Aloe Vera for Hair Growth:

Today we are going to learn a little about Aloe Vera Gel and it’s effects on your hair, skin and scalp. We will introduce you to Aloe Vera Barbadensis, the alternative medicine plant that is widely used in herbal remedies and holistic medicines. We’ll explain the benefits that the nutrients in this aloe vera for hair growth can have when you are dealing with temporary forms of hair loss, sun burn, eczema and other skin or scalp conditions. We’ll also link you to a few references as well as videos on how to use this amazing natural remedy.

Types of hair loss

First let’s talk about the different types of hair loss. You can reference one of our other posts with more details on the different causes of hair loss, but the most important thing to remember is that hair loss falls into 2 categories. Permanent Hair Loss and Temporary Hair Loss. Unfortunately there is no sure fire way to tell which one you have when your hair starts to shed. When it comes to permanent hair loss there may be no cure and you may need to research surgical options to get results. Be aware though that even the surgical options are not a sure fix. So it may be in your best interest to try different solutions as long as they are not too expensive or lack common sense.

Why does hair shed and fall

There are many causes for hair falling out. You can read this article on the 21 reasons hair falls out over at health.com.
You can summarize all these reasons into 2 main categories:

1. Environmental Factors
2. Genetic Factors

So yes, genetics can play a role in whether you will lose your hair but scientists still can’t say how much of a role it plays in permanent hair loss. Just because you have a genetic pre-disposition to be bald, doesn’t mean you will be bald. That old wives tale that if your mothers father was bald you’ll be bald; is just an olds wives tale. Unfortunately, it does however have some bearing on whether or not you are more likely to lose your hair. If that wasn’t confusing enough. The environmental factors for temporary hair loss are things most people face everyday:

• Physical Stress
• Pregnancy
• Medications
• Emotional Stress
• Illness
• Vitamin deficiencies
• Hormonal or Auto-immune issues

It’s no wonder that according to WebMD: by age 35 two-thirds of American men will have some degree of hair loss and by age 50 approximately 85% of men have significantly thinning hair. For women it doesn’t get any better with 21 million American women experiencing hair loss at a young age and 80% of women over 60 dealing with noticeable hair thinning. The numbers may be different but the emotional and physical toll that women face from hair loss is just as taxing if not worse than for men.

I personally suffer from hair loss and have tried many solutions and I’ll keep trying as long as I need to. But with that said remember Aloe Vera is not a magic cure, but it can be helpful in your journey. Here’s why:

Hair Growth Cycle, the natural process to growing hair

Hair goes through a natural growth cycle of 3 distinct steps that repeat in a loop.

1. Anagen Phase: the Active Growth stage
2. Catagen Phase: the Transition stage
3.  Telogen Phase: the Resting or Dying stage

What may happen is that the loop gets interrupted because of other environmental issues. And due to this interruption the loop does not reset. This disruption can be any of the life stresses described above, but it can also be due to physical stresses that you yourself or the environment is inflicting on your scalp.

When your hair growth cycle is interrupted, your hair will shed and new hair will not grow back. So you are stuck in the Telogen Phase or at least not re entering into the Anagen Phase. This doesn’t always mean that your hair follicles have died and cannot produce hair. It just means that for some reason their natural system has been disrupted and they are not producing hair in their normal cycle anymore. The growth cycle can also be interrupted by clogged pores and build up on the scalp that doesn’t let the hair grow.

It’s in these situations of Temporary hair loss that aloe vera may help.

Benefits of Aloe Vera Gel for hair, skin and scalp

Aloe Vera is rich in vitamins A, B, C and E, minerals and anti-oxidants that can help fight infections, inhibit the growth of certain bacteria, and moisturize and condition the skin and scalp. It is also used to accelerate the healing of burns.
http://ecowatch.com/2015/04/14/health-benefits-antioxidant-aloe-vera/

Aloe Vera Gel for hair growth

When it comes to stimulating hair growth there is contradictory data on how much Aloe Vera can really help. Common sense will tell you that it can’t hurt plus it may help. Not to mention that many people throughout history have preached that it does help. I personally tried it and you can read more about my experience in this post.

The premise for how aloe vera gel helps hair growth is simple:

1. Aloe Vera Gel helps to exfoliate the scalp by removing excess sebum and unclogging pores so that hair follicles can return to growing.
2. It also increases blood circulation to the scalp helping to bring the hair follicle the nutrients that it needs.
3. It conditions and moisturizes existing hair helping it to be more healthy.
   (This healthier hair will fall less than damaged hair.)
4. Aloe Vera can also help to diminish dandruff and eczema, this too will help to clean the scalp and provide a healthy environment to promote new hair growth.

Aloe Vera for hair conditioning and moisturizing:

There are many Aloe Vera Shampoos and Conditioners available from your local retailers or online stores. Whether these shampoos are any good or not are all personal choice and you can read reviews on them to see if they are good. Some of the things you should look for regardless of brand are as followed:

1. Is the shampoo sulfate – free? Sulfates are the lathering agents in shampoo that make bubbles when you use them. Unfortunately they are also very drying and damaging to your hair and scalp. So if you use a shampoo with Aloe Vera but it has sulfates you are just counteracting the positive effects of the Aloe with the negative effects of the sulfates.
2. Is the conditioner to heavy? Some conditioners actually coat the hair to make it look shiny and healthy. So instead of filling the hair with nutrients they just put a coating on your hair. That coating tends to build up and weigh the hair down, and it also tends to coat the scalp and clog skin pores. Try to use light conditioners that are rich in things like amino acids and vegan type moisturizers (thats moisturizers derived from plants).

So when you are evaluating shampoos and conditioners to use try to pay attention to all the ingredients and not just to the fact that it says it has aloe vera.

My introduction to Aloe Vera for hair growth (to combat hair loss)

My mother loves aloe vera for her hair, and at age 74 she has healthy beautiful thick full hair. She swears by a recipe for a serum that not only helps your scalp but also conditions your hair to make it look soft and shiny and not greasy. She makes this recipe and uses it nightly on her scalp and twice weekly all over her hair. She first did this for 6 months and it made a huge difference in the fullness and density of her hair. Now she continues the regimen because her hair looks great and it is now a habit for her.

I tried this recipe and technique for a few weeks, but it was too hard for me to make it a habit. Continuously making the aloe vera gel was a chore for me and I would forget to make it when it ran out. Since I would run out I was not very diligent on how often I used it. My experiment with this lasted about 3 weeks but it was too hard to keep it up.

As I said though I have seen many people have great success with this serum or serums with this same base. If you search on YouTube you’ll see plenty of people making this recipe in multiple languages from around the world. My mother is originally from Central America and her grand mother taught her how to make this gel as a conditioner. You’ll find the recipe below.

Make a batch and try to commit to it for a month. When you start to see some results try to make it to 6 months. It’s a commitment and If you do I am sure you will be happy with how your hair looks and feels. And if you are suffering from temporary hair loss, Aloe Vera Gel may be just the thing to help restart your hair growth cycle.

Aloe Vera home made serum recipe

• 2 Big Aloe Vera leaves
• 1/2 Medium Onion
• Water

 

Cut the aloe leaf into 6 inch sections

Then cut the serrated edges off of the leaf

Peel back the skin of the leaf leaving just the hard inner gel of the aloe plant

Next scoop out and place all the inner gel pieces in a blender

Add the diced onions to the blender

Mix on high to break down the gel and onions

Add water to make gel your preferred consistency

This should create a whitish and yellow clear jelly consistency hair serum

Using and Applying your Aloe Vera Gel Serum

Apply this serum directly to the scalp twice daily

You can also use this aloe vera gel mixture as a hair conditioner after showering.

Apply this gel mixture directly to the hair and massage through from roots to ends after shampooing.

Let the hair mask sit in the hair for a few minutes.

Rinse thoroughly to get all the gel out of the hair.

Conclusion

As you can see Aloe Vera can help your hair look and feel amazing while keeping it conditioned, moisturized, and protected. Because of it’s many vitamins and minerals it is also a great scalp treatment that may promote new hair growth for some that are suffering from Temporary hair loss.

While the scientific community still debates the benefits of Aloe Vera Gel; alternative medicine, ancient civilizations and even my mother and great grandmother have spoken about the benefits of using aloe vera for your hair, scalp and skin. As it is very affordable and readily available it may be something you will want to try if you are one of the many sufferers of temporary hair loss.

Have you tried Aloe Vera for hair growth to combat hair loss? Did it work or did you see any results? Are you going to make the Aloe Serum and commit to 6 months to see if it works for you? Let us know in the comments section. Send us before and after pictures. We’d love to see how things go for you. Thanks for reading and if you found this article helpful please share it on your social media and link to us from your web sites.

Disclaimer: All content on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this website and the information contained herein does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always consult with your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.