By Curtis Alexander, Pharm.D.
America’s Natural Pharmacist
Summary: Aloe vera shampoo has risen in popularity because it is perceived as a very natural product and is also capitalizing on aloe’s long and safe reputation. Most aloe vera shampoos appear to safe and relatively inexpensive and might be worth a try. A lot of reviews report satisfaction as well as improved hair appearance after use. Some product do contain harsh chemicals like parabens.
Dear Curtis: Do you think an aloe vera hair shampoo is really any better then other shampoos? I’m not really looking for any super-healing properties, but I heard that shampoos that contain aloe vera can make your hair look softer and silkier. Just wondering …
My Answer: While there have been some reliable studies looking at aloe vera for wound healing and so forth it’s been tough to come up with anything reliable regarding aloe’s effect on your hair. Also, from a lot of the products I see online and in the stores it’s clear that manufacturers of aloe vera shampoos appear to be doing it mostly to capitalize on the use of the words aloe vera to make the shampoo seem better than what it actually is.
Now, before I get into specifics there are some reliable reports from aloe vera users trying to improve their hair growth who apply raw aloe vera directly onto the scalp – not in an actual shampoo formulation.
Aloe Vera’s Effects on Your Hair
We know that one of the things aloe vera does is act as an antibacterial when it comes into contact with your skin. Theoretically, this should have some benefit if you think you might have excess sebum which could be clogging your hair pores. Also, aloe is loaded with a lot of nutrients – including vitamin A, B’s, C and E as well as over a dozen minerals. Obviously, this is beneficial to anyone’s scalp. In addition, aloe is loaded with water and moisture which can help moisturize your scalp.
But, like I said above, there isn’t a whole lot of reliable evidence to show that these effects can continue when you mix and dilute aloe into commercial shampoos that contain a lot of other products. In fact, one of the ‘knocks’ – if you will – against so called ‘organic’ aloe vera shampoos are the fact that they contain parabens as a preservative.
One product that I ran across right away, Jason Aloe Vera Shampoo claims to not contain any parabens. On a side note, this product also contains other natural ingredients like chamomile, lavender and spirulina (among others). So, if there is benefit I don’t know if you can totally contribute it to the aloe.
After looking at everything I guess this is what I’d say about using any sort of shampoo with aloe vera:
- It’s worth a shot and I certainlly don’t think it’s going to hurt you. Aloe is extremely safe with a long history of use.
- Keep in mind that a lot of users claim that the aloe shampoos don’t ‘foam’ as well as normal shampoos that you might be use to so some users find that frustrating.
- A lot of the reviews I did read mention that their hair after use did seem shinier and fuller. I don’t know how reliable you might consider this but I’ve learned from over 10 years of working with medications and supplements that a lot of time individual reports like these are often seen in many other users. Of course, some of these people might be experiencing more of a placebo effect.
- The Aloe Vera Shampoos that I looked at really weren’t all that expensive (at least compared to some of the stuff my wife has bought before) – so I don’t think you’d be out anything by giving it a shot.
- If you have an actual aloe vera plant you might want to try applying some of the raw aloe vera gel to your scalp and hair first to see if there is any improvement.
