Stir until dissolved and add a few drops of essential oil. Store in a squeeze bottle and use within 10 days.
Notes
If at any point something seems ‘off’ with your hair gel, throw it away! Natural products go bad at different rates according to temperature and such. My small batch essential oil version easily lasts me 10 days, and the lemon and conditioning versions last 5-7 days.
- Category: DIY
- Method: Mixing
Keywords: How to Make Hair Gel, Homemade Hair Gel, Homemade Hair Gel Aloe Vera, How to make natural hair gel
This recipe was originally published in 2013, but has been updated in 2021 with more information, tips, and new photos!
If my hair is protein sensitive, would this be good for my hair?
I can’t give personal advice, but since this gel is high in protein it doesn’t seem like a good idea.
I love this stuff but I notice it produces white flakes on my bed pillow. Any way to avoid this? Also I’ve been using ylang ylang and it seems to make it last longer.
★★★★★
Thanks for the tip about ylang ylang, I definitely need to try that out! The only time I’ve ever noticed this gel leave flakes behind is when I’ve used a lot of it, which also happens even with commercial store bought brands. I personally use just enough to have more a ‘smoothing’ effect rather than a firm hold if that makes sense. I hope this helps and sorry I can’t think of anything else that might be causing what you described.