The biggest deal in beauty products these days is neem oil. Not only does it seem to treat and cure every beauty concern you can have, it is incredibly cheap. It’s a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem, an evergreen tree endemic to India. The neem tree is also known as the wonder tree. Of course, Indians have known about this for thousands of years and have been benefiting from its natural antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. This wonder oil moisturizes, wrinkle-reduces, and is effective for anti-hyperpigmention, acne, eczema, and as a hair treatment. The list goes on. It’s even used on pets to treat fleas and ticks (and human head lice), and farmers used it as a pesticide!
A friend told me about Alaffla Basics Unrefined neem oil and I got it at Whole Foods (the best place to get a variety of neem oil products). She uses if for body acne and scalp irritations. I put it on my dry hands and cuticles – all with crazy-immediate results that last. It will make your hair shine, heal cracked heels, make blemishes disappear and scars vanish.
So there’s got to be a downside, right? There sure is. The smell is really, really awful! It’s a combo of garlic and burnt hair. Well, I suppose the exact smell varies with the person. It smells much worse to me than to my friend, who apparently has gotten used to it. Although my cuticles do look perfect, I smell like I’ve been cooking with garlic for days. There are so many essential oil blends much more pleasant smelling hitting the market soon that despite the benefits, this Alaffia oil smells bad enough for me to put it away until the nicer-smelling ones come out. But see what you think. It’s certainly cheap enough! On Vitacost for $6.26.
