DIY Aloe Vera Scrub Recipes for Dry or Oily Skin

Exfoliating body scrubs are some of the easiest skincare products to make from home. Most of the ingredients can be found in your kitchen, and you can make a basic scrub just by throwing together an exfoliant and a moisturizer.

But the problem people often run into with skin scrubs is knowing which ingredients to use. Should I use white sugar or brown? Coconut oil or honey? What ingredients work best?

It really differs for each person. If you have oily skin, you probably shouldn’t use the same scrub recipe as someone with dry skin. And if you have sensitive skin, a harsh exfoliant can end up being inflammatory and irritating…to the point where it would be better to not use a body scrub at all.

So, this isn’t going to be your typical DIY recipe post, because there is no “one-size-fits-all” skin scrub recipe.

But one ingredient that DOES work well for almost every skin type is aloe vera. Following the process below, you can make an aloe vera scrub base, then choose from additional ingredients based on your skin type.

Basic Skin Scrub Recipe

To start off, your scrub base will only have two ingredients: fresh aloe vera, and the exfoliant, which is usually a type of sugar.

Step 1: Prep the Aloe Vera

True, you might not have fresh aloe vera leaves sitting in your kitchen. But you can easily order aloe vera online if you don’t grow it at home. Check your local grocery store as well.

Once you have a fresh aloe vera leaf, slice off the spines along the edges of the leaf and cut it into several large chunks. Rinse these chunks in a bowl of water, then shake them off and put them on a cutting board. Next, just slice off the skin and scoop out the gooey pulp in the middle.

Step 2: White or Brown Sugar?

Once your aloe vera is prepped, you can mix in the sugar, which serves as the exfoliant. Both white and brown sugar can be used in scrubs, but they have slightly different properties.

White sugar has larger granules, making it an invigorating exfoliant. Brown sugar, on the other hand, is more moisturizing and gentler on the skin. It really depends on your skin type as to which one works best for you. If you have sensitive skin, I recommend using brown sugar instead of white.

Alternative Exfoliants for Sensitive Skin

If your skin is super sensitive, you might not want to use sugar at all! There are other alternative exfoliants that are even gentler to avoid causing inflammation.

One alternative exfoliant is rice flour. Rice flour is only mildly abrasive, and is rich in vitamins and minerals that can help to nourish and revitalize the skin.

Oatmeal is another alternative exfoliant. You can use whole oats, cut oats, or even oat flour, depending on how sensitive your skin is. You can also toss oats in the blender to grind them to the size you want.

Step 3: Mix Together

Mix equal parts of the aloe vera and exfoliant, and stir together to create a paste. For a more consistent texture, you can also blend the aloe vera. However, blending the aloe vera will liquify it, so you may need to add more sugar in proportion to the aloe vera.

Additional Ingredients to Add Based on Skin Type

Once you have your aloe vera base, it’s time to add one or two additional ingredients depending on your skin type. For example, if you have oily skin, you may want to add an astringent to your body scrub to help tighten your pores after exfoliating. If you have dry skin, you might want to heap on the moisturizers!

Below I’ve listed some of the best body scrub ingredients for dry vs. oily skin, so you can pick out the right option for you.

Ingredients for Dry Skin

• Coconut oil: Coconut oil is a thick moisturizing oil that is rich in antioxidants, and can help to protect the skin from damaging free radicals.

• Honey: As a natural humectant, honey can help to attract and retain moisture in the skin. It is also soothing and anti-inflammatory, making it a good choice for dry or sensitive skin.

• Avocado: Avocado is a rich source of vitamins and essential fatty acids that can help to nourish and hydrate the skin. It can also help to improve the elasticity and firmness of the skin.

• Almond oil: Almond oil is a gentle and nourishing oil that can help to moisturize the skin without clogging pores. It is also rich in vitamins and minerals that can help to improve the health and appearance of the skin.

Ingredients for Oily Skin

• Baking soda: Forming a gentle abrasive, baking soda is another exfoliant, and can also help to absorb excess oil and balance the pH of the skin.

• Lemon juice: Lemon juice is a natural astringent, and can help tighten the pores, remove dead skin cells, and reduce the appearance of dark spots.

• Tea tree oil: A natural antiseptic, tea tree oil can help to kill bacteria and reduce inflammation in the skin. It can also help to regulate oil production and prevent breakouts.

• Witch hazel: Witch hazel is another astringent, helping control oil production and tighten pores. It is also soothing and anti-inflammatory, and in some cases can help the skin heal faster.

Storing Your DIY Skin Scrub

If you make an aloe vera scrub fresh, it should last up to two weeks in the refrigerator. However, the shelf life is also impacted by any other ingredients you add. Because some of the ingredients may lose their potency over time, it is best to use the scrub within a week after making it.

How to Make DIY Aloe Vera Burn Cream

We all know how painful minor burns can be. You leave your hand on the burner for a couple seconds too long or get a little too close when tossing wood on the bonfire, and ouch!

While not life-threatening, minor burns tend to cause painful swelling and are stubbornly slow to heal…and they can still leave behind unwanted scars.

So, if you're looking for a natural way to soothe burns, this DIY burn cream is for you. Made with aloe vera and vitamin E, it's gentle on the skin and easy to whip up in your kitchen.

Quick note: For serious burns, you should always seek professional medical treatment.

DIY Burn Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup aloe vera gel

• 1 tablespoon vitamin E oil

• 1 tablespoon raw honey                                

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well-combined. (If you use fresh aloe vera straight from the leaf you may need to blend it separately first.)

2. Pour the mixture into a small jar or container.

3. Apply to clean, dry skin as needed (usually several times a day).

4. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week if you are using fresh aloe vera gel, or longer if you are using a commercial aloe vera gel.

Benefits of Aloe Vera Gel for Burns

The main ingredient in this DIY burn cream is aloe vera, for good reason!

Aloe vera gel is cooling and moisturizing, with anti-inflammatory compounds. It also has antimicrobial properties and has been shown to prevent bacterial growth on infected burn wounds.

Packed with antioxidant vitamins, aloe vera can also boost skin health by preventing further cellular damage and aiding in healing. Lastly, one study on aloe vera’s effects for wound healing indicated that the glycoproteins in aloe vera might increase cell migration and proliferation to speed the skin healing process.

Benefits of Vitamin E Oil for Burns

Vitamin E oil is another great ingredient for treating minor burns. Like aloe vera, it is an anti-inflammatory and can help hydrate areas of dry skin caused by minor burns. Although there is actually some vitamin E in aloe vera, the concentration is not very high, so adding extra oil to your diy burn cream helps increase the vitamin absorption.

In addition to being an anti-inflammatory, vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps to protect the skin from free radical damage while promoting collagen production. In other words, vitamin E can help prevent burn scarring in addition to providing temporary burn relief.

Benefits of Honey for Burns

Honey has fantastic antimicrobial properties, effectively inhibiting infections from over 80 species of microorganisms (mostly bacteria.)

In part, honey has amazing capabilities as an antimicrobial because it forms hydrogen peroxide when mixed with water.

And…aloe vera gel is mostly water! This makes an aloe vera and honey mixture great for covering burns and preventing infections.

Additionally, honey is a natural humectant, meaning it helps draw moisture to the skin and keep it hydrated. When used on burns, honey creates a barrier that protects the wound while keeping it moist.

By combining these three simple ingredients, you can make a burn cream that's gentle on the skin (although sticky!) and works to soothe and heal minor burns quickly.

Aloe Butter: Benefits, Uses, & How to Make Your Own

Creamy smooth and moisturizing, body butters are fantastic moisturizers. But I was surprised to find that there are seven main categories of body butters, and aloe butter isn’t one of them.

Uh…so what the heck is aloe butter?        

Well, body butters are lipid-based. The most common category of body butter is shea butter, an ivory fat extracted from shea nuts. The other main categories of body butters are mango butter, almond butter, cocoa butter, hemp seed butter, kokum butter, and olive butter. (You may have heard of soy butter too.)

Aloe vera is a gel composed of up to 99% water. So, it’s not exactly a creamy lipid.

But that doesn’t mean aloe vera is completely out of the picture when it comes to body butters!

Benefits of Using Aloe Butter vs Traditional Body Butter

Body butters are generally much healthier than lotions, because they contain all-natural ingredients and aren’t full of chemicals.

But the one problem with using body butters regularly is that they are almost entirely made of oils and fats. This makes them great for dry skin, but a little over-the-top for everyday use. Because they are so thick, body butters can be too heavy for oily skin types.

Aloe butter solves this problem by balancing the heavy butter with aloe vera.

Aloe vera is mostly water and absorbs into the skin very quickly. The glucomannan in aloe vera helps your skin retain moisture, without smothering your skin in oils.

Basically, aloe butter is ultra-moisturizing, but it helps cut down on the amount of oil you are loading onto your skin.

Creative Ways to Use Aloe Butter

Do you know how to use body butter?

Yeah, I know that sounds like a dumb question. You just apply it like a cream, right?

Yes…but there are many other ways you can use aloe butter!

1. Bar Soaps – Aloe soap is fantastic for your skin, because the aloe vera helps neutralize the dehydrating effects of bar soap. If you make your own soap, add about 1 Tbs of aloe butter per pound of soap to help make your bars softer and more moisturizing.

2. Lip balms - Did you know that you can use aloe butter as a balm too? It works better than most commercial lip balms - without the waxes and chemicals.

3. Herbal creams - If you make your own herbal remedies or creams, add aloe butter to your herbal blend! In addition to being moisturizing, aloe vera is an anti-inflammatory, making it a great addition for healing remedies.

4. Hair masks - You can also use aloe butter as a hair mask. It may sound strange, but if you think about it, aloe butter is basically oils and aloe vera gel - both of which are used separately for hair masks.

DIY Aloe Butter

Aloe butter is literally one of the easiest natural skincare products to whip up at home.

What you need:

• Butter of your choice – I recommend choosing one of the seven main butter categories I mentioned earlier. Shea butter and cocoa butter are two of the most common choices for diy aloe butter, but you can experiment with different butters to achieve different textures. For example, shea butter is very creamy, while cocoa butter has a harder texture.

• Aloe vera gel - Make sure you choose an aloe vera gel that is about 99% pure aloe vera, with the minimal number of preservatives and thickeners. Click here to read more about ingredients to avoid in aloe vera gel.

• Vitamin E oil – The vitamin E oil functions as a preservative for your aloe butter, but vitamin E is also an antioxidant that absorbs quickly into the skin and helps protect your skin from cellular damage.

• Tea tree oil (optional) – Tea tree oil is also a preservative and helps prevent microbial growth.

• Honey (optional) – Yep, honey is another preservative, but it’s also very nourishing and moisturizing for your skin.

• Essential oils (optional) – Feel free to add your favorite essential oils to give your aloe butter a lovely fragrance.

Instructions:

Measure out your butter and aloe vera gel in a 3:1 ratio. For example, if you use 3 Tbs of butter, use 1 Tbs of aloe vera gel. Feel free to play around with this ratio to achieve your desired texture, but this is a good starting point.

Melt the butter until it is a creamy liquid, then pour it into a blender. (If you don’t have a blender, you can use a whisk or handheld beater.)

Add the vitamin E oil (about one capsule per Tbs of aloe vera gel) and blend the butter, vitamin E oil, and optional ingredients until they form a smooth mixture. Then add the aloe vera gel and blend until thoroughly mixed.

Store your aloe butter in the fridge to prolong the shelf life. Prior to using, warm up the amount of aloe butter you are using. This will make it easier to apply, and help your skin absorb the butter more quickly for optimal skin nourishment and moisturization. Enjoy!

3 Reasons to Use Aloe Bar Soap

If you like sampling bar soap (who doesn’t?) this post is for you. Soap is a rather menial commodity, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. We’ve long ago learned that you can combine bar soap with just about anything for fantastic fragrances, colorful marbling, or textures that range from butter-smooth to pebbly.

With all of the heavenly soap combinations on the market, it’s inevitable that we run into our favorite succulent: aloe vera.

Aloe vera has a lot of diverse uses in skincare. It’s a fantastic ingredient in facial cleansers, facial serums, and hair growth serums.

So, why not bar soap? Long time soap-maker Jan Berry writes, “With a little bit of preparation, fresh aloe can be used to replace part (or all) of the water amount in almost any cold process soap recipe.” (She provides an awesome diy soap recipe, by the way.)

Whether you buy aloe bar soap or make your own at home, three reasons make aloe vera one of the best ingredients for bar soap.

1. Moisturizing Benefits

Did you know that bar soap can be drying? Just like shampoos, soaps can strip away your skin oils and dehydrate your skin. Bar soap also tends to have a higher pH than liquid body washes. The high pH can be tough on your skin, which is naturally acidic (meaning it has a low pH.) When you slather bar soap over your skin, you might actually be increasing your skin pH, which can change the texture and dehydrate it further.

Using aloe bar soap can help minimize dehydrating effects, and actually moisturize your skin instead. That’s because aloe vera contains mucopolysaccharides, which help the skin retain moisture. The primary mucopolysaccharide in aloe vera is acemannan, but aloe vera also contains hyaluronic acid—a common hydrating ingredient in facial skincare products.

2. Soft Cleansing

Did you know that aloe vera gel actually works as a mild cleanser? (It’s not surprising – aloe vera seems to do practically anything.)

Aloe vera gel contains compounds called saponins. The word even sounds like soap. Saponins are foamy antimicrobials, meaning that aloe vera has a built-in cleansing agent! Saponins aren’t the only antimicrobials in aloe either. Aloe vera also contains salicylic acid and several other natural antiseptics.

Now, the concentration of antimicrobials isn’t high enough to use straight aloe vera for soap. And aloe vera isn’t a surfactant—meaning it won’t wash away oils or dirt very well. Sorry! Aloe vera by itself isn’t going to leave you with clean skin. But you can expect aloe bar soap to have better antimicrobial action than regular bar soap.

3. Skin Nourishment

Aloe vera is rich in vitamins that your skin needs for optimal health. Specifically, it contains vitamins A, C, and E—all of which are important for skincare!

Vitamin A

Vitamin A, also known as retinol, has an abundance of benefits for your skin. As a mild exfoliant, vitamin A helps speed up the process of shedding dead skin cells and producing new cells. In scientific terms, it increases “follicular epithelial turnover.”

“Topical retinoids [Vitamin A and its derived compounds] induce clinical improvements in photoaged skin, including a reduction in fine wrinkling, increased smoothness, and diminished hyperpigmentation.” - Linus Pauling Institute

As a bonus, its exfoliating and stimulating properties make it an effective acne treatment.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is well-known as an antioxidant, protecting your cells from the damage caused by free radicals. In other words, it can help maintain more youthful, brighter skin. Yay, less wrinkles! It works even better when combined with other antioxidants like vitamin E (which just happens to be in aloe vera too…)

“Clinical studies have shown that combining vitamin C with other topical ingredients, namely ferulic acid and vitamin E, can diminish redness and help protect the skin from long-term damage caused by harmful sun rays.” – Harvard Medical School

Vitamin E

Of course, we can’t forget vitamin E! Like vitamin C, E is well-known as an antioxidant, and is a popular ingredient in anti-aging creams. The skin absorbs vitamin E very quickly and efficiently, although it is quickly destroyed by UV light as it performs its function as an antioxidant.

Because it is rather unstable, vitamin E works better when complemented by—you guessed it—vitamin C.

“Products containing both vitamin C and vitamin E have shown greater efficacy in photoprotection than either antioxidant alone.” - Linus Pauling Institute

If you’ve ever seen vitamin E in moisturizers, it’s because vitamin E also helps prevent moisture loss. Finally, vitamin E can reduce swelling and redness, because it’s a natural anti-inflammatory. Talk about an all-around skincare remedy!

With moisturizing, cleansing, and nourishing benefits, it’s a no-brainer to add aloe vera to bar soap! Next time you lather up, your skin will thank you for choosing aloe.

What’s in Your Aloe Vera Gel?

Aloe vera is a succulent plant is well-known for its healing properties. The gel inside the leaves contains vitamins, amino acids, mucopolysaccharides, and other nutrients that are moisturizing and anti-inflammatory. Not to mention its cleansing qualities or nutritional benefits!

That’s why an overwhelming number of brands have taken aloe vera and bottled it up. They slap on an ‘aloe vera gel’ label and sell it as a natural skincare product.

But how natural is it?

The Problem With Commercial Aloe Products

If you are reading this post, you are probably aware that many aloe vera gels have a giant list of added ingredients. Yucky ingredients like dyes and alcohol that really don’t need to be there.

Below, I’ve listed some of the top ingredients you should look out for.

Powdered Aloe Vera (Concentrate)

Aloe vera isn’t exactly the easiest product to transport. Once the leaves are cut open, the gel fillets have to be refrigerated. Even then, they have a very short shelf life until they are blended and combined with stabilizers and preservatives.

So, sometimes this process is made easier by drying the inner leaf fillets and grinding them to a powder. The concentrated aloe vera powder is easier to transport than the refrigerated gel and can be added to water to recreate a gel.

The problem? Once dried, aloe vera loses a lot of its beneficial properties. The process destroys many of the plant’s active compounds, and the resulting products are often less than 10% aloe vera.

Thickening Agents

Does your aloe vera gel feel like a thick gel? Then it is full of thickeners.

Pure aloe vera, once blended, forms a watery yet pulpy solution.

Of course, a pulpy liquid isn’t exactly sexy skincare. So most brands add thickeners to their aloe vera gel. Thickeners aren’t always a bad thing—but sometime aloe vera gels have more thickener than aloe.

“Some companies trick you with wording. “100% Gel” means that it's pure gel, not pure Aloe Vera.” — Plunkett Pharmaceuticals

Carbomer is a common thickener in aloe vera gels. Unlike naturally-derived thickeners like agar or xanthan gum, carbomer is a synthetic chemical. Another thickener to look out for carrageenan, a seaweed extract that is generally safe when applied topically, but can cause allergic reactions if you are allergic to mammals.

Green Dyes

Have you ever noticed some aloe vera products are clear and some are green? Yikes! What’s going on here?

Aloe vera gel is naturally a pale, very light, yellow-tinted gel. So where do all of these blindingly bright green products keep coming from? The unnatural color would be due to synthetic dyes.

On the other hand…aloe vera isn’t crystal clear either. So products that are completely lacking color don’t have much aloe vera in them either.

Glycerin & Alcohol

One way aloe vera gels can get away with a low aloe vera content is by using glycerin and alcohol. Glycerin is a clear liquid carbohydrate that has hydrating qualities – meaning it mimics the effects of aloe vera. Meanwhile, alcohol mimics aloe vera’s cooling effects.

If you use products with a high glycerin and alcohol content, then sure, your skin will feel cool and hydrated. But you’ll be missing out on all of the nutrient benefits of aloe vera.

Other Ingredients to Watch for

Some other ingredients you might want to watch out for are triethanolamine, fragrances, diazolidinyl urea, DMDM hydantoin, and polysorbate 20.

And in case you’re wondering—if water is the first ingredient on the label, put the product back on the shelf. A little aloe with your water isn’t going to do much good.

Not All Ingredients Are Bad…

As it turns out, not all ingredients are bad. Fresh aloe vera has a very short shelf life, meaning that it needs stabilizers and preservatives to make it last. And without a thickener, it doesn’t have a pleasant texture. So it’s necessary to add a few extra ingredients.

When shopping for aloe vera gel, look for a short ingredient list and natural additives instead of synthetic chemicals.

First, make sure aloe vera is at the top of the ingredients list. When it comes to thickeners, check for safe and naturally-derived thickeners like xanthan gum and agar. For preservatives, citric acid and ascorbic acid (a fancy name for Vitamin C) are natural preservatives that are safer than most chemical preservatives. Lastly, potassium sorbate is a natural antimicrobial.

Look for products with these ingredients, and you can’t go wrong!

Witch Hazel with Aloe Vera: A Powerful Combo

With so many skincare products on the market, it should be easy to find healthy products with natural ingredients. Right?

Wrong. Most skincare items have an unbelievable amount of chemicals in them. When the ingredients list is a mile long, you start to wonder—what exactly are you putting on your body?

Image from Canva

Yeah, I don’t know either, unless I spend two hours researching ingredients and analyzing chemical structures. Not fun.

Personally, I like to stick with natural products as much as I can.

The good news? There are many medicinal plants with natural properties that are beneficial to your skin. Two of these are witch hazel and aloe vera.

Witch hazel and aloe vera have been around for a long time.

Thought to originate from Africa or the Arabian Peninsula, aloe vera is best known as a natural remedy for sunburn. It was a popular medicinal plant as far back as the Egyptian and Greek civilizations, and maybe even further!

Since witch hazel originated in North America, it’s hard to say how long it has been used for its medicinal properties. But I think we can safely assume that Native Americans were using witch hazel long before Europeans showed up on the continent.

So let’s dive into the skincare benefits of both plants!

Medicinal Properties of Witch Hazel

Even for those who doubt the power of natural remedies, witch hazel is hard to ignore. That’s partially because witch hazel holds the esteemed position of being one of the few medicinal plants to be FDA-approved.

This shrub only grows about 15-20 feet tall, yet is highly recognizable in the fall due to its bright yellow flowers.

Witch hazel is often taken internally to treat a variety of issues. But it also has a couple key topical benefits that make it a good skincare ingredient.

First, witch hazel is a strong astringent. This means that, when applied topically, it causes the skin to constrict and shrink. According to the Journal of Inflammation, “Witch hazel leaves and bark contain up to 10% tannins, which contribute to its astringent properties.”

That doesn’t sound like a good thing, but astringents actually have a lot of uses in skincare. Many facial skincare products contain astringents, because they help shrink your pores and reduce puffiness. It’s true that astringents can dry out your skin, which is why it’s helpful to pair witch hazel with a moisturizer like aloe vera…but we’ll get to that later!

In addition to being an astringent, witch hazel also has some anti-inflammatory properties. Because of this, witch hazel is often used to treat bug bites, razor burn, itchy rashes, and other inflammatory issues.

Lastly, witch hazel is an antiseptic. A study by the Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research Unit discovered that witch hazel is “extremely effective in suppressing bacterial pathogenesis, or the ability of bacteria to further develop and produce detrimental toxins.” As such, it is useful as a skin cleanser or as an antiseptic to use on small scrapes and cuts.

Benefits of Using Aloe Vera

Like witch hazel, aloe vera has anti-inflammatory properties, due to the salicylic acid in the gel. I think anyone who has used aloe vera for sunburn can attest to aloe vera’s effectiveness as an anti-inflammatory! (Real aloe vera, not the thick gel stuff with just a splash of aloe.)

Meanwhile, aloe vera gel also contains compounds called saponins. According to the Indian Journal of Dermatology, “Saponins that are the soapy substances form about 3% of the gel and have cleansing and antiseptic properties.” The saponins actually make aloe vera a useful ingredient in facial cleansers.

But that’s definitely not all!

Aloe vera also helps induce faster healing and skin growth through glucomannan and gibberellin, two compounds that stimulate the fibroblasts. And it is a highly effective moisturizer, making it an especially valuable skincare ingredient.  

Witch Hazel and Aloe Vera Products

By now, you may have noticed that witch hazel and aloe vera complement each other very well. Both have anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. Whereas witch hazel is an astringent that can be beneficial yet drying to the skin, aloe vera is a moisturizer that can balance it out.

Considering how witch hazel and aloe vera complement each other, you might want to start incorporating both into your skincare routine. Although you can directly use each plant, there are a couple brands that have developed natural-based skincare products that contain both witch hazel and aloe vera.

Thayers

Thayers has a variety of witch hazel and aloe vera skincare products, such as toners, astringents, and facial mists.

While this natural remedy brand has been around for a long time, a quick look at the ingredients list was not too inspiring. If you look at their original astringent, witch hazel and aloe are the third and second-last ingredients on the list. That doesn’t mean the astringent is bad for you—it just means that their formula doesn’t contain much witch hazel or aloe.

However, Thayer’s facial mists and toners have the witch hazel and aloe listed much higher on the ingredients list, following the water and glycerin.

My advice? If you’re looking for the benefits of using witch hazel and aloe vera on your skin, try Thayer’s facial mists or toners but skip the astringents.

By Natures

For an ultra-effective moisturizer, By Natures has an aloe vera gel with witch hazel. It’s organic and alcohol-free, and they advertise it as being safe to use on your scalp as a hair treatment as well.

Aloe vera and witch hazel are at the top of the ingredients list, so you get the best of both plants. In addition to containing witch hazel and aloe vera, this gel also contains calendula flower extract as the third ingredient. If you don’t know what calendula is, that’s okay. It’s a flower that also has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and moisturizing properties beneficial to the skin.

If you don’t find a product that you like, you can always add witch hazel extract to your aloe vera gel at home, for a powerful and healthy skincare combo.

Can Aloe Vera Be Used as a Cleanser?

Recently I wrote a post about the value of using an aloe vera facial serum for its hydrating benefits. But what else can you use aloe vera for? Does aloe vera function as a facial cleanser?

According to a poll by the New York Post, the average person tries about seven different cleansers before choosing one that works well for their skin.

That’s a lot of trial-and-error! Finding a cleanser you really like is difficult, which leads to some major spending. You probably know the feeling. You don’t know what works, so you order several different cleansers at the same time and just hope one of them is the cleanser you’ve been looking for. It’s no surprise that in 2021, “facial cleansers were the most profitable segment of the U.S. skincare market.”

Since facial cleansers are failing to satisfy skincare needs, people are looking for natural alternatives. As usual, aloe vera has made its way to the top of the list.

Although aloe vera is mostly known for its moisturizing and anti-inflammatory properties, aloe does function as a mild antiseptic. Its cleansing properties could make it a cheaper and healthier option to commercial cleansers. But to be sure, we’ll need to look at how cleansers work and how aloe vera’s cleansing properties function.

How Do Facial Cleansers Work?

As you know, oil and water don’t mix well. That’s why you can’t just ‘rinse off’ grease or oily substances. The oil will repel the water instead of dissolving.

So, like any type of soap, a facial cleanser works by isolating oils so they can be rinsed off, along with any dirt, makeup, or other residue.

This is my very very simple diagram of how soap works. It’s a little more complicated than this, but hopefully you get the idea!

As an article from The Wall Street Journal explains, “Most cleansing products have a surfactant, a chemical or natural compound that helps break through the surface tension of the skin. The cleanser absorbs dirt and oil and removes them during rinsing.”

Additionally, facial cleansers sometimes contain exfoliates or other ingredients to help enhance the cleansing action. Exfoliates can help stimulate circulation, unclog and minimize pores, and clear away dead skin cells.

Despite the benefits of using a facial cleanser, many cleansers are very drying your the skin, especially if they contain exfoliates. To help balance out the drying, many cleansers now contain oils in them to help keep the skin hydrated. Sounds counterintuitive, right? But many oils are better at breaking down makeup too, so including them in the cleanser formula has multiple benefits.

Cleansing Properties of Aloe Vera

So, where does aloe vera factor into all of this?

About 3% of aloe vera gel is made up of saponins. Unless you know what saponins are, this information probably doesn’t mean much to you. But it is important because saponins are soap-like compounds that function as natural cleansers.

According to an article in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, “Saponins are detergent-like substances showing antibacterial as well as anticancer potential.”

Saponins foam up in water, creating a consistency similar to that of a foaming cleanser. Due to their soapy consistency and natural antibacterial properties, saponins are often used in shampoos and other skincare and haircare products. So it turns out that aloe vera does have a built-in natural cleanser.

Does Aloe Vera Work as a Facial Cleanser?

It’s true that aloe vera contains antibacterial saponins that give it cleansing properties. But…by itself, aloe lacks the properties that a good facial cleanser should have.

While saponins may be an antiseptic, they don’t do much to remove dirt, oil, or makeup. Aloe is a fantastic moisturizer. So, instead of isolating oils so that they can be washed off, aloe vera sinks into the skin very quickly. Aloe is also very soft and does not work as an exfoliator.

Overall, aloe vera doesn’t do much good as a facial cleanser.

But…don’t stop reading yet. Because even though aloe vera makes a very poor cleanser, it’s a great ingredient to include in a facial cleanser.

Remember how I said facial cleansers tend to be drying? And aloe vera is a moisturizer? It’s practically a match made in heaven.

There are many facial cleansers that include aloe vera as an ingredient. You can also make your own aloe vera facial cleanser using fresh aloe gel, castile soap or another soap of your preference, and essential oils. With some trial-and-error, you can say goodbye to commercial products and blend your own facial cleanser formula.

3 Reasons to Use an Aloe Vera Facial Serum (& Top Picks)

Are you looking for ways to improve your skincare routine?

That’s a rather loaded question. There are always ways to improve your skincare.

But today we’re going to focus on just one: the value of using aloe vera serum for your face.

The facial serum market grew about 5.58% in 2021. If you use a serum for your face on a regular basis, this is good news. As the market grows, so does the diversity in products. Many brands are trying to incorporate more natural ingredients into their serums.

One of those ingredients is aloe vera. Aloe vera does wonders for dry or inflamed skin. And it can minimize signs of aging by helping your skin stay softer and more elastic.

Should you be using an aloe vera serum for your face? Let’s find out!

What is a Serum?

Before we look into whether an aloe vera serum is right for you, what exactly is a serum? There are too many varieties of skincare products to keep track of. Often, terms like ‘serum’ get tossed around without us actually knowing what they mean.

According to the Harvard Medical School, serums are “highly concentrated formulations that are designed to sink into the skin quickly, delivering an intensive dose of ingredients that can address common skin complaints.”

Because serums are designed to sink into the skin quickly, they are often very hydrating for the skin. In a regular skincare routine, face serums are generally followed by moisturizers, to ‘lock in’ the hydration.

As to the specific benefits of a serum, that really depends on what kind of face serum you use. For example, you might use a face serum to help decrease wrinkles. Or maybe you want a serum that helps your skin look brighter and softer. You could use a face serum just for the hydration benefits, to maintain healthy skin.

Why Use a Serum with Aloe?

Now that you know what face serums are and how they can help you…why would you want a serum with aloe?

Well, aloe vera has a lot of amazing properties that are beneficial to the skin. Its use ranges far beyond treating sunburn and rashes.

How can aloe vera help?

1. Protect your skin from radiation damage.

   If you are inside most of the time, this isn’t a big deal. But if you spend a lot of time outside in the sun, you are being exposed to UV radiation on a regular basis. Aloe vera contains antioxidants, which help protect you from the free radicals produced by radiation.

2. Soothe inflammation.

   Aloe vera is a wonderful anti-inflammatory, which is one of the reasons it works so well for burns. But its value as an anti-inflammatory means that it can help with chronic inflammation as well. Aloe can help soothe psoriasis, dermatitis, acne, or other inflammatory skin issues.

3. Hydrate your skin.

   Additionally, aloe vera is very hydrating. Aloe is mostly water, but instead of evaporating and drying out your skin, it contains mucopolysaccharides that bind the moisture to your skin and help the moisture soak in.

Choosing an Aloe Vera Serum for Your Face

Although there are many facial serums that splash “aloe” across the label, most of them have a very low amount of aloe vera.

That’s not always a bad thing though. It depends on your skin’s needs.

For example, if you want a hydrating serum, you may choose a facial serum with a high concentration of aloe vera. On the other hand, if you want a cleansing serum, a small amount of aloe vera to prevent drying might be just fine.

Below, I’ve listed a few aloe vera serums to help you get started, depending on what benefits you are looking for.

Nourishing Serum: Fourth Ray Beauty Aloe & Avocado Serum

While this serum doesn’t contain a high amount of aloe vera, it contains many other natural ingredients such as jojoba oil, avocado oil, rosemary extract, and more. If you look at the full ingredients list, you may notice that this serum contains a lot of oils, which are beneficial for nourishing the skin but may leave a slightly oily residue.

Hydrating Serum: Natur Unique Aloe Attiva

Aloe Attiva is a skincare brand that uses a concentrated aloe extract as the base for their products. Founded in Italy, this brand’s aloe vera facial serum uses a combo of their aloe extract, hyaluronic acid, and plant-based collagen for a highly hydrating mixture. 

Anti-aging Serum: Nova Lucia Vitamin C Serum

With Vitamin C, aloe vera, hyaluronic acid, and fruit extracts, this facial serum helps reduce wrinkles, eye bags, and other signs of aging. (Or signs of a rough night!) This aloe vera serum has great reviews and is surprisingly affordable.

Image from Amazon

Anti-aging Serum: GoPure Vitamin C Serum

It seemed like a crime to list Nova Lucia’s facial serum and leave out GoPure. GoPure’s aloe vera serum is also anti-aging, and I was impressed to find that aloe vera juice is the second ingredient on the list. This serum also contains witch hazel, which is an astringent and is useful for minimizing pores and tightening the skin.