Aloe Vera is a natural ingredient from the Aloe barbadenis miller and grows mainly in the dry regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, and America.
The plant has triangular, fleshy leaves with serrated edges, yellow tubular flowers and fruits that contain numerous seeds. Each leaf is composed of three layers:
1) An inner clear gel that contains 99% water and the rest is made up of glucomannans, amino acids, lipids, sterols and vitamins.
2) The middle layer, which is the bitter yellow sap and contains anthraquinones and glycosides.
3) The outer thick layer of 15–20 cells called rind, which has protective functions and synthesizes carbohydrates and proteins.
Aloe vera contains 75 potentially active constituents: vitamins, enzymes, minerals,
sugars, lignin, saponins, salicylic acids and amino acids.
Healing properties: Aloe gel not only increased collagen content of the wound but also changed collagen composition (more type III) and increased the degree of collagen cross linking. Due to this, it accelerated wound contraction and increased the breaking strength of resulting scar tissue
Effects on skin exposure to UV and gamma radiation: Following the administration of aloe vera gel, an antioxidant protein, metallothionein, is generated in the skin, which scavenges hydroxyl radicals and prevents suppression of superoxide and glutathione peroxidase in the skin.
Anti-inflammatory action: Aloe vera inhibits the cyclooxyrgenase pathway and reduces prostaglandin production. The novel anti-inflammatory compound called C-glucosyl chromone was isolated from the gel and exhibited topical anti-inflammatory activity.
Moisturising and anti-aging effect: Mucopolysaccharides help binding moisture in the skin. Aloe Vera stimulates fibroblast, which produces the collagen and elastin fibres, making the skin more elastic and less wrinkled. It also has cohesive effects on the superficial flaking epidermal cells by sticking them together, which softens the skin. The amino acids also soften hardened skin cells and zinc acts as an astringent to tighten pores.
Antiseptic effect: Aloe vera contains 6 antiseptic agents: Lupeol, salicylic acid, urea nitrogen, cinnamonic acid, phenols and sulfur. They all have inhibitory action on fungi, bacteria and viruses.
We use Aloe Vera in both our Divine Nektar Serum and Moisturiser as well as both Divine Ambrosia Serum and Moisturiser.