---

I know I’m not alone in saying that I have most definitely spent a good amount of cash on products that contain aloe vera, whether it be for my skin, hair, or lips. I’m not sure why, but it never crossed my mind to actually BUY a real aloe vera leaf. Needless to say, when I saw aloe leaves for sale in China Town for $2, I was pretty excited. Although my friends made fun of me for carrying around a 2-foot aloe sword all day, I think the benefits were more than worth it.

For Skin:

Cut open your aloe plant and rub it into your skin for 10 minutes for reduced redness and inflammation! I have super sensitive skin, and I didn’t react to this AT ALL. after a few days, I noticed my skin was less red, more hydrated, and brighter! All hail the aloe vera plant.

For Lips:

These winter months are hard; my biggest pet peeve is dry lips but using aloe vera might be the answer to my prayers. You can apply the aloe straight to your lips or mix it in with a lip balm (I mixed mine with a bit of vaseline and it worked WONDERS).

For Hair:

Since I have hairstylist-trust-issues, I haven’t cut my hair in about a year and a half. Needless to say, I’ve got some pretty bad dead ends. I figured the aloe sword hadn’t failed me in the skin and lip department, so why not try using it on my hair? I combined aloe juice and egg whites and applied the mixture to my ends for 20 minutes. After rinsing (this took a while, I’m not gonna lie) my hair felt shinier, healthier, and softer. Basically, the point I’m making is that you don’t need to spend $70 on an aloe mask when you can go to any Asian grocer (or whole foods) and pick up some aloe for a fraction of the price #ballinonabudget.