Aloe vera has many ingredients, so its functions are multi-faceted. People have heard more about its functions of moisturizing, soothing and calming, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, and promoting wound healing.
But aloe vera and aloe vera skin care products are not the same thing!
The function of aloe vera is not the same as that of aloe vera skin care products.
Aloe vera paste or aloe vera capsule is to heat and evaporate the aloe vera leaf juice and boil it into a light yellow-green thick paste. This is the concentrated essence and has the therapeutic effect. .
And if the active ingredients in aloe vera skin care products are not added in sufficient amounts, the effect is difficult to guarantee , which is just a concept claim.
For example, fresh aloe vera leaf juice is translucent and light green, while most aloe vera gel skin care products on the market are colorless and transparent. The reason is that the content of aloe vera leaf juice is low.
Therefore, the functions of aloe vera and the functions of aloe vera skin care products cannot simply be equated.
Aloe vera gel is touted as the "universal glue"
Taking aloe vera's anti-inflammatory and sterilizing effect as an example, a large number of experiments have confirmed that aloe vera can reduce inflammatory response and has an inhibitory effect on some bacteria. Therefore, when you have acne, you can use aloe vera skin care products to assist the drug to remove acne ; however, aloe vera is only a supporting role, and it is not realistic to rely on it to remove acne.
Another example is the repair, soothing and calming effect after sun exposure. If you feel red, hot, itchy, painful or swollen after sun exposure, you can apply a wet compress with ice water to achieve a calming effect. This is almost the effect of aloe vera gel.
Even the moisturizing effect of aloe vera is mentioned here. The moisturizing effect of high-content aloe vera is equivalent to glycerin , so why not just add glycerin with lower cost and better effect? Therefore, glycerin or other polyols (such as butylene glycol) are often essential in aloe vera skin care products, in order to enhance the moisturizing effect.
Therefore, Aloe vera has many functions does not mean that aloe vera skin care products have many functions. Aloe vera gel is touted as a "universal glue", which is actually the result of exaggerated publicity. This "panacea" does not exist.
Can I use aloe vera directly?
Is it okay to squeeze the juice of fresh aloe vera leaves and apply it on the face?
This approach is not advisable! Because the ingredients of aloe vera are very complex, some ingredients can cause adverse reactions to the skin, such as itching, redness, and swelling after use.
There is a saying on the Internet that fresh aloe contains aloe-emodin (also known as aloin ). It is this ingredient that causes contact dermatitis and other adverse reactions on the skin. There is no literature confirming this statement yet, but fresh aloe vera juice cannot be applied directly on the face. should be applied in a small area behind the ears. If there are no adverse reactions, the area of use can be gradually expanded.
