Aloe vera

Is this the new star ingredient?

If the rise of organic cosmetics has given this plant back its nobility, it is said that Queen Nefertiti already owed her beauty to it and that Aristotle used it to treat the wounds of his disciple Alexander the Great! Full of water and active ingredients that it stores to survive in desert climates, aloe vera, composed of 99% water, concentrates in the remaining 1% more than 150 elements including vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, not forgetting acemannan, a complex sugar that retains water in the plant. This is why we find it in so many products. Organic aloe vera crops are well developed. Inexpensive, it can replace hyaluronic acid and/or Allantoin.

All aloe are equal?

There are more than 400 species, which grow in hot and dry regions. The one that interests cosmetology is mainly aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis in the list of ingredients), and sometimes Aloe ferox from South Africa.

Pure aloe vera gel is used for everything?

Certainly, it is great as an after-sun, after shaving, on a light burn or irritation. But it is used more as an extra and does not replace a cream. It hydrates, but does not nourish, and is by no means sufficient for dry skin.

Is the sheet used as is?

Especially not! It requires some manipulation. Housed under the green bark, the reddish yellow latex contains aloin, toxic and strongly irritating. “You never handle an aloe vera leaf without gloves,” says Valérie Marcadet, cosmetics sector director at Léa Nature. It is the translucent pulp located at the heart of the leaf which heals, and extracting it without leaving traces of aloin is very delicate. To recover it, we cut the leaf lengthwise after having cut the spines. Do not scrape the edges or press the sheet. Finally, it must be used quickly, because it oxidizes very quickly. Furthermore, we do not use the aloe vera installed at home. Known to be depolluting, its leaves can contain the heavy metals they have absorbed.

In gel or powder, is it the same?

Not really. Most cosmetics are formulated with a powder obtained after grinding and drying the pulp, “it is lighter and there is no worry of oxidation or contamination”, explain the manufacturers. The fact remains that, specifies Valérie Marcadet, “we proved that the gel was much more concentrated in acemannan, vitamins and minerals than the powder, and demonstrated moisturizing effectiveness over 24 hours for the gel, less with the powder”. To distinguish them among the ingredients, the gel appears under the name Aloe barbadensis leaf juice and the powder under that of Aloe barbadensis leaf juice powder