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No Evidence of Aloe Vera Found in the Aloe Vera at Wal-Mart, CVS

  • November 22, 2016

Samples of store-brand aloe gel tested at Wal-Mart, Target and CVS showed no evidence of any aloe vera in them at all, Bloomberg reports. The news agency explained that since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t pre-approve products like this, marketers are left on their own to be honest about what’s in the package.

While the manufacturers disputed Bloomberg’s findings, this highlights an ongoing problem with the cosmetics industry. In reality, the chemicals used in such products are largely unregulated and untested. Congress has proposed a law that would give the FDA authority to test whether chemicals added to personal care products are being used at safe levels. If the chemicals are found to exceed "safe" levels, the FDA could force a recall.

But the proposed law doesn’t go far enough: In Europe, more than 1,300 chemicals are banned from use in lotions, soaps, toothpastes, cosmetics and other personal care products, while in the U.S. just 11 are banned. If the new regulations are passed and the FDA reviews five ingredients a year, it will take hundreds of years to test the more than 57,000 chemicals used in U.S. cosmetics.

One easy solution to the aloe problem is to grow your own aloe plants. You can also opt to make your own soaps and cosmetics with a coconut oil base, as it is an excellent natural fat that also is a powerful inhibitor of a large variety of pathogenic organisms, from viruses to bacteria to protozoa.