Fruit of the Earth : 100% Aloe Vera Gel (Wal-Mart)

Brand : Fruit of the Earth
Product : 100% Pure Aloe Vera Gel
Cost : Around $6
Where to Buy : Wal-Mart
Why It Rocks : 100% pure, No Alcohol (Alcohol dries out the skin : badly), No Chemical Crap

If I do not have this stuff in my bathroom I find myself extremely distraught.
It is simply put fantastic stuff.

We all know Aloe Vera.
The amazing plant which cools and soothes our skin.
When we get sunburned our first instinct is to go and find some Aloe Vera. It's something our Mom's teach us when we're young. The relief one gets from applying the gel is peerless.

Wal-Mart sells the gel for around $6 for a big 567 gram bottle.
The gel is 100% pure, no alcohol, no disgusting added chemicals (why do companies have to contaminate our bodies with chemicals?...sigh...), just straight-up, natural Aloe Vera goodness (BOO-YAH!!!).
This is by far the best deal on Aloe Vera I have found anywhere.

Other Aloe Vera Products

Most Aloe Vera products I have found either :

A. Have a ton of added chemicals and "Cetyl Alcohol" or "Ethyl Alcohol"
(why the heck do companies do that? don't they know Alcohol dries the skin? Hello!!! Are they just trying to purposefully dry out our skin to make us buy more product? well...cigarette companies pump cigarettes full of noxious, toxic, inhumane chemicals to addict people to the point of slavery, I suppose other companies are easily capable of the same insidious behavior. they rate a big : YUCK! from me.)

or,

B. Cost a bunch.
Jason is a great brand.
I love their Vitamin E oils and creams (although I buy Jamieson because it's cheaper. sorry Jason. : ( and I am a faithful customer of their Shampoos and Conditioners.
They also sell 100% pure Aloe Vera gel, but it costs around $7 and the container is a lot smaller (like 1/3 of the Fruit of the Earth stuff).

I don't remember if the Jason brand is organic.
It probably is.
I also imagine that The Body Shop has 100% pure Aloe Vera too which is likely organic.
Probably also substantially more expensive.

Ok. This is important to state.
If I had the extra money to spend, I would delightedly shell out for organic.
Why?
Because I care.
The Earth is my home and the home of my fellow human beings.
I want the Earth and my fellow human beings to be healthy and happy.
That said,
if I don't take care of myself (plenty of good food, a warm apartment, 8-10 hours of sleep a night),
I don't feel too caring about anything.
Care for myself comes 1st
(but not really though. I feel I can do both simultaneously. Care for myself and Care for the Earth and Care for my fellow human beings. why not eh?)

My Experience

I first noticed the Aloe Vera gel when I was buying sunblock.
After 2 seasons of tree planting in the northern part of British Columbia, it became undeniably clear to me that the sun was severely damaging my skin.
I came back from my 2nd season of planting and wrinkles had appeared where there had never been any.
It was truly painful to see.
I feel sad just remembering it.

What really did it for me though was my first day working as a construction Labourer in May of 2006.
It was a hot spring day. At least 25 degrees Celsius.
The sun was beating down brightly.
Naturally I was wearing a t-shirt, sweating away, moving as fast as I could to make a good impression of what a hard worker I was (sigh...why does our society have to be like that. fear everywhere. fear all the time. I was frantic to make a good impression because I needed the work. no work. no money. no money. no living. lame. there has to be a better way.).
I was carrying around a lot of lumber that day.
The lumber was pressed right up against the skin of my arms, creasing and wrinkling the skin from the sheer weight of the wood.
I could feel my skin burning, but it was too hot to put on my sweatshirt, and I had to keep moving quickly to maintain a good impression.

I made it through the day, sweaty and exhausted but pretty sure I'd make a good impression.
The skin on my arms though was already taking on an angry red color, particularly the skin on the opposite side of my elbows.
I went to the gym and when I put on my muscle shirt it became clear to me my skin was burned bad.
The workout hurt when I would bend my arms and cause the skin to crease.

When I came home I showered (which stung awfully) and then applied some of the Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera.
aaaaahhhhhhhh...
it felt so good.
I applied the gel lavishly and the burn calmed down and disappeared after a few days.

Sadly though, my skin on the opposite side of my elbows had had enough.
It was now permanently wrinkled (as in looks like old man skin).
Too many sunburns over the course of my life and that last bad one finally pushed my skin over the edge and it was now forever damaged.

The experience taught me 2 things :

1. FOTE 100% Aloe Vera gel is friggin' awesome.

2. The sun is directly responsible for aging my skin (curse you sun! ... although I still love you for being absolutely essential for the existence of life on our planet : )

My advice to everyone :
WEAR SUNSCREEN! (UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum. SPF 45)

and,

buy a bottle or 2 or 3 of FOTE 100% Aloe Vera gel at Wal-Mart.

David. ; )