By Daisy Green
Aloe Vera is a tropical succulent commonly native to North Africa and Southern Europe. Known for its use as sunburn treatment due to it’s cooling effects, Aloe Vera has become a popular ingredient in skincare products, and has more recently become an ingredient in drinks and smoothies .
We’ve categorised this miracle plant into it’s proven topical benefits and oral benefits.
Topical Benefits
Aloe Vera is jam-packed with benefits for the skin, mostly because of its compounds and water content. It’s now commonly used in moisturisers and face washes because its natural qualities can replace synthetic chemicals. Here are a few of those qualities:
- Hydration: because aloe vera is a succulent, its leaves are very water-dense, meaning they act as a very good natural hydrating moisturiser when cut out of their tough skin.
- Anti-inflammatory: aloe vera has an amazing soothing quality, which is why it's so often used as an after-sun treatment, this is because of compounds that prevent or calm inflammation, and the cooling sensation it leaves on the skin.
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Dark Spots; A fact that may not be well known is aloe vera’s ability to reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation. This is because of two compounds called aloin and aloesin, that destroy melanin cells in the supplied area, and prevent further melanin formation on the skin.
- Aloe vera is also known to have potent antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties, due to powerful antioxidants that inhibit certain bacteria growth. This is why you might often see it used in antibacterial gels.
- Dandruff: Rubbing aloe vera into your hair and scalp can help combat dandruff, another use for its hydrating qualities.
Oral Benefits
Use of Aloe Vera in drinks and food is a more recent trend, but is beneficial all the same:
- Lowering cholesterol: recent studies suggest that consuming a small amount (10 to 20ml) of aloe vera daily can reduce cholesterol.
- Strengthens immune system: Because of its detoxifying qualities, aloe vera can help the body fight off illness and infections.
- Digestion; Ingesting Aloe Vera is a natural digestion aid, it's soothing to tissues in the gut and can detoxify the intestinal tract. As well as this, the anti-inflammatory qualities of aloe vera have been used to ease irritation and ulcers.
- Laxative: aloe latex (the greenish layer between the gel and skin ) can be blended and consumed to help with constipation and IBS, as it acts as a natural laxative.
It's safe to say aloe vera is a brilliant natural product for both topical and consumable use, and is definitely one to look out for if you want to avoid synthetics and chemicals. No wonder it’s been used for thousands of years! For more Aloe Vera benefits explore our other articles!