We've seen the likes of Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber and Zendaya rock the slicked-back bun, and now, obviously, we want the same. But what if you could achieve the classic ballerina glossy smooth bun, whilst at the same time nourishing your hair to heaven and back?

TikTok has recently become obsessed with the slicked-back bun, made popular in the 90s by the super-models of the time like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell (any Nineties babies here? We're a dying species.) This culminated in the "Olapex bun" trend, where folks slick back their hair using Olaplex No.6orNo.7, into a low chic bun.

This is an especially great hack for the days leading up to your hair wash day when your strands are looking a bit dull and lacklustre. You can hydrate and condition your hair, whilst also pulling off that sleek model do. Win-win.

But what if we told you there was another way to achieve glossy locks without spending loads of money on Olaplex products?

Recently, a TikTok beauty guru by the name of @mypawfectfamily posted a viral TikTok claiming that she had a DIY hair mask better than the Olaplex bun - a flaxseed gel mask. It's fair to say, we were intrigued, especially as flaxseeds are so cheap to buy online and in-store.

A DIY creation stemming from Desi culture, the flaxseed hair mask is made by boiling flaxseeds in water until a gel-like formula is created. You can add any essential oils you wish, and use the gel both to style and nourish your hair.

The science behind it all? Well, flaxseeds are choc-a-block with proteins, vitamin E, fibre, omega-3 fatty acids and anti-inflammatories, which means by using it on your hair, you are strengthening, hydrating, repairing and soothing, whilst also encouraging hair growth. It can also help your curl patterns if you've been blessed with ringlets. It truly is the hair mask GOAT.

I decided to test out the DIY recipe myself to see the results. @thepawfectfamily didn't put much info on the quantities or steps in her video, so I did some outside research and found some great help on Byrdie.com. Here's the how-to, and the anticipated results...

TikTok's viral flaxseed hair mask/styling gel: How-To

Here's what you'll need:

¼ cup or 32g flaxseeds

2 ½ cup or 600ml water

Essential oils of your choosing

I chose to use two drops of lavender oil (which helps promote hair growth) and two drops of tea tree oil (which helps soothe the scalp).

Step One

I popped the flaxseeds and the water into a pot, brought it to a boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Be sure to stir often so the seeds don't stick to the pan. Stirring also prevents it from over-boiling and bubbling over.

When you take the pot off the heat, you want the mixture inside to be a similar consistency to egg whites. Or alien goo.

Step Two

I left the pot off the heat for one hour, giving it time to thicken up even more.

Step Three

Next, I took some old (clean) tights and cut the legs off it (didn't like them anyway, so no hard feelings). I put the gel created by the flaxseeds inside the leg of the tights and strained it through the foot part at the bottom, which purified the gel and removed the seeds. You can do this twice if you'd like to make sure the gel is properly strained. Plus, it's super fun.

If you don't want to sacrifice any tights to the gods of TikTok, cheesecloths are super cheap to buy and you'll have plenty of use out of them in the future.

After I strained the gel, I placed it into a glass container and added my essential oils - and that's it!

Flaxseed gel mask results

After placing the mask in the fridge for a couple of hours, I was ready to use it. After shampooing my hair with a cleansing shampoo, I used a fine-tooth comb and distributed the DIY gel mask through my hair- and wow, was it sleek.

Once I'd tied my hair back into a bun, the gel hardened a little, and when I tell you not a hair budged, I mean it. This flaxseed gel is legit amazing. It is perfect for creating that Bella Hadid glossy bun, and I could ✨feel✨ it nourishing my hair.

I left it on all day, and at the end of the day, washed it out and applied my usual deep conditioning mask (my favourite is the Noughty To The Rescue Treatment Mask- it is incredible).

My hair feels the softest it's ever felt, and I'm genuinely shocked it could feel that good. I have super thick hair, so it's really hard getting super silky hair without using up a whole bottle of conditioner. Therefore, I'm really glad I have this mask under my belt to use in the future; as a treatment mask, but also as a styling gel if I want to embrace my inner Nineties child. It's now stored in my fridge, ready to go. This TikTok hack is 100 per cent approved.

Go on, try it out for yourselves.

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Main image credit: @mypawfectfamily