Aloe and behold!

While growing up, I watched my mother going about her beauty regimen. I idolized her and thought she was the most beautiful creature in my universe.  I noticed that she always had this long, green petals that she called  sabila (local aloe vera) in the fridge.  After she washed her hair, she would rub the pulp on her scalp and a sticky juice would ooze out.  A light scalp massage would follow to make sure that the scalp absorbed the magic potion.   She believed that sabila stimulated hair growth and stopped falling hair.   Her hair was her crowning glory and she wanted it to stay thick and full. To her credit, today in her late 80s, she still has her hair in full glory.

A beauty salon that I patronized till 2001 also offered sabila treatment  for those who wanted it after their shampoo. I noticed that many ladies went for the treatment and swore by it.  They told me their falling hair stopped and new hair growth started to appear.

I once again gave aloe vera a thought when  naturalnews.com had an article about its many benefits.   Now, I know that 6,000 years ago, Egyptians referred to it as “the plant of immortality,” due to its effective myriad uses, from baldness to skin diseases, sepsis, and cancer.   This is because aloe vera plants produce phytochemicals with antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and antioxidant properties.   The ancient Egyptians considered aloe vera as a super food,  a miraculous cure-all.   It supposedly provides a huge amount of vitamins and minerals, and regular consumption of the aloe vera juice supplies the body with the eight essential amino acids that rebuild the cells, plus a wide range of enzymes. 

I thought of calling Bettina Osmeña, managing director of Organic Basket, exclusive distributor of American Global Health Group products.  During an all ladies’ luncheon, she introduced to us one of their products, Aloe Cure Juice, a drink that she is touting as a health juice, citing all of the above benefits.  She reiterates that Aloe Cure is good for hyperacidity, bloating, flatulence, constipation, peptic ulcer, and also makes the skin luminous.   She concurs with naturalnews.com that if taken internally, aloe vera also relieves hemorrhoids and other ailments of the colon, stabilizes blood sugar, reduces triglycerides, eliminates UTI and prostate problems, oxygenates the blood and promotes a healthy circulatory system, thus strengthening the heart, acts to protect the body’s immune system, destroying bacteria and slowing down the aging process. It is also an excellent general detoxifier for the entire system, helping to establish a healthy alkaline pH.  Likewise, one can also use it as a gargle — swishing with it promotes healthy gums. It also reduces inflammation throughout the body, especially in the joints and muscles, and restores tissues to  their original state.  With all of the above medicinal benefits, no wonder the Egyptians refer to aloe vera as a super food and plant of immortality.

Organic Basket also has its Aloe Derma Hair Care line, which I think shows a lot of potential.   I am constantly on the lookout for healthy hair products because hair is a woman’s crowning glory and I would like to keep my hair as full as it is today until the twilight of my years. 

To ensure that her products are certified, I got a background check of AGHG  where Bettina gets her products.

The company, which is based in Seattle, Washington, owns and operates its very own vertically integrated  aloe vera plantation and processing plant in Taishan, China.  What sets them apart from other aloe vera companies is their international organic certification from Ecocert, one of the most stringent organic certifying bodies in the world.  They use state-of-the art processing designed by German engineers.  Their finished products are bottled and packaged within four hours of harvesting their organic aloe vera plants.

I went to Organic Basket and bought a shampoo, a conditioner, and a hair tonic.  Most cosmetics and shampoos, which claim to have aloe vera in their shampoo, only contain one to two-percent of reconstituted aloe vera powder.  All of the Aloe Derma hair products contain up to 40-percent pure aloe vera juice. 

I tried the shampoo and it made my processed hair (dyed, curled, straightened, etc.) soft and manageable.  The leave- in conditioner kept my hair hydrated.  As for the hair tonic, which is made of 99.8-percent pure aloe vera juice, I rub it on my scalp every night so I am waiting a few months for the desired results. 

Many of us over process our hair and we end up with dry hair.  Their products are designed for ladies who process their hair.  A friend of mine with thinning hair showed me all her new hair growth as a result of the Aloe hair tonic. Her hair growth was impressively substantial.  I will give this hair tonic to my mom so she does not have to buy and store sabila anymore.  This will simplify her life!

Their hair line is well priced at P350 for a 260ml bottle of shampoo and the same price for the conditioner. The hair tonic is only P215 for 110ml. — Source: naturalnews.com, wikepedia

* * *

Interested parties may call Organic Basket at 888-2463 or 819-2563.