Aloe vera products vs. fresh aloe vera?

[Obsidian]

Advertising 100% aloe is just a sneaky labeling trick. The formula might only have 5% aloe in it but that aloe is 100% so thats how its labeled.
Its deceiving and I wish it wasn't allowed.

Years ago, a hair dresser told me to toss out my conditioner and just use water with added aloe.
He had me fill a spray bottle with water and add a few pieces of aloe leaf, store in the fridge for up to a week before making a new batch. Spray on towel dried hair after every wash.

I never did stick with it, should try again if I ever get my aloe to actually grow.

[lapushka]

You have to read the ingredients' list properly and see what *really* is in there.

There are good brands out there, for sure.

I have heard the board-certified YT dermatologist Dr Dray explain about fresh AV. She said that because it's natural doesn't always mean that it is better. If you get it from a bottle, it has undergone a process of "purifying" the AV and that means that damaging irritants have been removed from it to make it hypo-allergenic.

So no, do not get it fresh would be my recommendation.

It will be fine on the hair, but if you are planning to put it on the scalp, I'd be careful.

[Entangled]

I don't have a lot of experience, but this made me think of Igor, of the blog Igor's Bell Tower, who is allergic to aloe but only if it's pressed with the skin; the flesh doesn't bother her, but since there's no way to tell from labels how the aloe was processed, she stays away from it entirely.

[ChloeDharma]

I find gel from the fresh leaf works far better for me than gel from a tube. I think it's because of the thickeners or gelling agents they add to give the gels that consistency. I have the powder and often have added that to mixes but as I'm not using it alone I can't really comment on whether it compares to the fresh leaf.
The liquid sold for internal use I have had great results with though. I've not used it as a styling aid like I have with the raw plant leaf but when applied to skin or hair it has felt very nice. Whether it quite does as good a job as the fresh leaf, maybe that depends on what effect you want but I suspect not but when the fresh leaf is not readily available or is unsuitable for reasons mentioned further up the thread then the food grade juice seems a good compromise to me.

[ChloeDharma]

Advertising 100% aloe is just a sneaky labeling trick. The formula might only have 5% aloe in it but that aloe is 100% so thats how its labeled.
Its deceiving and I wish it wasn't allowed.

Years ago, a hair dresser told me to toss out my conditioner and just use water with added aloe.
He had me fill a spray bottle with water and add a few pieces of aloe leaf, store in the fridge for up to a week before making a new batch. Spray on towel dried hair after every wash.

I never did stick with it, should try again if I ever get my aloe to actually grow.

Whenever I next get an aloe leaf I may try that, well adding it to an infused herb spritz but still. You know, that in a chamomile or calendula infusion would be really good for sunburn or irritated skin. Sorry to go off the hair topic but it just sprung to mind.

[MusicalSpoons]

Advertising 100% aloe is just a sneaky labeling trick. The formula might only have 5% aloe in it but that aloe is 100% so thats how its labeled.
Its deceiving and I wish it wasn't allowed.

Years ago, a hair dresser told me to toss out my conditioner and just use water with added aloe.
He had me fill a spray bottle with water and add a few pieces of aloe leaf, store in the fridge for up to a week before making a new batch. Spray on towel dried hair after every wash.

I never did stick with it, should try again if I ever get my aloe to actually grow.

Ew that's terrible! I don't think that's allowed over here ... Oh, the Fruit of the Earth one is sold on Amazon; there's an asterisk next to the 100% but the writing on the back is in white and I can't read it so I don't know what the asterisk is disclaiming.

Lily of the Desert does products that are only made with the inner fillet, and need refrigerating after opening. The ingredients for this one say 99.5% aloe, plus carageenan, citric acid and potassium sorbate.

[akurah]

Advertising 100% aloe is just a sneaky labeling trick. The formula might only have 5% aloe in it but that aloe is 100% so thats how its labeled.
Its deceiving and I wish it wasn't allowed.

Years ago, a hair dresser told me to toss out my conditioner and just use water with added aloe.
He had me fill a spray bottle with water and add a few pieces of aloe leaf, store in the fridge for up to a week before making a new batch. Spray on towel dried hair after every wash.

I never did stick with it, should try again if I ever get my aloe to actually grow.

That's not accurate.

If they advertise 100% aloe, it's aloe.

Problem is, they're not advertising 100% aloe, they're actually saying 100% gel. (go read the Fruit of the Earth aloe packaging to see what I mean)

If you look on the back at the ingredients and aloe is the first ingredient, and there are not any additional ingredients or there is not more than 1 or 2? Those 1 or 2 are preservatives and it's almost certainly 100% aloe.

If you look on a bottle advertising 100% gel, Aloe can actually be pretty far down. For example, this is the ingredients for Fruit of the Earth aloe vera: Tocopheryl Acetate, DMDM Hydantoin, Tetrasodium EDTA, Carbomer, Aloe Vera Gel, Triethanolamine, Diazolidinyl Urea

Notice how far down aloe is?

[Obsidian]

That's not accurate.

If they advertise 100% aloe, it's aloe.

Problem is, they're not advertising 100% aloe, they're actually saying 100% gel. (go read the Fruit of the Earth aloe packaging to see what I mean)

If you look on the back at the ingredients and aloe is the first ingredient, and there are not any additional ingredients or there is not more than 1 or 2? Those 1 or 2 are preservatives and it's almost certainly 100% aloe.

If you look on a bottle advertising 100% gel, Aloe can actually be pretty far down. For example, this is the ingredients for Fruit of the Earth aloe vera: Tocopheryl Acetate, DMDM Hydantoin, Tetrasodium EDTA, Carbomer, Aloe Vera Gel, Triethanolamine, Diazolidinyl Urea

Notice how far down aloe is?

My bottle of fruit of the earth says 100% pure aloe vera gel, the ingredients are different then yours though.



I won't use it on my hair, its for skin use only. I'll stick to fresh

[shelomit]

I only have meager experience with "aloe gel products" as fresh aloe ("sabila," as it is called) is very readily available where I live. I had always wondered exactly what was in these "aloe gels" people mention on here, whether or not it was the same as the plant's flesh. . . I guess the moral of the story/this thread is YMMV!

I haven't used aloe for my hair, but it is popular here for its juice and to put on the skin. Glad it is easy to come by here, whether from the grocery store or just growing in people's yards.

[poli]

I don't want to ruin my plants so I got powdered aloe leaf from Indian store, it works pretty well added to other herbs. I have to try it in SMT next.