The use of aloe to make aloe vera products has been ongoing for thousands of years. While the benefits of the aloe vera plant are well known in North America today, other areas of the world have been using this plant for medicinal purposes long before its benefits were known in the United States. This plant is actually used as a treatment for burn patients, in many parts of the world.
When aloe vera first came into use, its major application was in the treatment of areas that contained infection due to burns. It was later found that aloe could also treat other skin irritations, such as skin allergies, eczema, and irritations of the skin caused by cuts. Aloe works well on all of these skin afflictions when added to other items such as amino acids, essential oils and also enzymes. For this reason, most aloe vera products are marketed as items that facilitate all-around health and beauty. For those that are looking to purchase products containing aloe, manufactures have produced items that care for bug bites and stings, sunburns, skin rashes and minor burns. There are also many different items containing aloe that are used to soften the skin, which are sold as bath oils and lotions.
A number of products categorized in the cosmetic line, also contain aloe. Many intense therapy moisturizers and creams containing aloe are used to treat extremely dry skin and can even be used under the eye area, one of the body’s more sensitive areas that not all products can be used on. Extensive research has been done surrounding the benefits of aloe vera and is now known that also can help reduce the effects of acne, decrease the appearance of skin pigmentation and encourage collagen production. Because of these findings and the results, aloe has increasingly become more popular as an additive in personal care products.
Besides health and beauty products, aloe vera can also be found in many different foods and supplements. The juice from the aloe vera plant can be used to cleanse the colon and small intestine, relieve pain and inflammation of the digestive tract and simply ease digestion. Many supplements now contain aloe and it can be purchased in gel form, capsule form and even as a drink or juice. There is, however, much debate as to whether or not the juices or capsules work adequately enough to actually treat any internal issues and suggest that an actual aloe vera extract that can be added to foods, teas or ingested by the spoonful in order to ease any ailments.