Helpful Aloe Vera

Those summer months are just around the corner, which means… potential SUNBURN.

By now, everyone is aware that aloe vera does wonders for burns. For sunburns, it’s especially good for soothing relief and to speed healing. Because I’m very fair skinned, I’ve pretty much used aloe vera all my life, and was chased around as a kid to have it applied to me after getting those nasty sunburns, and have never found a product that compares.

You should, of course, always use a good sunscreen when you’re going to be in the sun even for short periods, (especially if you’re fair skinned!) but sometimes we end up in the sun unexpectedly, or we missed areas when applying the sunscreen.

Here are a few things you can do to soothe that nasty sunburn with aloe vera.

• If most of your body is covered in sunburn, the best way to soothe it is not always possible because more than likely you won’t have a sufficient amount of aloe gel around. But if you do keep large quantities of fresh aloe gel on hand, you can draw a cool bath, adding a large amount of the aloe gel to the bath. Soaking in the aloe vera bath will draw heat from your skin and soothe the pain greatly. (and will also make your skin oh-so soft, but when in pain, you won’t care about being baby soft, of course)
• You can also, of course, apply the aloe gel directly to your skin. Just apply the aloe gel and allow to dry.
• Another thing you can do is make an aloe vera “spray”. If you have a decent amount of aloe gel, then in a bowl, add very small amounts of water to the aloe gel, and mix as well as you can. Keep adding a wee bit of water if needed, until it’s mixed thin enough to be able to be sprayed through a spray bottle. Pour the aloe vera mixture into a spray bottle, and keep it in the fridge. You can spray your sunburn for relief as often as you need to.

Whenever using the aloe gel for any of the above, be sure to avoid any of the yellow “sap” underneath the skin of the aloe vera plant!

The aloe vera “spray” option comes in very handy when your back is burned, because you can’t always reach all of your back to apply aloe gel directly. (and that cool, refrigerated aloe spray feels sooooo good on a sunburned back!)

For my sunburned face, (especially the bridge of nose, and cheekbones that end up burned worse) I always apply the aloe gel directly, instead of using the spray. Majority of the time, I just apply the aloe gel directly to the worst areas, and use the spray everywhere else, or for the areas I can’t reach.

Photo © Martinm2008 | Dreamstime.com

If you want to be sure you’re not allergic to aloe vera before you begin using it for beauty and first aid reasons, here’s what you can do.

Take a very small amount of aloe gel and rub it on an inside area of your forearm and keep an eye on it. If you notice no irritation at all, then your skin can tolerate it.
However, if you feel any burning, or see any irritation, wash it off right away with warm water.

An allergy to aloe gel is rare, but of course, it exists. If there’s an allergy, it’s more likely from either the skin of the aloe vera plant, or the aloe latex (the yellow ‘sap’ just under the skin) and possibly was mixed with the aloe gel to cause any irritation that may have developed.

Aloe vera has a wide range of uses to keep your skin looking beautiful and healthy!
Here’s just a few quick basic uses:

• For a soft, fresh glow, apply aloe gel directly to your face after cleansing in the morning and before bed. Where other products usually fail, aloe gel will work quickly to help clear blemishes, giving you that wonderful fresh glow!
• If you have problems with acne, using aloe vera will help since it removes dead cells and opens your pores to discard blocked oils. You can also apply aloe vera to any scarring left by acne.
• Some women have tried aloe on their eyelashes to achieve thicker and longer eyelashes. A very tiny amount of aloe vera gel applied to eyelashes at night before bed is suggested.
• Apply aloe gel to razor burns and let dry to help soothe and disappear.
• Applying aloe gel to healed wounds will help reduce scarring, or keep from scarring at all.
• If you’ve dandruff problems, you can apply aloe vera to your scalp (best if wet) and leave on for 15 minutes before washing your hair. Doing this regularly before each shampoo will help keep the dandruff to a very minimum.

More thorough tips to come later!

Photo ©Fjalcer | Dreamstime.com

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