I’ve said about 587 times how much I love brows. I like big brows (and I can not lie) but with big brows comes the need to define and tame. Clear mascara would do the trick but I’ve yet to find a clear mascara that contains safe ingredients. As usual, I took to Pinterest and have been experimenting with proportions as well as stiffening ingredients and have come up with the perfect DIY brow gel for big beautiful, but well behaved brows!
This is an incredibly simple recipe. However, it does take at least 12 hours for the product to thicken and be useable. This homemade brow gel works like a charm and now one more makeup product has been made without having to purchase something full of chemicals!
Oh, and let me mention, if you choose to add a few drops of Rosemary Essential Oil, you are revving up circulation which helps thicken and accelerate hair growth! I also added a couple of drops of Lavender to help nourish the brows as well.
Gelatin in DIY Eyebrow Gel
Gelatin is used to thicken liquid. It’s commonly used to make jello.
I used THIS gelatin but you can use the more affordable kind at the grocery store that comes in packets as well.
If you opt for the higher quality gelatin, you can use it on my lip scrub recipe, peel off activated charcoal mask and DIY pore strips. Gelatin is also used to thicken soups and even make healthy gummies. It is very easy to use. In fact, I’m kind of thinking I might use it to thicken up fruit juice and tell my girls it’s jello! Gelatin is very healthy for you so it’s a win-win!
DIY Eyebrow Gel
1/4 cup Distilled water (distilled will cut down on future bacteria)
1/4 tsp. Gelatin (find it HERE)
1/2 tsp. sugar (optional)
3 drops Rosemary Essential Oil (optional) (find it HERE)
2 drops Lavender Essential Oil (optional) (find it HERE)
Directions:
- In a small bowl, thoroughly mix gelatin, sugar and hot water. The hot water helps to dissolve the sugar and gelatin.
- Using a small funnel, transfer your mixture to a mascara tube. Allow a bit of room at the top for your essential oils. Find everything you need HERE.
- Add your essential oils.
- Let set for 24 hours to thicken.
**The sugar is for more stiffness and hold. However, it will leave your brows feeling stiff. I’ve made many tubes of this gel and not until recently have I added the sugar. I prefer it with the sugar and like it for the hold.
The picture doesn’t really do justice to how it looks in person but will give you an idea of the stiffness and definition.
If you are looking to encourage more brow growth you might try out THIS easy 2 ingredients serum recipe or THIS more difficult but newer and improved brow serum. The latter brow recipe is what I sell in my Etsy shop and I actually have my before and after picture you won’t believe!
Also, did you know that you can easily dye your brows at home? Dyeing brows can instantly thicken up your brows. It’s not a natural option but a necessary evil for me. I’ve written an in-depth post on how I dye my brows at home. I used to work in spas as an aesthetician and was trained professionally. I know personally that it’s one of those salon procedures that you can do at home as long as you have the right products.
I must say that this is one of my favorite makeup DIYs. I use it daily because it makes a big difference. I use it with THIS brow gel and find it doesn’t smudge or remove it.
For more makeup DIYs go HERE including my recipe for mineral makeup which I use daily!
xx, Jenni
PIN IT!
I am definitely going to be making this! What do you think about adding a little bit of brown oxide to it? Do you think that would work on helping add a bit of colour too or do you think it wouldn’t mix very well?
Windy-AMAZING idea!! Yes, try it! I think it would take a bit of extra mixing but I think it will work! Keep me posted!
So I tried it and it was a complete fail! Haha. Apparently oxides and water don’t mix – they just become suspended in the water. They only mix well with oils. Activated charcoal on the other hand mixes well in water but that would be too dark for my brows. I still like using this brow gel even without the added colour!
Windy! Thanks for following up! That’s too bad that it didn’t work! Shoot!
Maybe you could try using strong brewed tea for the water? I have blondish brows so would not want darkening, but it might be worth a try if your brows are darker.
How much water?
Adriana-1/4 cup.
Try cacao
Would vegetable glycerin with aloe gel and oils work for this?
Ashlynn-I’m not sure-I stick with castor oil because it is known to have great effects on growing hair. Also, Rosemary oil is known for it’s abilities with thickening and growing hair. Glycerin I don’t believe would have any effect on hair. Aloe would help nourish but I don’t believe it would be worth your effort.
Hi Jenni, Great idea! Does the gelatin start to melt in the middle of the day? I was thinking about trying this for a clear mascara. With my experience of making hairgel out of gelatin and water, it would become clumpy and hard to apply. Thanks?
Jess, I don’t know if it does! This is one of my favorite DIYs and has worked really well for my brows. It is so easy to make too. I think it would be worth a try and if it doesn’t work you could just use it on your brows.
I have tried the recipe minus the essential oils as a mascara, especially at night to nourish and strengthen my eyelashes and find it works very well.
When making this recipe, I whisk the gelatin into the water and let it “bloom” before I heat and whisk again to completely dissolve it on the stove. I find it works better that way after it sets.
Vegetable glycerine will help keep draw moisture to your lashes only if it’s diluted properly otherwise it will actually dry them out.
Kate-Very Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Hi! thanks for posting this! I really want to try out the recipe… just confused about one thing. In the blurb on my google search it said, “just using water, glycerin, and essential oils…” but in the actual recipe you use gelatin. Plus, at the end you said add some glycerin if it’s not holding. Did you mean more gelatin? Or is glycerin really another ingredient to add? Thanks!
Amanda-It was probably a misprint on my part! It’s definitely gelatin-that’s what adds the stiffness! No glycerin needed! Sorry!
Thanks for your quick reply!!
Hey I really want to try this recipe but I am unsure where to buy gelatin. Any suggestions?
Alexandria-Hi! You can find gelatin at the grocery store probably in the jello section!
Hi Jenni, thanks for the great recipes. In all your pictures you always use Spark Naturals essential oils but your links are directed to Mountain Rose Herbs. Is there any reason or quality difference? Thanks!
Mina-Thank you!! Yes, I used to use Spark Naturals and was an affiliate of their company. I like their oils still but they altered their program so I decided it was time to simplify where I was getting my ingredients and go with Mountain Rose Herbs since I get the rest of my ingredients there. Plus, their oils are actually organic which hardly any company claims that. While I loved Spark, MRH has been a really positive change. I highly recommend their essential oils!
Hi there! I just had a quick question. Does the gelatin make your eyebrows all stiff or can you reapply the eyebrow product throughout the day without added extra crunchiness?
Jamie-It’s been so long since I’ve made this-If I remember correctly, this makes your brows pretty stiff. I never reapplied it through out the day so I’m not sure if it would work or not. Sorry!
Hi! How would you make this into soap? Would you just add glycerine? I love the soap brow method, have you heard of it? It keeps your brows in place all day.
Veronica-I’ve heard a tiny bit about soap brows but not enough to know what they are! I’ll look into it more!
Hello good time. I am Sara and I am from Iran. I intend to make handmade gel for eyebrow lift. Can you help us? What gelatin should I use to make eyebrow lift gel? Animal or plant? Does it have a material that helps improve the quality and durability of my product? Thank you in advance for your response.
Sara-Hello! I can not help much with your questions. This DIY does not last for long. It tends to go watery after a month. I use beef gelatin. I wish I had answers so I could improve my recipe. Best of luck.