Aloe Vera

Did you know?

Aloe Vera has been used in beauty and medicinally for more than five thousand years. The earliest documented use of Aloe Vera comes from the ancient Egyptians and it was a highly prized ingredient used by Cleopatra and Nefertiti two of the great beauties of the time for its skin softening and anti-bacterial properties.

In 333 BC Alexander the Great conquered the island of Socotra in order to have the Aloe for his army and explorers Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus brought prized plants home and advocated its use for a myriad of healing properties. At the heart of many of the Aztec cures was the humble Aloe Vera, their herbal medicines were transported back to Europe by the Spanish during the sixteenth century, where they became the foundation for modern Western medicine.

The science

The aloe plant contains over 75 different ingredients including:

  • Vitamins - Aloe contains 8 of the 13 key vitamins including B1, B2,B6 C, E and Beta Carotene
  • Enzymes and Salicylic acid - Producing anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effects
  • Minerals - including magnesium, calcium, sodium, manganese, zinc, copper and chromium
  • Phenolic compounds - potent antimicrobial agents having powerful analgesic effects, they can absorb ultra violet light, reduce the formation of melanin and decrease tendency to hyper-pigmentation
  • Lignin - a unique penetrative ability that allows to carry other active ingredients of topical preparations deep into the skin to nourish the dermis
  • Saponins - cleansers having antiseptic properties
  • Amino acids - the building blocks of proteins, provides 20 of the 22 necessary amino acids required by the human body and 7 of the 8 essential amino acids which the body cannot synthesize
  • Polysaccharides - including glucosans which are potent healers

How aloe vera works

Aloe Vera helps to keep skin supple by bringing oxygen to the cells, and therefore increasing the synthesis and strength of skin tissue. Aloe Vera improves the skin’s ability to hydrate itself, aids in the removal of dead skin cells and has effective penetrating properties.

The Aloe Vera plant heals itself; the leaves have no stalks or woody parts and are kept upright by the water pressure of the gel. A leaf, slashed across with a sharp knife exudes the healing aloe and then immediately films over and produces a rubber-like, protective coating to seal off the loss of water, in a short time healing completely.

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