Shea Butter is not only great at sealing in moisture and keeping hair soft. It’s also a very effective aid to styling. It helps to hold manipulated styles such as twist outs, bantu knot outs and braid outs in place.

Shea butter helps to create definition like this bantu knot out.

You can either make a Shea Butter mix with oils and apply that on damp hair or add some gel for extra hold.  Here are some great recipes for you to try; the Shea Butter should be at room temperature or can be put out in the sun to melt slightly, you can then use a kitchen blender to mix all the ingredients together.:

Fragrant Shea

1 cup Shea Butter

1/4 cup Coconut Oil

1/4 cup Marula Oil

1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E oil

10 drops essential oil of your choice (I like to use Geranium, Lavender, Sweet Orange or Ylang Ylang)

The Coconut Oil helps to provide shine and Marula is great for holding styles in place.

Shea Aloe Butter

1/2 Cup Shea Butter

1/4 cup Oil of your choice (Avocado, Olive Oil, Grapeseed Oil and Sweet Almond Oil are popular examples)

1/4 cup Aloe Vera Gel

The type of oil you choose will be dependent on your particular hair type. If you are prone to product build up you might pick lighter oils like Grapeseed or Jojoba. The Aloe Vera Gel helps to provide that extra hold, it’s also a great conditioner.

Shea -Flaxseed Styling Pudding

Flaxseed also known as Linseed can be used to make an alternative to commercial gels which can be quite drying as many of them contain alcohol. As with a lot of homemade recipes it’s also very cost-effective. Flaxseed is available in most major supermarkets.

Make your own flaxseed gel.

To make the flaxseed gel you will need:

1 cup Flaxseed

4 cups water

Add the water and flaxseed to a pot and boil for about 5 minutes mixing continuously. Once you achieve the desired consistency separate the gel from the seeds using a sieve or stocking cap. Let the gel cool down and its ready to use. You can also add a few drops of essential oil and some vitamin E. This mixture will go off quite quickly so if you don’t have a preservative make only a small amount and keep it in the fridge. The gel can be used on its own but to keep your hair soft you can add it to Shea Butter.

To make the Flaxseed Shea you’ll need:

1/2 cup Shea Butter

2 tbsp oil of your choice

2 tbsp flax-seed gel

Apply the styling pudding to damp hair for maximum hold while twisting or braiding then unravel when completely dry.

This look was achieved by setting damp hair with a mixture of shea butter and flax-seed gel then using Curlformers.