What Are the Benefits of Aloe Vera for Hair?

February 08, 2019 Toia Barry

Aloe vera is mostly known in the beauty world for its skin benefits but it can also provide much help for your hair. Here are a few ways you can achieve healthier hair with this powerful and versatile plant!

Natural Conditioner

Aloe vera has been known to naturally condition the hair and help hair retain moisture. It does this by smoothing down the cuticle to seal the moisture within the hair shaft. This way the hair maintains its elasticity and is less prone to splits and breakage. The curlier the texture, the more it will crave moisture because the natural oils from the scalp don't travel down the hair shaft easily. Coating the hair with aloe as part of your deep conditioning routine or using aloe juice in your spray bottle mix can help keep your waves, curls and kinks feeling soft and looking shiny. If you learn that your hair has a high porosity (inability to retain moisture due to open cuticle), an aloe vera juice rinse can help close the cuticle layer of the strands to help you retain moisture.

Promotes a Healthy Scalp

An itchy, dry scalp and dandruff are not only annoying but can be quite embarrassing. Aloe can help! Aloe vera is naturally anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antibacterial. Active proteolytic enzymes in aloe vera repair dead skin cells on the scalp. All of these properties work together to help reduce dandruff, soothe and condition the scalp to prevent the dryness that leads to itching.

Promotes Healthy Hair Growth

The active enzymes in aloe vera gives it an exfoliating quality which help eliminate the dead skin cells that can build up on the scalp and clog hair follicles. This can ultimately preventing new hair from growing! With regular use of aloe as a treatment massaged onto the scalp, your follicles are free to take in the nutrients in aloe to help promote healthy growth of the hair. The pH levels in the hair and on your scalp are also balanced thanks to the alkaline nature of aloe vera. All of this makes for all-around healthy, thriving hair!

Below, watch how Savannah (@spstyled) uses aloe vera to give herself a nice deep treatment while using the benefits of steam with her Q-Redew to help open up the hair shaft and infuse moisture!