1. The Label (Not So) Pure Aloe Vera

Some companies trick you with wording. “100% Gel” means that it's pure gel, not pure Aloe Vera. Here are 2 examples of two popular Aloe Vera Brands.  This is pretty tricksy – instead of “100% Aloe Vera gel,” they’ve rearranged the words to, “Aloe Vera 100% gel,” which gives consumers the impression that it’s 100% Aloe Vera. The second one is 100% gel... that's not much of a promise... Please don't be fooled by this trick and buy 100% Pure Gel, Buy 99% Pure Aloe Vera.

2. Water: The Main Ingredient

Would you like some Aloe Vera with your water? Some companies use water as the main ingredient. Ingredient lists on products are the same as food lists. The first ingredient is the most prominent ingredient. Here is an example of a leading Australian brand. Notice that Aloe Vera is the 8th ingredient... This means that it contains more of the other ingredients and therefore less Aloe Vera.

3. Aloe Vera Alcohol Tricks

Did you notice that alcohol is listed number two in the above Aloe Vera Gel ingredient list? Companies use alcohol to create a fake Aloe Vera "cooling effect", however if you use an Aloe Vera Gel that does not contain alcohol and put it in the fridge, it provides the same cooling effect but without drying your skin out.

4. The Colour: Should Aloe Vera Gel be Clear or Green?

If you have ever cracked open an Aloe Vera leaf the gel Is a light golden colour, so if your Aloe Vera gel is green, then it has been artificially coloured. This means your pure Aloe Vera gel is not as natural as you think.

So How Do you choose a Pure Aloe Vera? 

The only way to get totally pure, actually 100% Aloe Vera is to grow a plant or make it yourself. And if you’ve ever tried that, homemade Aloe Vera gel doesn’t last long...it gets pretty suspect-looking, not to mention time consuming...

So for Aloe Vera Gel to be commercially viable, stabilisers need to be added. And that’s not a terrible thing. It really comes down to what kind of stabilizers are added to the Aloe Vera. If the added stabilizers are as natural as they come, that Aloe Vera gets a pass.

And that's where Plunkett's Organic Aloe Vera Gel steps in and says hey we have a beautiful natural, pure organic Aloe Vera product that you are going to love. Here's a breakdown of our ingredients because we have nothing to hide and want to show you what to look for:

1. 99% Certified Organic Aloe Barbadensis Cold Pressed Leaf Juice (Yay The good stuff up front and at the top of the list)
2. Allantoin (Comfrey Root Extract bonus soothing and healing properties)
3. Carbomer (thickening agent),
4. Disodium Edetate (preservative),
5. Sodium Hydroxy Methylglycinate, (preservative)
6. Grapefruit Seed Extract. (natural preservative and healing agent)

Plunkett's Certified Organic Aloe Vera Gel is Australia's number one Pharmacy Aloe Vera brand. Don't settle for anything less than Pure Natural Aloe Vera!

In the meantime if you like a bit of DIY try mixing up some of these DIY Aloe Vera Gel ideas: 7 surprising benefits of Aloe Vera you probably haven't thought of!