Since ancient times, Aloe vera has been used in herbal concoctions, cosmetics, and medicines. In a scroll found in Egypt, it was mentioned that the aloe vera gel was used to treat many skin issues and health conditions by combining it with other ingredients. The gel inside the long appendages makes the aloe vera plant an excellent solution to skin issues. Though the main component of the aloe vera gel is water, it is also loaded with a bulk of vitamins, active compounds, and minerals. Due to its several benefits, the gel is used in many cosmetic and skin care products like creams and lotions. Moisturizers and sunscreens with aloe vera as the main ingredients are quite popular among skin care enthusiasts. Wondering how to use aloe vera on your skin? Well, we can help you. This article discusses how to prepare aloe vera face packs and their benefits for your skin. Keep reading!
Benefits Of Aloe Vera Face Pack
Scientists have discovered over 150 nutritional ingredients in Aloe vera. There seems to be no single magic ingredient. They all work together in a synergistic way to create healing and health giving benefits. The ten main areas of chemical constituents of Aloe vera include: amino acids, anthraquinones, enzymes, minerals, vitamins, lignins, monosaccharide, polysaccharides, salicylic acid, saponins, and sterols.
Aloe vera gel rejuvenates the skin, hydrates it, and keeps your skin looking fresh all the time. It is an excellent moisturizer for skin (1). It has antimicrobial properties, making it ideal to treat acne and pimples (2). It is a great naturally occurring antioxidant that reverses the oxidative damage experienced by the skin. This will reduce dullness and give your skin a natural glow(3). It is known to retain your skin’s firmness – making it a good anti-aging cream. Aloe vera is known to reduce pain and inflammation – both internally and externally. It is medicinally also used to treat sun burns, insect bites, eczema, cuts and wounds. It removes dead skin cells and facilitates the rebuilding of fresh and new cells (4). It is a de-pigmentation agent, which means that it can effectively lighten dark spots, hyper-pigmentation, and other skin blemishes (5).
Below are some of the best aloe vera face mask recipes that can be easily made at home. If you are making the aloe vera gel at home and want to use it regularly, then store the extracted gel in an air tight container in the fridge. This way, the gel will be in a good condition and can be used later.
How To Extract Aloe Vera Gel At Home?
Choose the leaves of the plant carefully, the leaves in the middle of the plant contains most of the gel as they are juicier, softer, and widest there. Cut the leaves at an angle from the base of the plant. Now, make the leaves stand upright for 15 minutes to allow the sap to drain out. The sap is a yellow colored fluid which will ooze out the moment you cut the leaf. Allow it to drain out completely. Wash the leaves to remove the remaining sap from the leaves. Lay the leaves flat on the cutting board and carefully cut the sides of the leaves which have the thorns. Cut from both the sides. Once that is done, you need to peel off the green layer of the leaf and dice the transparent gel into cubes. Alternatively, you can also slice the leaves into two halves from top to bottom and scrape off the transparent gel with the help of a spoon. Store this gel in an air-tight container in a cool place.
Now that you know the many benefits of this plant and how exactly you can extract some fresh gel, let us look at the different ways in which it can be combined with other ingredients and used by various skin types.
Aloe Vera Face Packs For Different Skin Types
How To Make Aloe Vera Face Pack At Home
1. Aloe Vera And Rose Water
You Will Need
1 tablespoon aloe vera gel 1 tablespoon rose water
What You Have To Do
Alternatively, you can massage the face pack for 2-3 mins onto the face before rinsing it off to cleanse your pores.
How Often You Should Do This
You can repeat this up to three times a week.
Why This Works
Age spots, pimple marks, pigmentation marks, burns or injury marks can be treated using this aloe vera face pack. Rose water is an astringent that soothes and tones the skin. It enhances the cell regeneration process and also improves capillary circulation (6).
Suitable For
Dry skin, normal skin, combination skin, and oily skin.
2. Multani Mitti And Aloe Vera
You Will Need
1 tablespoon multani mitti (Fuller’s earth) 1 teaspoon aloe vera gel Rose water OR cold milk
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
Apply this once or twice a week.
Why This Works
Being a cosmetic clay, multani mitti thoroughly cleanses your pores by absorbing all the impurities and excess oil (7).
Suitable For
Normal skin, combination skin, and oily skin.
3. Aloe Vera And Turmeric
You Will Need
1 pinch turmeric 1 tablespoon aloe vera gel 1 teaspoon honey Few drops of rose water
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
Do this twice a week.
Why This Works
For the ladies (and gents) who want glowing and radiant skin, this aloe vera face pack is for you! Turmeric brightens up the complexion and evens out the skin tone. It also contains antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that treat any existing skin issue (8, 9).
Suitable For
All skin types. [ Read: Homemade Face Packs For Dry Skin ]
4. Banana And Aloe Vera Face Pack
You Will Need
1 tablespoon aloe vera 3-4 ripe banana pieces
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
Do this once a week, or up to twice a week if required.
Why This Works
This face pack acts as a deep nourishment treatment for the skin. The rich fat content of bananas hydrates and moisturizes the skin, giving relief from dry patches and flakiness. You will also see an improvement in your skin’s elasticity after using this face pack (10).
Suitable For
Dry skin and normal skin.
5. Curd And Aloe Vera Face Pack
You Will Need
2 teaspoons aloe vera gel 1 teaspoon curd (plain yogurt) 1 teaspoon honey OR lemon juice
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
You can apply this up to thrice a week.
Why This Works
Curd (or yogurt) is an excellent skin cleanser that can be used by all skin types. It contains mild acids that exfoliate the skin and remove all the dirt and impurities. Yogurt contains healthy fats that nourish the skin (11).
Suitable For
Dry skin, normal skin, combination skin, and oily skin. [ Video: Aloe Vera Face Pack For Fair Skin ]
6. Aloe Vera And Cucumber Face Pack
You Will Need
2 teaspoons aloe vera 1 teaspoon cucumber juice 2-3 drops rose oil (optional)
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
Repeat this once or twice a week.
Why This Works
This face pack is excellent for tanned skin and sunburns. Cucumber is very soothing for irritated and sunburned skin. The high water content from it can also hydrate your skin. It will get rid of oil, dirt, and impurities from your skin, leaving you feeling clean, refreshed, and rejuvenated (12).
Suitable For
All skin types, even sensitive.
7. Aloe Vera, Masoor Dal (Red Lentil), And Tomato Face Pack
You Will Need
2 tablespoons red lentils 1 tablespoon aloe vera gel 1/2 small tomato Water
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
Use this face pack twice a week.
Why This Works
Red lentils, when ground, work as a wonderful exfoliating agent. While the pack is on, aloe vera works its magic, and when you gently scrub the face pack off, the lentils remove the dead cells and unclog pores. You can get rid of blackheads and whiteheads with this face pack (13).
Suitable For
Dry skin, normal skin, combination skin, and oily skin. [ Read: Lemon Use For Face ]
8. Aloe Vera, Honey, And Lemon Face Pack
You Will Need
2 teaspoons aloe vera 1 teaspoon lemon Juice 1 teaspoon honey
What You Have To Do
Alternatively, you can also make a mixture of the same and apply the mix with the help of a cotton ball on the affected areas to treat them.
How Often You Should Do This
Repeat this once every day.
Why This Works
Skin tanning is a common problem in India. It is also very difficult to get rid of the tan easily. Try this simple and effective pack for tan removal. The lemon juice’s acids lighten the skin tone and the honey soothes the skin irritated by the sun (14).
Suitable For
Dry skin, normal skin, combination skin, and oily skin. [ Read: Homemade Night Creams To Get Beautiful Skin ]
9. Neem And Aloe Vera Face Pack
You Will Need
2 teaspoons aloe vera gel 1 teaspoon honey Handful of neem leaves 2-3 holy basil (tulsi) leaves (optional) Water
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
Apply this once or twice a week depending on the severity of your acne.
Why This Works
The antimicrobial properties of neem are often employed for acne treatment (15). A bacterial infection in the clogged skin pores is responsible for pimple formation. When these bacteria are killed, the pimples are healed in no time.
Suitable For
Oily skin, acne prone skin, and combination skin.
10. Aloe Vera And Papaya Face Pack
You Will Need
2-3 pieces ripe papaya 2 teaspoons aloe vera gel 2 teaspoons rose water
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
Apply this once or twice a week.
Why This Works
The enzymes in the papaya will work as a natural chemical exfoliant. The dull and dead top layer of the skin will be removed to reveal fresh, glowing, and bright complexion. Papaya also helps to unclog pores and smoothen skin (16, 17).
Suitable For
Normal skin, combination skin, oily skin, and mature skin.
11. Sandalwood And Aloe Vera Face Pack
You Will Need
1 tablespoon aloe vera gel 1 tablespoon sandalwood powder Rose water OR cold milk
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
Repeat this twice a week.
Why This Works
Fair and clear skin can be yours in no time if you use this face pack regularly. Sandalwood powder has been used since ancient times to soothe the skin and improve the skin tone (18).
Suitable For
Normal skin, combination skin, oily skin, and acne-prone skin. [ Read: Benefits Of Aloe Vera For Hair ]
12. Besan And Aloe Vera Face Pack
You Will Need
1-2 tablespoons besan (gram flour) 2 teaspoons aloe vera gel
What You Have To Do
How Often You Should Do This
Repeat this once or twice a week.
Why This Works
Besan is a type of flour that exfoliates the skin and also tightens your pores (19). Use this face pack regularly to maintain the health of your skin in the long run.
Suitable For
Dry skin, normal skin, combination skin, and oily skin. Can I sleep with aloe vera on my face? Yes, overnight application of aloe vera gel to the face is completely safe. Apply a thin coating of pure aloe vera gel all over your face, avoiding your eyes. Leave it on overnight and wash it off in the morning with a mild cleanser. Is aloe vera face pack good for dark circles? Yes, aloe vera may help to reduce dark circles naturally. Apply aloe vera gel underneath your eyes and keep it on overnight if you find it relaxing and suits your skin type. Does aloe vera gel expire? Aloe vera gel does expire, although it varies depending on the form and storage. Raw aloe vera spoils quickly. However, it can be kept refrigerated for up to a week. Store-bought aloe vera contains preservatives and can be stored at room temperature for 2 years and refrigerated for 5 years.
So, which aloe vera face pack are you planning to try? Do let us know in the comments section below. Recommended Articles
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