Green Formulation and Evaluation of a Sustainable Herbal Hair Gel Using Curry Leaf, Flaxseed, And Aloe Vera Extracts: An Eco-Friendly Cosmetic Approach

The growing demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly cosmetics has encouraged the development of herbal formulations as safer alternatives to conventional synthetic hair care products. The present study aimed to formulate and evaluate an eco-friendly herbal hair gel containing Murraya koenigii (curry leaf), Linum usitatissimum (flaxseed), and Aloe barbadensis Miller (Aloe vera) extracts. Nine formulations (F1–F9) were prepared by varying the concentrations of the herbal extracts using Carbopol 940 as the gelling agent. The prepared gels were evaluated for organoleptic characteristics, homogeneity, pH, viscosity, extrudability, spreadability, in vitro antifungal activity against Candida albicans, and accelerated stability according to ICH guidelines. All formulations exhibited acceptable physical appearance, smooth texture, and good homogeneity with pH values suitable for scalp application. Among all formulations, F9 demonstrated the best overall performance, showing optimum viscosity (9502 ± 0.002 cP), excellent spreadability (20.15 ± 0.001 g·cm/sec), superior extrudability, and the highest antifungal activity with a zone of inhibition of 37.2 mm, which exceeded the standard control. Accelerated stability studies conducted for six months confirmed that F9 retained its physicochemical properties and biological activity without significant changes. The results suggest that the optimized herbal hair gel is a stable, effective, biodegradable, and eco-friendly cosmetic formulation with promising potential as a sustainable alternative to synthetic hair gels for promoting scalp health and hair care.