*A skin healing mask
Aloe vera is wonderful for not only healing acne scars but also for moisturizing the skin and keeping it youthful. It’s easy to make a healing facemask with nothing more than the gel of one to two aloe vera leaf halves. Mix this with some essential oil if you like for a nice scent (mint, thieves, and lavender are nice) or simply use it plain. Apply for 30 minutes and let it sit. It’s mild in scent on its own and has a particularly wonderful cooling feel.
* A sunburn healing gel
As many people know, aloe vera is wonderful for helping with sunburn. You’ve likely seen those sunburn gels at drugstores with aloe vera, but the better option that will provide many less chemicals is to just use real aloe leaf. It can help reduce redness and pain associated with sunburn fairly quickly and can be applied liberally as much as needed. You can apply the gel plain or can mix it with a carrier oil, such as coconut and hemp, for extra moisturizing and healing benefits.
* Minor skin burns
This is the reason my grandmother always kept aloe on hand. Apparently she knew that her 12 grandchildren would have a few burns here and there. She was also a cook and liked to use it around if she touched a hot stove every now and then. I remember her always using aloe on our burns as children and though we thought she was weird, it always worked quickly.
Aloe vera’s moisturizing and healing benefits transcend into the skin to reduce inflammation and aid in repair of the skin fairly quickly. To use it on a burn, apply just enough to coat the burn and cover with a bandage so it can do its job. Leave overnight and it should be better in the morning. The pain goes away almost immediately upon application, however.
* Cuts and wounds
The gel of the aloe vera plant contains polysacharride fibers, which is essentially why it’s used as a digestive aid (but that also makes it problematic for some people).
These fibers also help to seal wounds and it’s natural cooling properties help soothe pain from cuts and wounds. Apply aloe to minor skin cuts and wounds after you’ve cleansed the area with a warm cloth and some peroxide (yes, that part stings).
Then seal it up with a bandage and let it sit to heal overnight or for a day.
* Itching or skin irritation
Psoriasis and skin irritation can both be a pain to deal with (literally) and can also be hard to manage. Many prescription creams and over the counter creams don’t work, and those that do often contain excess chemicals that are not best for our skins to absorb (parabens are common ingredient in these creams).
Aloe is one of the best to relieve itching and irritation because it contains glycoproteins which help reduce inflammation upon contact.
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