Packed with vitamins, this home treatment promises a lot – if you’re willing to invest the effort

The hack
Can I make a hair gel from chia seeds and warm water?

The test
Sprinkled on porridge, chia seeds are like that friend who is annoyingly good at everything – they’re packed with soluble fibre (good for digestion) and also provide a whack of protein, omega-3 and -6 oils and vitamins. All of which made them a staple in the traditional Aztec diet and, in the past few years, a popular superfood too.

They have also become a DIY hair gel ingredient, particularly for curly and coiled-hair types. To make this, take 100g of chia seeds and heat gently with 300ml of water in a saucepan: they should start to become gelatinous after five minutes. Wait for the mixture to cool, then blitz in a blender and strain the gel by pushing it through a cloth or a clean muslin bag. I then scrunched a teaspoon of this into my wet hair, and left it to dry naturally.

The verdict
It did make my curls look defined, if slightly limp and feeling a little bit crunchy. I also tried using the homemade gel overnight as a “setting lotion” on my pincurls, and while it did set them initially, the curls dropped when I brushed them out later. But this could create definition on thicker, curlier hair. If you can be bothered to make it, that is – it involves quite a lot of fiddly work for not a huge amount of “product”.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaJ6RqLWqu81oaWlqYmS3triOa3Bom5Gjerq71GakmqOVYrWitdFmnp6kXZu%2FsLmMrZ%2BarF2owrGx0Z%2BmqJxdqMGivoytn55lk522onnSnpyd