San Marino teens conduct study on aloe vera as hair growth treatment

SAN MARINO Two high school students are doing what an entire cosmetic industry has seemingly ignored: test the hair growth potential of aloe vera, which has a long history as a folk remedy but surprisingly few research studies.

Brothers Jeffrey and Jason Law are in the midst of a small, three man study to test the hair growth benefits of aloe vera, and the results have looked good so far. All three of their participants have shown regrowth.

Their study isn’t for any class at San Marino High
hair vendors School. The teens simply wanted to help out their father, James Law, a pharmacist who established Resurrect Hair Gel after experimenting on his own with an aloe vera treatment.

They hope to eventually publish their results in an online journal or other scientific publication. Their study doesn’t have the usual trappings of scientific rigor, such as a control subject or blind trial. That’s because it was difficult enough to find willing participants.

"When we were still trying to
wholesale Indian hair find volunteers, we discovered it’s very hard because it’s an awkward subject to even start talking about hair loss in general," said Jason, a sophomore who is a year younger than his brother.

The three men in the study are all participating anonymously, with the study continuing for at least one year.

The brothers supply their participants with their father’s product, which is naturally derived from the aloe vera plant and must be refrigerated because it doesn’t have any preservatives. Then they check in every three months, taking pictures and video.

Their first video is on YouTube, under the user name ResurrectHairGelInc. The next check up will be in April.

The brothers did some research ahead of time to find out if there are other aloe vera studies about hair growth treatment, but found little other than testimonials.

"We Googled, and watched some of
7a grade hair wholesale the videos to see whether there were a lot of similar things or a lot of documented steps," Jeffrey said. "There were not too many actual pictures of improvement, at least on Youtube. "

A trade group, the International Aloe Science Council, confirmed that while the plant has some traditional use as a hair growth treatment, its application in modern uses hasn’t caught on until recently.

"It’s something from the old world to the new world," said Devon Powell, the organization’s executive director.

Powell added that there’s an art form in extracting the aloe gel from its leaves.

There are some aloe vera gel products available on store shelves and the Internet, but they are primarily marketed as skin treatments or dietary supplements and often contain preservatives.

James Law makes his Resurrect product completely from the aloe vera plant. Initially, he resorted to aloe vera for his own thinning hair by extracting the gel straight from the leaf each day, doing that for about nine months.

Seeing good results, he wanted to make the treatment available for others.

"Being a pharmacist, it worked perfectly, because I know a little bit about making ointments and gels," Law said.

He also mistrusts modern medications such as Rogaine, which have an active ingredient that works as an antihypertensive and could cause other health problems.