sugar syrup
aloe vera gel
ummm i'm not much help

how come your natropath advised against xanthum gum and carrageen?

Apart from Miessence (which my hubby stopped using because by the end of the day it went powdery and looked like dandruff!) the only other one I've found is this (havent tried):

http://www.outofeden.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=543

But it looks like it has the ingredients you were advised against.

Hmmm. Aloe Vera gel comes to mind. Im not sure if it would go hard but it could be worth a try.

Yeah natural hair is much nicer. When I was a teenager all the boys seemed to love their spikey hair! I found it rather disgusting, especially when it goes all flakey.
That being said, teenagers are well.. teenagers and they tend to want to fit in and look "cool". I'm sure he'll get older and wonder what he was thinking lol, but for now that is great Eve that you are not resorting to putting chemicals on his head and that you are looking for alternatives. So good on you!!

As xanthum gum and carrageen are the most popular thickners for "natural skin care", you may have to resort to making your own.

xx evc

you know what?  when i was younger i used to HATE my hair.  it was such a problem for me.  I was so bent out of shape about it.  I let it get so out of hand that it was like...  I was soooo sad about it.  every day it was just such a huge frustration in my life.  I was soooo insecure about it.  as soon as i stopped trying to control it and just let it flow things got better.  i also use a vegan organic shampoo now which has helped so much.  i really think that i have nice hair.  it is black, and shiny, and very thick, and i have soooo much of it on my head.  however growing up in a school and community where just about everyone was blonde and white, i wanted the thin straight blonde hair everyone else had.  so i can understand.  out of school i always wore hats, lol!  honestly there was only one dark skinned person in my entire school growing up, and maybe two or three in my jr high in total.  we want to fit in because we want to relate. 

one time i dated this boy with this huge curly wild hair.  it was big and thick and long and beautiful.  he just let it go wild.  man, it was so sexy<3 

I stopped using shampoo a little over 4 years ago and since then I am able to do whatever I like with my hair and make it stay - without using any product.  I have no problems getting my hair to stick up 10cm or higher if I comb it that way when it's wet.  As a bonus my hair doesn't look or feel greasy like it would if I used gel.

hair is awesome! 

in the dragon ball series, a saiyan does not cut their hair. 

of course i must relate everything to cartoons and comics.  u_u  <3

wise.