Aloe Vera

[mollyL]

We've been mentioning aloe vera here and there so I thought I'd post this practical hint: get yourself a plant and then you have unlimited gel at a bargain price! If you live in the warmer climes, plant one near your kitchen or back door and it will be extra handy for you. If you live in the chillier zone, grow one for inside; it will thrive in the warmth, so grow it in the kitchen if you can. You can use aloe for cuts, scrapes, scratches, burns, skin problems and disorders. You can use it on your family and your pets as well. You'll find all kinds of uses for it and it will cost you nearly nothing.

[rubybeetle]

Great idea! They grow well. In fact I have an aloe vera plant that is growing out of its pot! Time to divide it up.

[Taggart]

That sounds like a great idea. Can you buy them in the usual florist shops?

I used to use aloe gel as a pre-shave prep for my face before applying shaving cream. I think it helped lubricate the skin, and helped to heal nicks as well.

[The right way]

You can get them nearly anywhere that plants are sold. I use them all the time. I know a woman who's daughter was babysitting a few houses away from their's and she burnt her chest making the baby's milk. She called her mom and a few minutes later I saw the woman running down the street with her big aloe plant. She plastered it all over her daughter's chest and the scars were all gone a few days later except a small area they missed with the aloe, so ever since then I have used them in my house.

[The right way]

I have no green thumb either, I can even kill silk plants, Just kidding but that is about how bad i am with plants but aloes seem really easy if you take a little care with them.

[HealthyasahorseHenrietta]

Aloe Vera is amazing, especially for burns! My teenage daughter came home from the beach one day and had forgot to re-apply sunscreen after swimming, I thought she may have ended up getting second degree burns but then we slathered her with cold aloe vera gel (the real stuff, which you can also buy bottled from a health food store) and she was fine the next day. Because it was cold it immediately stopped the burning from going further and helped it to heal.

[sandytan]

I love to drink the pure juice and getting all the benefits associated with this plant. I wish that we had the capacity to grow it like in Arizona, have enough to extract the pulp to drink it. At the quantity I drink, one plant wouldn't be sufficient.