This natural beauty vlogger swears by this slimy hair mask for shiny strands

*Dry retches*

BEAUTYcrew Beauty Editor / May 19 2021

Look, don’t get us wrong, we love a DIY hair mask.

Whether we’re smushing a veritable truckload of avocados into our strands or cracking a literal egg onto our noggin, if it’s weird and wonderful we’re often willing to give it a go.

One particular DIY offering, however, has got us feeling some type of way. Because although it promises silky, shiny strands and the kind of root-lifting volume that would make us the envy of Pantene models everywhere – the slimy consistency of the stuff has left us feeling a bit ick, to say the least.

Beauty vlogger Brenda Blanco recently gave the flaxseed hair mask in question a try with a sweet and short 7-day trial. And while her results look stunning, we have to admit watching Blanco squirt copious amounts of translucent yellow slime into her hair did make us dry retch a few times. And although she has relatively straight to wavy hair herself, Blanco did recommend this mask for curly hair too, employing the help of her husband to demonstrate the curl-defining qualities of the mask after just one masking sesh, which you can see below:

Image credit: @brendablanco

Image credit: @brendablanco

So please, do not be deterred by the slime if you can stomach it. Simply repeat after us, “beauty is pain, beauty is pain”, and let us take you through how to make this shine-enhancing DIY mask for yourself. 

What you’ll need:

  • 2 & ½ cups water
  • ¼ cup flaxseeds
  • Glass Measuring Cup
  • Wooden Spoon
  • Pot
  • Muslin or Knee High Stockings  (for filtering)
  • Glass Jar or Bottle

Directions:

1. Add flaxseeds and water to pot and bring to boil (about 7-10 minutes), stirring often until the gel that forms is an egg white consistency.

2. Remove from heat and allow gel to cool and thicken for an hour.

3. Pour cooled mixture into muslin (or knee-high stocking) and strain into a glass jar or bottle for storing. Store in the refrigerator when not in use.

4. Apply mixture directly from jar to dry, detangled hair (or use a squeezable, applicator bottle), ensuring strands are coated from root to tip.

5. Cover hair with a shower cap or towel and wait for 30 minutes to an hour before rinsing out. Alternatively, if you’re applying in the evening you can wear the mask overnight. 

6. After rinsing out the mask, follow with your regular hair washing regimen, dry and style as desired.

Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).