Aloe Vera Leaf Gel as a hairwash

**ratgirldjh** · February 22nd, 2012, 05:09 PM

Hi

I've been doing versions of this for a while now. I've used FOTE and I've used LOTD gel and FOTE juice. All work pretty well but the FOTE builds up and the juice and the LOTD gel seem too acidic for my hair.

I am able to buy giant aloe vera leaves from hispanic stores here very cheaply and wanted to try the fresh but was unsure how to go about getting the juice/gel out of the leaf without mixing it in a blender with water - and then it is still chunks (that get stuck in my hair grrr) and liquid...

I searched and found this!

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=389667698773

I tried it and it works very well! (and it is sooo easy!) There seems to be more sapopins in the actual leaf - I get a bit of foaming going on (not much) and it definitely leaves my hair cleaner than the other gels/juice.

Has anyone else tried this? In the video he leaves it on for now... to wash out later... but I rinsed mine out after a few minutes.
And he is sooo hot

**JellyBene** · February 22nd, 2012, 07:05 PM

I couldn't view the video but I am very interested! would you mind giving me some written details of how this works? I have an aloe vera plant and would love to look into possibly using it to wash my hair!

**midsummernight** · February 22nd, 2012, 08:17 PM

Hi! Did you try to use the aloe as a hair gel? Do you think it would give a light hold or it that only possible with the commercial kind?

**Moor_tu_lyfe** · February 23rd, 2012, 05:14 AM

Woa- not wrong about the eye candy ratgirldjh!

I have used aloe vera juice- different brands then what you mentioned, but never got consistent results. This could be due to buildup, but never seemed to clean as well after the first or second time using it.

I actually bought an aloe plant, but the poor wee thing has a lot of growing to do if I was to harvest as much of it as they did! I have seen youtube videos of people using fresh aloe on their hair, but like Lenny, they have completely different hair to mine (read straight, prone to oiliness/stringiness).

I really don't want to use shampoo and have been trying a range of different alternatives. Getting my hair clean isn't a problem (soap nuts, baking soda etc all clean really well) but my hair dries out aLOT. Does the fresh aloe dry out your hair (with the extra saponins etc)? I know aloe is supposed to be moisturing, which is why I loved it sooo much the first time I used it and it effectively cleaned my hair!

Keep us posted on your progress, I'll be reading (and waiting for my wee aloe to grow!)

**ratgirldjh** · February 23rd, 2012, 11:37 AM

It doesn't dry out my hair at all! And it even removed the build up from the bottled aloe vera gel I had been using to wash with!

The way I do it is take a BIG leaf - like 1 foot long and 3 inches wide at the widest (or wider) and open it and scrape all the goo out into a cloth (like the video) and then just squeeze it into a bowl! The little pieces stay in the cloth and just the gel and juice comes out into the bowl. I sometimes have been eating the left over pieces in the cloth lol.

I apply it to dry hair and my scalp just drinks it up! Then I leave it for a bit and then go and rinse very well and scrub my scalp.

I had some scalp build up from trying to use the bottled gels and the FOTE (Fruit of the Earth gel) and this removed it the first use!!!

And it leaves my hair very shiny smooth and moisturized.

So far it doesn't seem to build up at all but seems to be removing build up.

The big leaves here in hispanic grocery stores are 99 cents each! I have some aloe vera but I hate taking their big leaves, so I usually just buy them.

Sometimes I can get VERY big leaves and they will work for 2 or 3 hair washings for my shoulder length hair.

I just stick my hands in the goop and rub it first into my scalp and then little by little do my whole head including the ends.

Aloe vera gel has never worked for me as a leave in. Here it is either very humid or very dry and goes back and forth and so my hair will go from bushy to curly to straight and dried out if I leave it in!!! But for washing my hair loves it so far...

eta: i never got consistent results with the juice or the gel in the bottles either... like you said first time great, then down hill from there... due to build up i think. the juice however seemed very acidic and drying to my hair. the whole leaf seems to be a totally different plant for me lol - maybe it is a different kind of aloe vera? my face even likes it and all the other aloe stuff has dried it out including my home plant.

i think the secret here is the way it is prepared - just squeezing the gel and juice out immediately. when i would use my plant before i would always just take a piece and smear it on... guess i was missing something in the middle of the gel when doing this.

If anyone else tries this - please let me know what you think! And I have medium fine slightly wavy hair that has really thickened up since I have been doing this!!! I mean now my ponytail is way thicker!!! And I can feel how thick my hair is on my scalp - it is getting harder to work oil or the aloe gel into my scalp because my hair is so much thicker!!!

**JellyBene** · February 23rd, 2012, 03:58 PM

Originally Posted by ratgirldjh

It doesn't dry out my hair at all! And it even removed the build up from the bottled aloe vera gel I had been using to wash with!

The way I do it is take a BIG leaf - like 1 foot long and 3 inches wide at the widest (or wider) and open it and scrape all the goo out into a cloth (like the video) and then just squeeze it into a bowl! The little pieces stay in the cloth and just the gel and juice comes out into the bowl. I sometimes have been eating the left over pieces in the cloth lol.

I apply it to dry hair and my scalp just drinks it up! Then I leave it for a bit and then go and rinse very well and scrub my scalp.

I had some scalp build up from trying to use the bottled gels and the FOTE (Fruit of the Earth gel) and this removed it the first use!!!

And it leaves my hair very shiny smooth and moisturized.

So far it doesn't seem to build up at all but seems to be removing build up.

The big leaves here in hispanic grocery stores are 99 cents each! I have some aloe vera but I hate taking their big leaves, so I usually just buy them.

Sometimes I can get VERY big leaves and they will work for 2 or 3 hair washings for my shoulder length hair.

I just stick my hands in the goop and rub it first into my scalp and then little by little do my whole head including the ends.

Aloe vera gel has never worked for me as a leave in. Here it is either very humid or very dry and goes back and forth and so my hair will go from bushy to curly to straight and dried out if I leave it in!!! But for washing my hair loves it so far...

eta: i never got consistent results with the juice or the gel in the bottles either... like you said first time great, then down hill from there... due to build up i think. the juice however seemed very acidic and drying to my hair. the whole leaf seems to be a totally different plant for me lol - maybe it is a different kind of aloe vera? my face even likes it and all the other aloe stuff has dried it out including my home plant.

i think the secret here is the way it is prepared - just squeezing the gel and juice out immediately. when i would use my plant before i would always just take a piece and smear it on... guess i was missing something in the middle of the gel when doing this.

If anyone else tries this - please let me know what you think! And I have medium fine slightly wavy hair that has really thickened up since I have been doing this!!! I mean now my ponytail is way thicker!!! And I can feel how thick my hair is on my scalp - it is getting harder to work oil or the aloe gel into my scalp because my hair is so much thicker!!!

This is so cool! So you just rub it onto your scalp, leave it for a few minutes, then rinse it out?

**ratgirldjh** · February 23rd, 2012, 04:01 PM

Yes. I am not sure whether or not it is better to leave it on longer - it seems to be harder to rinse off if it stays on a while or dries.

Usually I wet my hair first and squeeze it out and then apply it and scrub like shampoo and then rinse.

But I'm experimenting with putting it on dry hair and leaving it for a bit and then rinsing. Today I did this and I think that while it worked ok - I feel that the first method works better - but still not sure...

**JellyBene** · February 23rd, 2012, 04:03 PM

Thanks, I will try it next time I wash and post my results

**saera** · February 24th, 2012, 04:23 AM

My mom uses your method and her hair always comes out soft and clean =)
I tried this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdLGxA0LBqs except with eucalyptus oil and it also works pretty well, is easier to spread on my scalp and hair and leaves a tingly scalp

**ratgirldjh** · February 27th, 2012, 04:26 PM

Originally Posted by saera

My mom uses your method and her hair always comes out soft and clean =)
I tried this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdLGxA0LBqs except with eucalyptus oil and it also works pretty well, is easier to spread on my scalp and hair and leaves a tingly scalp

Very cool thanks! I am going to try it with my auryvedic oil. And also I might try putting it in the blender. I can see how you would get much more out of it this way - the other way some chunks never completely squish down small enough and it is just gel and juice.

eta: I was actually shocked the first time I used it because I had build up and I was too lazy to clarify first

and expected it to just stick to the build up and it didn't - it actually cleaned the build up off!!! It doesn't really 'lather' for me though... maybe a little bit.