Aloe vera is a common household plant known for its skin healing properties. Regularly applying a small amount of aloe vera to the face can help treat various skin conditions, including acne, eczema, and sunburn. Because of its healing properties, a lot of people use aloe vera only at the affected areas of the skin. So, can we use aloe vera for our whole face?
Can Aloe Vera Be Used as a Facial Moisturizer?
The answer is YES. You can use aloe vera gel as a facial moisturizer. Alternatively, not only you can use it to soothe and moisturise sunburnt skin, flaking or peeling skin, but also for other skin condition like dry skin, cracked heels, or if you have dry legs and arms. You can tell your skin is dry if you try scratching your skin and you see white lines that take a while to go away.
What Is Aloe Vera?
Aloe is a genus that contains more than 500 species of flowering succulent plants. Many Aloes occur naturally in North Africa, but it’s become a common plant everywhere in the world, particularly in tropical and semi-tropical climates. The leaves of Aloe vera are succulent, erect, and form a dense rosette.
Why Does It Work?
Aloe vera gel is an effective moisturiser because of its hygroscopic properties. The aloe vera plant can survive in any climate even in hot temperatures because they can absorb and retain moisture from both the air and the water in the soil absorbed by its roots. Because of this, it has good moisture-retaining properties.
This is similar to the way commercial moisturisers work. Moisturisers supply water to the skin and have a greasy substance that holds the moisture in place. However, unlike aloe vera gel, this greasy substance is often inorganic. It is also the reason why plenty of moisturisers leave a sticky after-feel as it dries. Some greasy substances can also block pores, leading to breakouts. Aloe vera gel, on the other hand, has no greasy substance required to lock in the moisture. This makes it preferred by those who don’t like that greasy feeling. And while some aloe vera moisturising products may contain inorganic materials, it’s easy to obtain aloe vera plants and make your own 100 percent natural aloe vera moisturising gel from the comfort of your home.
Why Moisturize?
While dry skin isn’t a serious skin condition, it can lead to breakouts, redness, flaking, cracking, and open wounds associated with dry skin. Even if you have oily skin, it helps to moisturise every day. If you’re using makeup, it’s important to moisturise particularly if you’re using matte makeup. Not all makeup is bad for your skin, but matte makeup like foundations, concealers, and lipsticks dries out your skin. Applying moisturisers and waiting for it to dry before applying makeup can hydrate your skin and keep the moisture even after you apply makeup.
Using makeup on dry skin can also risk breakouts and clogged pores. When your skin is dry, it’s prone to peeling and flaking. When applying makeup like foundation, you could risk mixing your foundation with dead skin when you dab it on your skin. This can clog your pores and cause pimple breakouts.
When it comes to makeup, aloe vera gel is a good moisturiser to use. Take some of your extracted aloe vera gel or store-bought gel and spread it around your face like you would with ordinary moisturisers. Let it dry first before applying your makeup. This ensures that your skin remains hydrated throughout the day. Make sure that you buy moisturiser that contain aloe vera about 95% to 99%.
Summary
Aloe vera is a popular vitamin-rich plant that has skin healing properties. Aloe vera is safe to use on the face for many skin conditions, such as eczema, rosacea, or minor wounds. The use of topical aloe vera is likely to be safe, however, do an allergy test (apply a small circle on the skin and wait 24 hours) before using it more widely on your body.
Would you like to learn more? Because healthy skin matters! Skynfyx is run by a group of skin doctors and skincare experts who want everybody to achieve flawless skin at the cheapest possible cost. Skynfyx also can customize a skincare range just for your skin condition.
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