Okay! So the other day I saw a very interesting post on heyfranhey that I posted to my Facebook. She was talking about how she seals her hair with aloe vera and did a comparison between each side of her hair, one with aloe, one without. Now, the aloe side looked all kinds of smooth and shiny, and the other side was noticeably not as awesome (still pretty though). Initially, I figured that I would try sealing my entire length with oil rather than my ends only (as she referenced sealing), but…I didn’t really like that. My hair was much more stringy (although soft), especially when drying…so I was like..okay, so aloe vera can’t hurt (my hair generally loves aloe vera).
I went to Vitamin Shoppe and picked up a bottle of Aubrey Organics Pure Aloe Vera – it was only like $5.29. My hair was a bit frizzy today, especially because we had fairly high dews and I used Curl Junkie Smoothing Lotion as my leave-in. Here is a comparison pic of my hair before and after smoothing Aloe Vera on my dry hair (I was just testing, it’s not how I intend to use it all the time). The lighting is different, but I think you can see a difference in the frizz factor –
All of the styling products are the same – the only difference is that I smoothed aloe vera on my hair when I got home.
Now, because the main reason I personally seal is to decrease friction between my hair and clothing, I am still going to add oil to my ends. Aloe is going to be more along the lines of the finishing step for me.
I love playing with my hair and will be sure to keep you all updated!
xoxo
questfortheperfectcurl.com 
The after pic looks great! Do you think Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel would work just as well?
The gel would work differently because it is a different texture. I have used the gel to smooth down frizz before and it worked because it’s a gel though. I use it a lot for buns on second/third day hair.
Looks beautiful! Didn’t work for me. But with the results I see on others, I might have to revisit…
So are you using straight Aloe Vera Juice or Gel.. I read about this not long ago and decided to try aloe Vera juice and water as a spritzer…not sure if that was strong enough to seal?
Maybe something is wrong with my laptop, but even though both pictures look nice, I really like the before picture. 🙂
I have aloe Vera juice that I was using to mix up a leave in. Can I use the juice to seal with instead of the gel? Is there a difference? Thanks!
Hi Elle! I’m very new to your blog, but I have to say thank you! I have learned so much 🙂
So…I’m kind of a dork. I went to Whole Foods in search of some aloe vera. I passed over the Aubrey Organics bottle because I couldn’t remember which kind I was supposed to get. I found Jason Soothing Aloe Vera Moisturizing Creme (84%) with sweet almond oil and vitamin E. I’m pretty sure it’s hand creme but the ingredients compelled me to buy it. In any case, this stuff is amazing! It’s light and very absorbent. My curls literally sprung back to life before my eyes. A bit dramatic, I realize, but true! My hair loved it. I will definitely be using this aloe vera product as a sealer/moisturizer. Next time I’ll give the Aubrey Organics a try.
Thanks again for your great tips!
Anna
Hi Elle, thanks for the info 🙂 I tend to get “whitehead” when I use aloe vera gel with many of my products (as you’ve mentioned before) and was just wondering if you have a similar reaction with this aloe vera? Do you put it on with your hair still wet? Thanks
That is a huge difference in your pics. I started using Aloe Vera because oil was a no go for my super oily scalp. I don’t think it seals the same as oil, oil coats the hair, but with Aloe, my hair feels dryer, and it doesn’t “play well” with Ufd Curl Junkie, at least on my hair. But it is great for my scalp, I use it to seal after I put on my leave in, but then again it could be the Kinky Curly Knot Today, that it doesn’t want to be friends with. But I still use it. Did you use anything else besides the Curl Junkie Smoothing lotion? Maybe I am using the wrong combination of sorts.
Just used a gel with it, like I usually style my hair and sealed with oil.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this. I’m gonna give this a try and see how it works for my hair.
Aloe Vera is definitely good to use seeing it has a ph that’s similar to our hair. I’ve been using terressentials mud hair wash and the first ingredient is aloe Vera. I noticed a big difference using this vs shampoo – Giovanni tea tree, Giovanni golden wheat, carols daughter pops ertc. With terressentials my hair is more coily, easier to finger detangle, curls more from the root and just overall better looking. With other pops I could do a cold rinse after conditioning but those curls would be gone once I towel dry with a cotton t-shirt. So aloe Vera is definitely an ingredient in my arsenal for haute hair.
Yep, I love AV! Several of my fave prods have it in the top 5 ingredients.
My hair love AV too… just tried a gel from DB and love it! 2nd ingreditent I think is AV….hmmmmm I should have know. However, I think has wheat or soy protein…so for protein sensative people…not sure if it would work for them.
This is off topic, but it always jumps out at me when people ask a vlogger or blogger a question or make a comment adding “I have hair just like yours!”…as if that’s going to affect how you reply or your answer. Or do they just want you to know they think their hair is just like yours? And how do they know that just by looking at your hair when there are so many other factors involved. Just curious what you think or feel about the “hair twin” concept.
I’ve been using aloe Vera as my sealant for two weeks and will never go without! I get awesome frizz free hair with it. It closes cuticles so well!
thank you for sharing your experiences elle – i really appreciate it. looking forward to hear how this challenge works out. xoxo
This one isn’t a challenge, just something I’m trying out. Still focused on the rosemary challenge!
I have been doing this for a while. I can def tell a diff when I don’t use it.