When you want better-looking skin and hair, make pure aloe vera gel your best friend. Here are the health benefits of aloe vera.
RELATED: 8 Homemade Skincare Recipes You Can DIY With Natural Ingredients
In this article:
- It Helps Treat Burns
- Aloe Vera Moisturizes the Skin
- It Treats Acne and Other Skin Conditions
- It’s Great for the Eyes
- Pure Aloe Vera Gel Has Some Anti-Aging Properties
- It Promotes Hair Growth
- It Takes Care of Your Body Inside Out
7 Ways Aloe Vera Takes Care of Your Skin and Hair
1. It Helps Treat Burns
One of the health benefits of pure aloe vera gel is treating first- and second-degree burns. In a systematic review of four studies, participants who received the plant treatment reduced their wound healing time by nearly nine days over the control group.
It makes an excellent alternative to the Manuka honey or rosehip oil in case you can’t get hold of them. But, that’s not all.
When you have burns, your skin can get itchy and dry as it heals. Aloe is one of the natural ingredients that helps moisturize your skin.
It also reduces the risk of infections, which are common among those with wounds and burns.
The next time you experience any skin burn, including a sunburn, consider applying aloe vera gel. You can also look for an ointment that has it as its active ingredient.
2. Aloe Vera Moisturizes the Skin
Are you looking for a natural face moisturizer? What you’re looking for is perhaps an aloe vera plant.
This fleshy succulent is a great moisturizer that leaves your skin hydrated. This is because it can work as a humectant.
Humectants function differently from an emollient, which is present in many natural face creams. The former retains the skin’s moisture instead of adding to it.
Picture it this way: the aloe creates a barrier or a shield to prevent your skin from drying up. In the process, it avoids itchy, flaky, red, and dry skin.
When you want to use the aloe as a moisturizer, you can apply it on your face directly. It tends to work on all skin types.
If you have sensitive skin, you can consider using a natural facial moisturizer that gives you more than the benefits of the succulent.
For example, you can look for skin care products that contain purple tea. This ingredient is rich in anthocyanin, a type of polyphenol that gives the tea extract its color.
Polyphenols are antioxidants that can nourish your skin by giving it the vitamin it needs. A cleanser with pure aloe vera gel and purple tea gives you not only moisturized but also healthy skin.
3. It Treats Acne and Other Skin Conditions
Pure aloe vera gel is also beneficial for people whose skin is acne prone. Besides moisturizing the skin, it can also help lift dead skin cells.
This process is necessary to lighten the appearance of the scars and give your face and skin a new lease on life. It also prevents the buildup of dirt and dust that clog pores and make your skin a breeding ground for bacteria.
Even better, you can combine the gel with different types of oils to create your own exfoliant. Some of the good choices are coconut oil, olive oil, sweet almond oil, and jojoba oil.
Hemp seed oil can also help regulate the production of sebum (the body’s own oil) while avocado oil has anti-inflammatory effects.
You may wonder, how can these oils help your acne? Don’t they leave your skin oily instead?
They don’t. Instead, like the aloe, they can improve the skin’s moisture as dryness only stimulates your body to produce more oil.
These characteristics also make pure aloe vera gel beneficial for people with other skin issues such as eczema and psoriasis.
What is psoriasis? It is a skin condition characterized by the appearance of flaky, scaly patches of skin.
4. It’s Great for the Eyes
It’s not only the cucumber that can help reduce puffiness and dark circles of the eyes. Aloe vera can do the same thing as well.
The succulent contains vitamin E, which helps protect the eyes from damage due to free radicals. It can also increase hydration around the eye area.
To maximize the benefits of the aloe and vitamin E for the eyes, use the plant as your natural makeup remover. Make an aloe-enriched eye cream a part of your nightly routine.
RELATED: How To Do A Natural Facial At Home
5. Pure Aloe Vera Gel Has Some Anti-Aging Properties
Do you want to maintain younger-looking skin for as long as you can? It’s not only diet and exercise that can do that.
Aloe vera is a popular ingredient for anti-aging products because it offers plenty of vitamins, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids.
It contains vitamin C, which is a vital component in the production of collagen. Collagen is a structural protein that helps prevent sagging and the formation of wrinkles and fine lines.
It can work with hyaluronic acid to preserve skin moisture and reduce the visibility of the signs of aging on your face.
Aloe can also help when you want to even your skin tone or decrease the likelihood of dark spots. It can offset the effects of the UV rays on your skin, including photoaging.
6. It Promotes Hair Growth
Besides for skin care, you can use the aloe vera plant for hair. The gel can work like the lavender essential oil in controlling seborrheic dermatitis or dandruff.
The gel is antibacterial and calming for the scalp, relieving you of irritation. It also helps preserve the oils to avoid skin flaking, itchiness, and dryness.
The aloe may also enhance the circulation of the blood in the scalp. This is vital in keeping the follicles, from which the hair originates, nourished and healthy.
Like argan oil, aloe has vitamin E and the fatty acids that promote cellular regeneration. Vitamin B12 in the gel can also strengthen the strands, reducing hair loss or thinning.
7. It Takes Care of Your Body Inside Out
Beauty should never be only skin deep. Perhaps that’s one of the advantages of using pure aloe vera gel: you can take care of your skin inside out.
This succulent helps balance the bacteria in the gut (or the small intestines). Maintaining a healthy microbiome can reduce the risks of chronic inflammation that can affect the skin.
Well-taken-care-of gut flora can also boost the immune system, so you can better fight off bacteria and fungi that lead to different skin conditions.
When it comes to using moisturizer for men and women, why settle for those with parabens and other harsh chemicals? You can use nature’s wonders such as pure aloe vera gel.
These natural or organic ingredients can take care of your skin in more ways than one.
What are your favorite DIY aloe vera skin care recipes? Share them in the comments section below.
Up Next:
Let Us Know What You Think