Aloe Vera

Hello there, am just about to start up my dreads with aloe vera. Iman Africanhave about one and half inch hair and was thinking of twisting with the aloe for over a week and see if i will end up having then twisted and tight. But got bothered when i just read that it should be washed out after 14 hrs! Lol! My problem is how do i get my dread held tight from the beginning please and thanx in advance to the big bros and sists there for their help!

updated by @franklin-adotei-akwei: 07/13/15 09:19:38AM

I find either snapping a leaf off and squeezing at the bottom, or using a toothpick to cut a clear line then squeeze it out that hole works well.

I use a rolling pin, from the tip to the open end, on a piece of plastic wrap.

interesting idea! never thought of that

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

slice the two sides with thorns of in thin slivers then slide blade/knife between front and back of leaf to cut it in 2 halves. Now just scrape the gel onto a dinner plate, put through a fine mesh sieve to remove lumps or green material then into a jar with 1/3 volume water and a few drops of lavender oil, keeps in the fridge ready to use for ages.

Dave, thank you so much for the instructions! I remember my mother, when I was child and tripping over everything getting scrapes and boo boos, trimming off the spines and cutting the leaves in half exactly like you described. Get this: then she'd take one or both halves of the leaf, depending on how big the boo boo was, and tape it down direction on my skin(slimy side to the skin) with athletic tape. My boo boos never stood a chance of infection. She'd swap out the aloe leaves twice a day. Aloe leaves taped down like this work wonders on sprained ankles and sore tendons/muscles.

But if you're going to use the leaves on a boo boo like this make sure thoroughly wash the wound first. Aloe isn't really a disinfectant.

Your instructions about making the gel, adding water, and adding a few drops of lavender oil sounds DIVINE! Antiseptic and sweet smelling for sure!! I wish I could use that on my hair. But I can't. But I'll enjoy those dreadies around me who do.

Funny you mentioned the taping of aloe to skin Angel! Just last week I picked up a nasty patch of poison ivy that kept getting worse and wouldnt heal. My mother took one look at it and sliced a big ole piece of aloe open, slapped it on my skin, and taped it up. She instructed me to leave it for a whole day if I could stand it. I did the same thing a couple more times and it began to finally heal!! What would we do without Mamas?! @Dave your recipe is brilliant! I will be doing this shortly

Angel Frye said:

Dave, thank you so much for the instructions! I remember my mother, when I was child and tripping over everything getting scrapes and boo boos, trimming off the spines and cutting the leaves in half exactly like you described. Get this: then she'd take one or both halves of the leaf, depending on how big the boo boo was, and tape it down direction on my skin(slimy side to the skin) with athletic tape. My boo boos never stood a chance of infection. She'd swap out the aloe leaves twice a day. Aloe leaves taped down like this work wonders on sprained ankles and sore tendons/muscles.

But if you're going to use the leaves on a boo boo like this make sure thoroughly wash the wound first. Aloe isn't really a disinfectant.

Your instructions about making the gel, adding water, and adding a few drops of lavender oil sounds DIVINE! Antiseptic and sweet smelling for sure!! I wish I could use that on my hair. But I can't. But I'll enjoy those dreadies around me who do.

Moms are the shit, man. They know everything. And then I became one and suddenly I started appreciating mine a whole lot more. Just glad she never did that 'spit on her hand and smooth down kid's hair' thing. yech.

Aloe really stops the itch.

Something else to consider for poison ivy, Amy Lee, stinging nettles and neem. Here's the cheapest way to attack the itch without having to buy a half pound bag of these herbs if you don't have an apothecary nearby where you can buy small amounts-- buy the capsules from your vitamin section! Break open a few stinging nettles and neem herb capsules and make a mud out of it with a bit of warm water. Pack it on your itch and when it's dry rinse it off. Neem OIL works wonders, too. Indians(continental, not Native American) have been using neem leaves as bedding material for people with chicken pocks or any other itchy ailment for centuries. The fresh leaves give off the oil when the person lays on them and voila! No more itch but lots of healing.

Sorry this thread got off topic. I love talking about herbs.

Thanks! I will def be trying that next time. And I know there will be a next time :/ Ive been getting it more and more lately. Another thing that seems to help is making a paste of BS and water with a couple of drops of tea tree oil and applying. Mommy the Great has also advised me to start taking a spoon of local honey every day to help my immunity to it. At this point I'm willing to try anything. This last case lasted well over 2 weeks with blisters upon blisters. Oh the misery!!

Tea tree oil is God Spit. It's heavenly. Cures just about anything. Add it to warm shea butter and pop it in the fridge. Use it as anti-biotic ointment and cover it with a bandage. I used to make a version of this with other types of butters and sell it. Olive butter is fantastic but you can't get the pure olive butter very easily here in the states any more, just the watered down crap with deodorized coconut oil as a 'base' and a few drops of olive oil to make 'olive butter' ... bastards. Anyway. I digress. There are lots of anti-boo boo remedies but between aloe and tea tree oil I'd go for the tea tree oil if you have it.

Two weeks. You poor thing! Your skin must have been a mess.