How to Use Aloe Vera as a Conditioner

So you’ve heard that aloe vera is a magical fertilizer for growing hair like Rapunzel. But how do you actually use the sticky plant goo as a conditioner?

I’ve tried a few different methods for using aloe vera as a conditioner, and there really is no wrong or right way to use aloe vera gel. It depends on your hair needs, whether you are using fresh aloe vera or commercial products, and how much time you usually spend on your haircare routine.

In today’s post, I’ll walk you through a few different methods of applying aloe vera to your hair, so you can discover which method works best for you!

Substitute for Regular Conditioner

The simplest way to use aloe vera as a conditioner is to replace your regular hair conditioner with aloe vera gel. For this method, you will apply the gel in the shower after your shampoo just like your usual conditioner.

But there is one difference: make sure to apply the aloe vera to your scalp as well.

Commercial conditioners are made to hydrate and nourish your hair strands, but they shouldn’t be applied to your scalp, because they can cause product buildup at your hair roots. Plus, commercial conditioners tend to have chemicals that shouldn’t be absorbed into the skin.

Aloe vera, on the other hand, is nourishing and cleansing for your scalp. It also differs from regular conditioner in that you can leave it in your hair. You don’t have to rinse the conditioner out, because there is no risk of product buildup. How awesome is that?

Or maybe not. I personally still recommend rinsing out the aloe vera.

Why?

Fresh aloe vera straight from the leaf can leave behind small flakes after soaking into your hair and scalp. While this isn’t bad for your hair, it may look like your scalp is flaking. This hasn’t been everyone’s experience, so feel free to try it out, but that was a big turn-off for me!

You can buy commercial aloe vera gel instead of using fresh aloe, but make sure the gel doesn’t have any chemicals that might damage your hair. If you’re not sure what to look for, click here to read my basic guide to ingredients in aloe vera gel.

You can also mix your aloe vera gel half-and-half with your conditioner if you don’t want to entirely replace your product with aloe vera.

Leave-in Conditioner

Aloe vera works just as well for a leave-in conditioner as a regular conditioner. For the leave-in method, you will want to use an aloe vera spray instead of a gel. This makes it much easier to apply while your hair is dry, so you are not trying to spread globs of gel through dry hair. (I’ve tried it…and it really doesn’t spread well.)

It’s also much faster to apply spray aloe vera, so you can use it to spruce up your hair on the fly if you are in a hurry.

As a leave-in conditioner, aloe vera will help you detangle your hair and minimize frizz. If you’re the kind of gal who likes to keep your car windows rolled down like me, spray aloe is perfect for taming windblown hair.

I go into more details about using spray aloe vera in this blog post.

You can make your own spray at home by tossing fresh aloe in the blender, or you can buy a commercial product. If you do make your own leave-in conditioner at home, you can mix the aloe with essential oils for fragrance, or other oils to optimize hair growth. Click here for my list of top hair growth oils to blend with aloe.

Aloe Vera Hair Mask

Hair masks differ from conditioners in that the hair treatment lasts much longer – sometimes several hours or even overnight. Depending on your hair type and scalp health, you may not need a hair mask at all. If your hair is already healthy, a regular conditioner should be enough to maintain your hair.

However, if you have damaged hair, poor scalp health, or you are simply trying to boost your hair growth, then hair masks are a great way to deep condition your hair.

You can use fresh aloe vera as a hair mask, or you can blend the aloe with other moisturizing and nourishing ingredients such as

• honey

• rice water

• coconut oil

• egg

• avocado

There is a lot of debate as to how long you should leave a hair mask on. In the end, it just depends as to whether you are applying the mask to wet or dry hair.

If you are applying your aloe vera hair mask to wet hair, just apply it in the shower in place of a conditioner and let it soak for 5-10 minutes. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t really think of this method as a hair mask, since it’s just regular conditioning your hair with aloe instead of commercial conditioner.

For a ‘real’ hair mask that you can leave soaking for several hours or overnight, apply the aloe vera to your hair while it is dry.

Serum With Hair Growth Oils

Lastly, you can use aloe vera and hair growth oils to whip up highly effective hair growth serums.

While a hair growth serum may not technically be a conditioner, an aloe vera serum is still highly moisturizing and nourishing, so I think it still counts!

Like hair masks, serums are very optional in your haircare routine. If your hair is healthy, you probably don’t need to use a serum. But if you are trying to boost your hair growth, applying an aloe vera serum to your scalp is one of the best methods to make sure your hair follicles are healthy and nourished for optimal hair growth.

When making an aloe vera serum, you can pick and choose complementary hair growth oils based on your haircare needs. For example, if you have a dry scalp, you can pair aloe vera with argan oil for a highly moisturizing serum. If you are looking to enrich your hair with more protein and fatty acids, you can pair aloe vera with castor oil.

For more info on how to combine aloe vera with hair growth oils, go to my guide on six oils you can pair with aloe.