Aloe Vera Gel - my holy grail? o_0

[Jas]

I was prompted to make this a thread and thought I'd get other people's views on this! It seems so random to me..

Last night I noticed quite a lot of dry scalp flakes and my hair was looking greasy (Wash day was supposed to be today). On impulse I figured I'd try using the aloe vera gel I have and spread it over my scalp/roots and massaged it in - I then left it in overnight.

Woke up this morning and I genuinely cannot find any flakes at all and my hair doesn't look greasy at all, my hair feels the same as normal too and not "crunchy" as I've read the gel can make it.


Anybody have any ideas why this has worked so well? I didn't really expect much at all so I'm really surprised (but pleased!). Wish I'd taken a before and after photo! I wonder how long it'll last until it looks greasy again.. I've never been able to stretch my washes beyond the third/fourth max day.

[AutobotsAttack]

Well Aloe Vera is packed with vitamins and amino acids. It’s a light moisturizer, and a slight astringent.
Very good for dry, or flaky scalps. So the aloe Vera probably gives you a bit of a boost to stretch longer between washes

[JennGalt]

Maybe it matters whether or not there are any additives in the gel? I've had an aloe gel get crunchy and flaky before (years ago, not sure of brand), but now I use LOTD and there's no flaking off or crunchiness.

[Trip]

Absolutely love aloe vera in my hair my favorite out of anything ive used

[Jas]

Good to know autobots!

Sounds like it's not an uncommon thing, I just haven't come across using it straight as a leave in before :D Perhaps now I'll be able to reach my goal of washing my hair weekly - fingers crossed

[CrowningGlory]

I have used straight aloe vera gel as an alternative to shampoo (only works as a one-time - I need to return to shampoo the next time my hair needs washing), mixed with my shampoo to keep my hair clean for longer (my preferred method), and, when we were in South East Asia for a time and showers were not exactly convenient, I would dilute aloe vera gel in water and pour that over my head each day (I needed the wet hair for temperature control!) and I could stretch washes way longer than usual.

I find that even if aloe vera gel makes my hair crunchy, a finger comb or light brushing removes that (unlike crunchiness from styling gel or hair spray).

[lapushka]

Which brand did you use? You do have to make sure it's a formula that has no lidocaine in it (which is often added to soothe sun burns).

I have no idea about why it did what it did. But good for you! Quite the discovery. :D If your scalp can take it and it's not itchy, wow. I would not be able to do that with my scalp. :)

[Jas]

Nope, no lidocaine - no itching yet at all. Brand is Classikool, just one I got off ebay.

I might do the same as you, crowningglory and alternate it. I wonder if it would work as well if I dilute it..

[lapushka]

I can't get over it! :) That is such a neat discovery.

I would try it but I have settled into a nice routine with my SD (seborrheic dermatitis), and I'm dreading messing with it. As a rule I can't put anything on my scalp besides shampoo (and medicated shampoo). In the past, I've tried oil, conditioner, rinses (herbs and ACV/lemon juice). It's always been that way that I can't go near my scalp with stuff, but I have never tried AV gel... I don't think I'll risk it though... Nope...

But I'll keep it at the back of my mind!!!

[Jas]

Me neither! I last washed my hair Tuesday and it's now Sunday, just had a shower and didn't wash my hair as it's still not looking greasy (and still no flakes). Day 5! I've never gone past day 4 before without it looking horrendous.

Do keep it in the back of your mind :D If you've got something that works for you no point messing about with it. It's funny how differently people's hair can react to products.

Katia_k tried it last night so I guess we'll see if it has worked for her when she gets online!

[chomsky]

Pure aloe is great for scalps! My nan has a plant and she used to cut some for my mum when her scalp was flaking. Cleared it up just as you described! They never did it with me because they never knew what was up with my scalp and didn't want to make it worse.

I googled the brand and it's pretty close to the stuff you just squeeze out of the plant. It's just got a small amount preservatives in it to stop it from going rancid. It's amazing for skin too, slather that on after being in the sun and it'll make any burns you have feel 100x better.

I can't think of pure aloe gel making hair crunchy though. It's goopy but I don't remember it setting hard like a "gel gel".

[Wendyp]

Oh I’m so gonna try this. I have started getting pimples on my scalp recently. Ughh. I don’t want to wash more. I love ronscrape aloe gel from one big leaf and 10 drops of essential oil sray in hair then braid sleep over night, best bouncy waives ever!

[Jas]

Glad to see it's not just me with this effect, yeah it probably helps that there's not many ingredients.

Give it a go WendyP! Try and go for one with less ingredients - I googled ronscrape and all it's coming up with is runescape lol. There's a blast from the past..

What essential oil do you put in?

[Nenyath]

Sounds like magic!

[MsMegMmk]

Pure aloe vera has been really, really helped but my dermatitis (face, neck, hands). My scalp loves it and it even is really moisturizing on my length.

[Kitke]

That sounds wonderful Jas! Does aloe also have a moisturising effect on the hair itself?

[Wendyp]

Glad to see it's not just me with this effect, yeah it probably helps that there's not many ingredients.

Give it a go WendyP! Try and go for one with less ingredients - I googled ronscrape and all it's coming up with is runescape lol. There's a blast from the past..

What essential oil do you put in?
Our grocery ‘publix’ carries big leaves!! I bought 2 huge ones today, one for the scalp treatment and the other for the spray! Can’t wait to use it on my scalp this week!

[Wendyp]

Glad to see it's not just me with this effect, yeah it probably helps that there's not many ingredients.

Give it a go WendyP! Try and go for one with less ingredients - I googled ronscrape and all it's coming up with is runescape lol. There's a blast from the past..

What essential oil do you put in?
Oh forgot to answe this part, I really like orange but I think any would work whatever scent you like.

[01]

Yeah, yeah I keep seeing aloe gel (from your own plant) mentioned both as moisturizer and remedy for oily hair. Beautyklove on youtube keeps mentioning it as well, it's traditional in her country to rub it into scalp.

I'm curious about one thing... It's from hot countries... Is it cooling? Like coconut oil?

I remember I also saw one vid of type 4 hair on WO regimen where flaxseed gel was mentioned as clarifying(???), that surprised me.

[Jas]

The gel I have did feel cooling but maybe that was just because it was wet :P I lasted for 6 days before it started looking oily, washed my hair yesterday and going to see if I can put the gel on day 3 (hopefully 4 if I can stretch) and last until next Monday before washing it again. If successful.. I've managed to double my wash stretches within 2 weeks!

Kitke yeah it seems to have done well moisturising, no dry scalp flakes even when it started looking greasy. I'm really surprised this isn't a bigger thing on LHC.

Never heard that about flaxseed gel :o

[Jas]

Hey guys! Thought I'd do an update to show the difference! (and to get validation that this magic isn't just my imagination lol). Click for bigger picture :D

https://thumb.ibb.co/kRpuOH/Untitled.png (https://ibb.co/kRpuOH)

[lottiealice]

Your hair does look shinier, healthier and neater. I love aloe vera gel for my length and ends, I usually run it through with my hands before braiding it and it just keeps my braids so much neater and shinier looking, my ends also feel softer.

I use the Pure Life brand after initially buying from eBay for my skin complaints.

[Pol]

I love aloe vera gel for my face and body (I make my own moisturisers), but I've never thought about putting it on my scalp! Both my hair conditioning spray (a ACV/herbal spray) and leave-in have aloe vera gel in them, so I know it works nicely on my lengths, but I've never experimented with the scalp before. I do get a flaky scalp on occasion so I'm going to give it a try and see if it helps! I wash my hair everyday and have never succeeded in stretching washes, so I don't hold out much hope it could help with that... but I'm certainly prepared to give it a shot! I also like to put a couple of drops of essential oil in to add a lovely scent (any type you like to smell basically), but I would be careful not to add more than 2 drops of essential oil per tablespoon of aloe vera gel to keep the dilution low (about 1%).

[lapushka]

I now am using a shampoo that has AV as its second ingredient after water, and before detergents. It's a nice one (one by Novalis). I like it so far. We'll see what it does throughout the week.

[MlleMC]

I decided to give this a try this weekend, but it did not work at all for me. Just like you, I applied the gel to my scalp before going to bed, but when I woke up, it actually looked worse than the previous day, and some parts were still moist. I figured that maybe brushing would help, so I tried. I didn't look any better, and I shed a ton (way more than usual). So this is a big fail for me.

[lapushka]

I was going to give you an update on the shampoo with AV that I am currently using.

I have SD, and sometimes I have a few flakes at my temples.

This shampoo has Aqua, then AV, then its detergents, so it has a lot of AV in it! I have no flakes. Guys, for the first time in a long while I have no flakes at my temples. It was just a few, not enough to break out the Nizoral 2% out over, just a few I'd get with a wash cloth or so, just maybe 3 to 5 each side, but when you have SD you know it's unpleasant.

And I like it. This shampoo is old though, so I need to use it up, otherwise I would have kept it for once in a while when I needed it (to combat just the few flakes to the sides of my head).

Yeah, I like it. If ever I find another shampoo with a lot of AV in its ingredients, I will not hesitate!

[Deborah]

So Jas, it sounds like you have found a way better than dry shampoo method for keeping your hair clean longer. Even if it does not work for everyone, it will probably work for many others. Way to go!

[Jas]

Yay! Glad it works for quite a few people :D Sad to hear it had such an effect on you MllMC.

[maborosi]

I love pure AVG for smoothing out my hair!
I'm happy that I live somewhere where I can grow it pretty easily.

[Pol]

I wanted to give an update on my experiments, in case it helps others thinking about AVG uses! So firstly, thank you Jas for this thread - seriously you've helped me find a very useful product for my hair! I tried three different things with AVG:

1. Scalp treatment - I have a very sensitive scalp and need to wash every day to keep it happy (I use a lovely very gentle shampoo - containing lots of AVG - coincidence? I think not!). Sometimes I get dry patches and flakes, but previously there was nothing I could do about it. I can put oils and conditioners on my scalp, but they cause a lot of shedding so I don't like to. I was having a dry scalp day when I read this thread and massaged quite a lot of AVG into my scalp about 1 hour before washing. It felt nice to do as it is very cooling and also easy to work into the hair. After washing my scalp was flake free and felt really nice - and my hair was extra soft too! In my opinion, AVG makes an amazing scalp treatment.

2. 'Dry shampoo' - after the first success I thought I would try using AVG as a dry shampoo. I put it on in the evening and left it overnight before brushing my hair (it did feel a bit crunchy, but this brushed out super easily). To my astonishment my hair did look clean in the morning (I start to look greasy by 24 hours, so this was really something!). The hair felt a little stiffer than normal (like I had a styling product in), but otherwise pretty indistinguishable from having been washed as normal. This is really very unusual for my hair - I have never tried anything else that has produced this effect. Unfortunately, throughout the day my scalp started to itch (which it does if I don't wash it daily), so I won't be attempting to stretch washes. However, knowing I have an option to make my hair look clean and nice if I can't wash for whatever reason is a really big deal for me.

3. Leave-in - I already use products with AVG in them, but decided to try using it neat onto damp hair after washing as a leave-in. I did use quite a lot and (given how much my scalp had liked it) all the way from root to tip. It massages in very easily and made no noticeable impact to my drying time. My hair is incredibly soft after this and I think it has a little more body at the root, which I really appreciate. I have fairly shiny hair anyway (for a blondette!), but I feel this has also increased shine. Basically, huge thumbs up.

So to recap - all of my three experiments were successful and I can use AVG to treat my scalp, clean my hair and as a lovely leave-in. Whilst I won't be repeating experiment 2 regularly, due to my tricky scalp, I plan to use AVG as a leave-in every day and as a weekly scalp treatment too. I'm going to do this for the next few weeks and see how I get on. If anything changes I'll report back!

Clearly AVG doesn't work on everyone, but I would really recommend people give it a try in case it works on you! I used an organic, very pure form - just with a couple of preservatives added - and plan to add a few drops of essential oil for scent in the future. Sorry for the long post, but I hope this was helpful.

[Jas]

Pol- that's a really helpful review, thank you and so glad it worked for you!!

[enting]

This is really interesting! I have a problematic patch on my scalp that hasn't yet gotten proper treatment (not for lack of trying, the doctor and I just haven't figured out yet what works for it) that I might try aloe on. I've applied a mix of aloe and oil to my scalp and hair before and it seemed to make things happy. I don't think I've tried just aloe on its own and paid attention to what it does before.

I think that's fascinating that it makes some people's hair cleaner looking/feeling. It makes sense after realizing that it's astringent, but I'd never have thought of it.

[lapushka]

I have been washing on and off with the Novalis AV shampoo. Gosh it does so well with my flaking. Like I mentioned before, its ingredients are water, then AV, only then the detergents follow. It is an awesome shampoo!

I last week tried the H&S dupe from Aldi, and got flaking back at my temples a little.

It's odd how that works!

But I definitely like AV!

[Flowerness]

Yeah, its funny but I've been experimenting with AV too! So far, I've tried adding it to my WCC, and adding it to my leave in. (I also tried adding it to LOCG, but that was way too much for my hair so it straightened it out some.) It has made my hair more moisturized, less frizzy, and it has brought out the wave and wurl, too. To experiment some, I skipped it when I washed my hair last night, and it had more snarls and the wave was less pronounced.

I'm really liking AV so far!

[Pol]

I'm still using it as a hair gel after washing - like Flowerness I find it makes my hair moisturised, with a more defined texture and just better behaved! I also like the result on my scalp so much I've started massaging a good amount on as a weekly scalp treatment prior to washing. So far, so great!

[Isobibbel]

0.o i need to give this a try!

[Starchild494]

Good to know, as i am allergic to lidocaine. I bought my own aloe vera plant to harvest in to conditioner. I call it Larry. :grin:

[Jas]

Sounds like it's doing it's job! Glad it's worked for you guys :D I've been slacking on using it recently and washing but I need to get back into this habit! It makes such a difference

[Glitch]

I tried aloe vera gel a few months ago and it didn't do anything (at least, noticeably), but I was trying it out with an SMT (which don't work for me). Maybe if I try it by itself some time it would be better!