Make Your own Jagua Gel
Jagua makes gorgeous deep blue stains that look like permanent ink! Like henna, it lasts a week or two so you can experiment without the commitment of a “real” tattoo.
Jagua is a tropical fruit, so allergies are not uncommon. We encourage getting a patch test before trying jagua. If you have any fruit or citrus sensitivities / allergies, you should not use jagua.
Making jagua gel is super easy and fast - start creating designs in 15 minutes!
MATERIALS NEEDED
Fresh, high quality ingredients will always give you amazing results! You’ll always get the freshest product when you buy your supplies from working henna artist (like us). Why? They’re the ones going through lots of product. Products on store shelves or at markets may be old, not stored properly and your results may be disappointing.
TOOLS
Small bowl or tall glass
Scale
Spatula (plastic & other porous materials may stain permanently)
Immersion/stick blender
Carrot bag or durable sandwich bag
Applicators (rolled cones or squeeze bottles)
Use a scale to measure your ingredients by weight, if possible. Your results will be far more reliable!
Use a stick / immersion blender for faster blending and a smoother gel
INGREDIENTS
Bulgarian lavender essential oil (Any high “terp” oil is OK)
Sugar (Basic table sugar is fine. Do not use powdered/confectioner’s sugar)
Xanthan gum
PROCESS
This recipe makes about 3.5 ounces of jagua gel (about 7 applicator bottles or 4-5 of our hand rolled cones).
Step 1
Add these to your bowl:
4g sugar (about 1 tsp)
2g xanthan gum (about 3/4 tsp)
1.25ml Bulgarian lavender essential oil (about 20 drops)
Use a spatula & mix together until fully incorporated. Alternate between stirring and then sort of “chopping” it together to get the essential oil to combine evenly throughout. It should look crumbly, like you see here.
Step 2
Add 100ml jagua juice to the bowl.
Step 3
Use your spatula to gently mix together. Within a few seconds, you’ll notice the powder underneath has begun to form a sticky gel.
Step 4
Begin mixing with the immersion blender*. Make sure it’s fully submerged , otherwise it can get very splashy! The mixture will be extremely thin and liquid-y at first.
*If you don’t have an immersion blender, keep mixing with the spatula instead. It may take quite a bit longer in step 5 for the gel to come together. Just be patient and keep going!
Step 5
Continue blending for 2-3 minutes. You’ll notice it thickening quite a bit. Once it seems like it isn’t really thickening anymore (around the 3 minute mark), you’re done! It should look similar to this video.
Fill up your applicators, and you’re ready to go! Store whatever you aren’t using right away in the freezer. Fresh jagua gel will last 6-12 months when kept frozen! Just thaw on the counter for 20 minutes or so, and they’re ready to use again.
Let me know how this went for you! Leave a comment below or send a message.