Aloe Vera Wrap Up

In my previous post, there were some "disturbing" follow-ups (I am easily disturbed! :o ), so I wanted to do a kind of wrap-up to indicate that I am not some kind of new-age fanatic pushing the latest potion on you guys!

Summary of 2 weeks of Aloe Vera Gel experience:

1. Use as a Healing Agent

I have used the AV gel after sunburns and after irritation from shaving with a not-quite-shave-ready razor.

I *believe* that application at night results in a slightly faster healing process and my face felt quite nice the next morning. While the gel does leave a slight residue, it is not greasy and seems to disappear within an hour or so.

2. Use in Shave Cream.

I use Williams Shaving soap, and several other brands given to me as gifts. These are ho-hum shave soaps that do the job but are not particularly nice to shave with. Adding a drop of Aloe Vera Gel to these shave soaps made them outstanding shave soaps. All of a sudden the lather went from thin, and quickly drying to thick, creamy, almost sticky, and they really seem to hang in there better and moisturize the whiskers.

3. Use as a "stop-bleed."
This one is interesting. The first time I used it, it stopped the bleeding on two nicks pretty much immediately. The second time I used it, I noticed that under the dab of gel, the bleeding was continuing a bit, so it did not actually stop the bleeding like styptic.

The funny thing is that by the time I got to work, I checked in the bathroom and the nick was invisible and there was no blood. Compared with Styptic:

- A nick treated with styptic will stop immediately, unless it is deep. A nick treated with AV gel does not stop immediately but does stop within a few minutes.

- A small nick treated with styptic, especially if deep, is quite visible the next day, with irritation at the wound site. A small nick treated with AV Gel is nearly invisible the next day, the red, healing irritation around the wound is much less visible. Overall, the healing may not be speeded up, but the appearance of the cut is much better and the pain is much reduced.

I believe that for good bleeders, styptic can possibly exacerbate the tendency to scar. I have used Neosporin ointment, but it requires a band-aid keep it on the wound, as does petroleum jelley, etc.
The aloe forms seems to dry and form it's own kind of band-aid (which is not, however water-proof!!) but the effect seems to persist without the need for a band aid.

Note: I have not tried Aloe Vera on a deep cut that will not stop bleeding on it's own within a few minutes.

The biggest problem analyzing the healing characteristics is that it is anecdotal, my experience is not statistical, and could even be the result of a Placebo effect, so, it might not work the same for you.

However, I think it is at least worth a try. I used 100% Aloe Vera gel by a company called "Fruit of the Earth" (Yeah I hate the name, too.)

If you want to try it on the cheap, check out the travel/trial size section of Walgreen or Longs Drugs, or other drug stores. They sometimes have 1 or 2 ounce bottles for a buck or two.

I'd buy it just for the effect it has on the shave soap at this point.

Hope this helps,

Paul