Aloe vera is one of natures finest plants when it comes to beauty benefits. The ancient Egyptians once called it the “plant of immortality", and we can totally understand why.
Over the years, it has become more targeted and medicinal for treating the skin, and is a much loved treatment therapy for cooling the skin, and with sunburns.
What is Aloe Vera?
Aloe vera is a cactus plant that is born to the Liliaceae family. You'll only find it growing in dry climates, usually around Indian and Africa, in which these countries first uncovered its medicinal and skin caring properties.
When it comes to getting the goodness from Aloe vera, the magic happens when the Aloe leaves secrete a clear gel, that when broken off from the rest of the plant can be applied topically to the skin. If you ever get your hands on this rawest form of Aloe vera, it's super potent for healing wounds and soothing the skin.
How can it benefit my skin?
Where do we start? Aloe vera is repeatedly used for so many skin issues and concerns, making Aloe vera based skincare products an essential for your home. Here's our top uses for it...
- It's an all-rounder. Various studies have confirmed it literally works to treat a variety of skin conditions, from flaky or dry skin, cosmetic ailments, hair and scalp problems to many more.
- It can aid in soothing more serious concerns: For those who prefer natural remedies, Aloe vera is useful in treating wounds, burns, minor skin infections, cysts, diabetes, and even eczema, herpes, dandruff, psoriasis,skin ulcers and others.
- Its marvelous for sunburn: Aloe Vera helps with sunburn as it acts as a protective layer on the skin, and helps replenish moisture. Because of its nutritional qualities and antioxidant properties, the skin heals quicker.
- It acts as a moisturizer: When massaged into the skin, Aloe vera sinks deep into the skin to replace moisture loss, keeping the skin hydrated. It never leaves a greasy feel or sticky texture, making it a fantastic choice for those with oily skin.
- It soothes acne: There are two hormones present in Aloe vera gel called Auxin and Gibberellins. These two hormones are packed with anti-inflammatory properties that reduce skin inflammation and stimulate the growth of new cells. For those who suffer regular breakout, you'll find applying a topical aloe gel lets the skin to heal quicker and reduces scarring.
- It fights aging: As aloe leaves are rich in vitamin C and E, these vitamins can help improve the skin's natural firmness and hydration levels, leading to fading fine lines and wrinkles.
- It can fade stretch marks: With weight gain, pregnancy and procedures, our skin has to stretch to accommodate growth. When it grows too far and too fast, the elasticity of the skin can be damaged, causing those pesky stretch marks. Smothering the skin with Aloe vera lotions can hydrate the skin and assist with repairing those damaged cells, creating fading over time.
Here's some our favorite Aloe vera packed skincare products, from refreshing eye gels to soothing skin lotions, and all that ib-between. It's also a great ingredient for men's skincare, as it's especially soothing post-shave!
