You may be familiar with aloe vera, which grows readily in the Australian climate. This succulent bears thick, fleshy leaves filled with gel-like juice and is a familiar sight as an indoor and outdoor plant.
As well as being an attractive addition to your home and garden, did you know that the aloe vera plant has many health benefits?
In this article, we take a look at the power of the aloe vera plant and how it can enhance your wellbeing.
Aloe vera soothes…
The plant is known for its soothing and moisturising properties, so you will find many benefits of aloe vera on skin.
This makes it an ideal ingredient for skincare products, which can range from cleansers and moisturising creams through to hand sanitiser. In fact, it’s the perfect addition to any product, like hand gels and sanitiser, that you use frequently, as it nourishes and cares for your skin with every application.
Aloe vera also has cooling properties. For this reason, it is used to treat mild burns, including sunburn. Keep aloe vera gel or cream in your fridge for this very purpose, or you simply apply juice straight from the plant.
…and improves your digestive health
Aloe vera is available in capsule and tablet form as a dietary supplement to help improve your digestive health. Its combination of vitamins, minerals, amino acids and enzymes, as well as its anti-inflammatory properties, are believed to aid digestive conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome.
In fact, scientists believe that many diseases such as asthma, Crohn’s disease and fibromyalgia can be caused by inflammation, which makes aloe vera great as a supplement to enhance overall health and wellbeing.
Aloe vera is also believed to deter the growth of the H. pylori bacteria that grow in your digestive tract and can attack the stomach lining, leading to ulcers and gastritis.
It’s good for your teeth…
Extracts from the plant are also used in toothpaste and mouthwash. That’s because aloe vera has antibacterial qualities that can help combat the germs that cause tooth decay and gum disease.
You can buy ready-made aloe vera toothpaste from the pharmacy or even make your own. Simply combine 3 teaspoons of aloe vera gel, 3 teaspoons of baking soda, 5 teaspoons of vegetable glycerin and 10 finely chopped mint leaves. Store it in a clean container and use it just like any regular toothpaste.
…and for skin conditions too!
Aloe vera works well for certain skin conditions too. For example, it can help to soothe the inflammation of acne, while the acids in aloe vera can unclog pores and help prevent further outbreaks. Its antibacterial effect also helps keep spots in check.
Soothing aloe vera can help with the soreness of conditions like eczema and dermatitis too.
And let’s not forget its anti-ageing effect!
Aloe vera is frequently used in anti-ageing products, as it can help your skin become more elastic by stimulating collagen production.
And its combination of vitamins C and E and the antioxidant beta carotene help to reduce fine lines and age spots by repairing the skin.
How can I harness the power of aloe vera?
Benefitting from aloe vera is simple. You can either grow the plant yourself at home and harvest its gel or buy products containing aloe vera extract.
If you’re cultivating aloe vera at home, you’ll find it’s an easy plant to please, which can be grown either in a pot on a sunny windowsill or outdoors and requires only light watering.
To harvest aloe vera gel at home, here’s what you do:
- Choose a plant that’s a few years old for a higher concentration of active ingredients.
- Remove a few leaves from the outer sections of your aloe vera plant.
- Wash and dry them.
- Remove the prickly edges.
- Remove the gel from inside the leaf, allowing the yellow sap to drain away.
You can also buy many ready-made skincare and dietary products containing aloe vera extract from any local or online pharmacy or wellbeing outlet.
For example, you can find hand sanitiser, which harnesses the healing and soothing properties of aloe vera in the FeverMates shop. Not only is our hand sanitiser with aloe vera effective against 99.9% of germs, but it also leaves your hands feeling soft and nourished.
Find aloe vera products and more in our shop
Find hand sanitiser enriched with aloe vera in the FeverMates online collection. You’ll also find many more products to enhance your family’s health and wellbeing, from facemasks to prevent the spread of infection through to cooling patches to soothe you if you do fall unwell.
One thing all our health and wellbeing products have in common is that they are dedicated to keeping families all over Australia well.
As one of the country’s leading suppliers of hand sanitiser, face masks, thermometers, cooling products and more, we pride ourselves on delivering wellness all over Australia!