Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Good value and organic |
| Disadvantages: |
Doesn't moisturize the skin |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
Cost: £5.99 typically
or £2.49 in the frequent Holland and Barrett half price sales!!
Quantity:
100 mls
Container:
Toothpaste like tube with screw top lid. Unfortunately the polymer container doesn't seem to re-cyclable, which is a pity considering the product seems to be fairly ethical otherwise. Still, it is easy to open and close, even when the Gel is smothered all over your hands.
Description: The product case describes this Certified Aloe Vera Gel as "soothing, hand filleted, organic Aloe Vera Gel" . This claim is backed by the visible certification trade stamps from the International Science Council and HFMA Aloe Vera Standards Board respectively.
Organic:
In addition to the above, this Aloe Vera is 99.9% organic, with the gel having been extracted from the Aloe Vera Barbadensis
plant. With this in mind it's unlikely to cause any irritations or allergic reactions. Indeed this product should sooth those types of skin reactions.
Uses:
The uses of Aloe Vera really as quite vast. For example;
use to sooth chapped skin / hands
use to lessen stretch marks
use to sooth skin irritations
use to calm allergies
use after sun bathing to cool skin
I have just used it on my hands to sooth some cat scratches that I unintentionally picked up this evening and which are swelling up slightly now. It will calm the cuts down and make them more comfortable. I'm also using the Gel on a dying spot on my face which seems to be leaving a mark behind as it heals but the Gel is helping to ease the scarring a bit.
Animal friendly:
This product can also be used on cats and dogs according to my vet and several newspaper articles and cat books. So this really testifies to the fact that it is a gentle and natural substance and well worth keeping in the cupboard.
Smell:
On opening the tube and squeezing out the Aloe Vera Gel, you notice the product smells a bit like damp grass cuttings (if you even know what that smells like!). But it's a pretty clean yet earthy smell.
Colour:
Completely transparent, like water.
Texture:
This version of Aloe Vera Gel has the texture of a transparent, shredless marmalade or like a jelly that's not quite set yet. The Gel wobbles as you squeeze it onto you skin / hands. It's thick enough so that it doesn't drip either.
Feel and effect:
As you apply the Gel onto your skin it feels like a cool silk watery scarf flowing over you. It easily coats the skin and bonds very quickly so that it is readily absorbed (within 2-3 seconds on my hands for example). Afterwards your skin feels fresh and clean and not the slightest bit sticky - the reverse in fact, your skin feels silky as
though you've bathed in talc and are now slippery to touch almost. It's worth noting that this GEL does not really moisturize the skin as such but coats it. There are some Aloe Vera creams on the market which meet that requirement but this GEL formulation from H+B is not intended to moisturize but rather to sooth, cool and soften.
Conclusion:
Next time you see Kim Wilde on one of those TV Holland and Barrett sale adverts, do your skin a favour and pick up the half-price Aloe Vera Gel.
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
