Is aloe lotion good for skin?
Gemma asks…I’m a huge fan of Vaseline Intensive Care Aloe Fresh lotion. However, I found another very cheap aloe lotion: Perfect Purity. I wonder if Perfect Purity will perform as well as my favorite Vaseline? Or should I just bite the bullet and save my dollars for a big bottle of Vaseline Aloe Fresh?
Thanks to Gemma for taking the time to record her question. We can answer this well based on reviewing the ingredients and we will cover that first. However, we want to take this opportunity to talk more about the world itself and discuss why it is (or isn’t) good for your skin. So, let’s break down the difference between Vaseline and Perfect Purity.
The Vaseline product consists of 4 key moisturizing ingredients let’s look at each one in descending order of concentration. First there is glycerin. Glycerin is a humectant which means it attracts and binds water to the skin. That’s one of the two basic ways a moisturizer works.
Another way moisturizer works is to seal the skin which means it locks in moisture by preventing evaporation. That’s how the second ingredient, mineral oil, works.
The third key ingredient is dimethicone which is a silicone that not only helps to seal in moisture but also protects the skin from detergents and other harsh ingredients. That’s why it’s FDA approved as a skin protectant.
The 4th ingredient is petrolatum which is one of the most effective, if not the most effective, moisture occlusive ingredients.
So Vaseline contains a powerful cocktail of simple yet effective moisturizing agents. Now let’s take a look at all the effective moisturizers in Perfect Purity. Are you ready? Here they are:
Mineral oil. That’s all. The rest of the formula is emulsifiers and control agents. Vaseline is better because a combination of different occlusive agents combined with a good humectant will moisturize more effectively than a high level of mineral oil.
In addition, Vaseline has a better balanced emulsion system so I would expect it to be more stable and pleasant. Last but not least, the amount of aloe in any formula is not that important.
And that brings us to the second part of the discussion – what is aloe vera and is it good or bad for the skin?
What is aloe?
Aloe vera gel is harvested from the aloe vera plant by cutting the leaves open and collecting the extract. This thick, clear “ooze” is known as mucilage. The word mucilage comes from the word “mucus” or at least from the same Latin root. He spoke of pituitous.
The gel is sterilized, pasteurized, and filtered. It can be sold as is or spray dried into a powder.
Most mucilage is about 99.5% water. Another 0.5% is a combination of mucopolysaccharides, choline and choline salicylate.
Polysaccharides include pectins, other celluloses, and sugars such as mannose derivatives. It also contains amino acids, lipids, and sterols such as lupeol.
Interestingly, the specification of aloe vera allows it to contain 1 ppm arsenic, 2 ppm lead and 0.01 ppm mercury.
What does aloe vera do for the skin? Here is the good news. This stuff really works.
According to Dr. Zoe Draelos, MD a dermatologist who is often quoted in cosmetic science issues, aloe is a great treatment for burns.
Mucopolysaccharides are film-makers that form a thin, protective covering over the burn as the aloe dries; this film helps to protect the exposed nerve endings. Choline salicylate (chemically similar to the active ingredient in muscle rub creams) is an anti-inflammatory that soothes burned skin.
The WHO admits that it is working on a new one. “Aloe Vera Gel has been used successfully in the treatment of first and second degree thermal burns and radiation burns. Both thermal burns and radiation burns heal quickly with minimal necrosis when treated with preparations containing Aloe Vera Gel.” I saw at least one test that compared it to gauze mixed with petroleum jelly and it was statistically better.
But wait, there’s more! Aloe also has anti-inflammatory properties. When both in vitro and in vivo studies show aloe reduces acute inflammation (at least in mice.) This mechanism appears to be based on an active enzyme and inhibition of prostaglandin F2. The sterol components of aloe (mainly lupeol) are thought to be responsible.
Sounds good, right? But here’s the bad news: aloe only works under very specific conditions.
Things to look for in an aloe product
Most aloe lotions contain aloe powder. But Dr. Dr. Draelos points out that reconstituted powdered aloe does not contain the same 0.5% active ingredient. That means it won’t have the same function.
Research summarized by the WHO confirms this. They say …”Currently there are no commercially available preparations that have been proven to be stable. Because many of the active ingredients in the gel appear to degrade upon storage, the use of fresh gel is recommended.”
In addition, the WHO states that a concentration of between 10% and 70% of the fresh gel is necessary to obtain benefits. That’s a lot! (Defined dose or posology)
Therefore, it seems unlikely that most of the aloe lotion products on the market will provide all the benefits we have described. You do not have the correct posology. It’s a poser!
If you’re still determined to use aloe vera, here are a few things to look out for. First make sure you get the right type of aloe vera.
Actually, the first step is to make sure you get ALL the aloe vera. One of the products that Gemma asked about in her email was “Dermasil Aloe Fresh.” But if you look at the ingredient list it doesn’t actually contain any aloe vera! (Yes this may be an error in the ingredient list but still…come on!
But back to the right kind…To make sure you’re not getting the blended version look for “juice” in the ingredient name. Allowed names include “aloe barbadensis leaf juice” or simply “aloe juice”. If it says aloe vera or aloe you are not getting the right stuff. (State the difference between the different versions of INCI. 2nd edition vs 9th edition.
Second, look for high concentration. If you’re doing natural makeup, you won’t find 10 to 70% in a regular lotion but there are products on the market that use aloe at this level. Another one we found is Jason Natural Cosmetics Aloe Vera Super Gel. It’s not new but this type of product has the best chance of providing the benefits of aloe vera – just remember that it won’t replace a regular stimulant because it doesn’t contain the kind of ingredients we talked about at the top of the program.
Aloe is an effective natural ingredient but only when used fresh and in good quality. Most commercial products will not give you the full benefits that you get from the plant itself.
We should mention that Gemma has her own blog visagemaquillage.blogspot.com
Lists of ingredients
Ingredients of Vaseline Intensive Care Aloe Fresh lotion:
Water, glycerin, stearic acid, isopropyl myristate, mineral oil, glycerl stearate, glycol stearate, dimethicone, peg-100 stearate, petrolatum, cetyl alcohol, tapioca starch, phenoxyethanol, magnesium aluminum silicate, methylparaben/alkyl-acrylate3, aclkyl-acrylate3 fragrance, propylparaben, disodium edta, xanthan gum, stearamide amp, aloe barbadensis leaf juice powder, titanium dioxide (cl77891)
Absolute Cleanliness:
Water, stearic acid, cetyl alcohol, glycerol monostearate, mineral oil, triethanolamine, carbomer, aloe vera, tocopheryl acetate (vitamin e), propylene glycol, diazolidinyl urea, iodopropynyl, butylcarbamate, DMDM hydantoin, fragrance green 15, BlueCI 150 42090)
Ingredients of Jason Aloe Vera Super Gel
Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Gel, Aqua (Purified Water), Vegetable Glycerin, Allantoin, Polysorbate 20, Panthenol (Vitamin B5), Potassium Carbomer, Argnine, Natural Menthol, Benzyl Alcohol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzollax, Chlorophylex
Dermasil Aloe Fresh lotion: Water, glycerin, Petrolatum, mineral oil, Stearic Acid, Dimethicone,, Glycol Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate, Peg-40 stearate, Cetyl alcohol, Cetyl Acetate, sodium hydroxide, fragrance, dimethicone, phenoxyethanol, Olive, Oliveflower, Ol-sunthulian disodium edta, Acetylated Lanolin, methylisothiazolinone, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, magnesium aluminum silicate, lecithin, Borago Officinalis Seed Oil, Cholesterol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Prunus Amygoalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Almond Album, Santa Almond Oillate, Santa Oil Almond) Damascena Extract, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Stearmide Amp, Disodium Edta, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Dmdm Hydantoin, and Other Ingredients. Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Glycerin
Are serums really necessary?
Sheila asks…Thanks for recommending The Age Fix. I read this book and really enjoyed it. My question is is the use of serums really necessary?
Glad to hear you enjoyed The Age Fix! Remember that is a book by Brains friends Dr. Tony Youn who runs the Celebrity Cosmetic Surgery website. It’s so exciting! Check it out.
First let’s talk about serums. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer because the word “serum” is used differently by different companies. All it tells you is the consistency of the product – it’s not a liquid, or cream or lotion. I think that in most cases this term already means “a product with great consistency.” It is usually transparent and used with a dropper or other controlled release package.
Whether or not a product provides benefits does not depend on the product form but on the active ingredients it contains. For example, a serum with retinol? It probably costs money. Unless you use a cream or lotion with retinol in which case you don’t need both. How about a serum with chamomile extract? Maybe it won’t give much profit.
So maybe the question shouldn’t be “are serums necessary?” But rather something like “what active ingredients are needed to give me the benefit I want.” Once you have decided you can decide which product form is right for you.
Is this a good nail oil pack?
Sonja in our Forum says…. Many nail art bloggers and Instagrammers swear by this nail oil pen, but I can’t help but wonder if packaging nail oil this way is safe. The pen has a brush on one end and the oil comes out through the brush, which you can sweep over your cuticles and nails. I can see that = easy, but I worry that the brush will pick up germs on my hands and then the germs can migrate back to the oil reservoir and contaminate the product. Is this type of packaging safe?
I don’t think we have much to worry about because this type of product is not prone to microbial contamination. If you look at the ingredients you will see that there is no water in the product which means bacteria and mold cannot grow very well.
In addition, the packaging of the pen prevents direct exposure to moisture so the product is likely to remain uncontaminated. With anhydrous products that are heavily exposed to moisture in the environment (think lip balm) there is still some concern but I don’t think there is much of a risk here.
Refined Oil Pen Ingredients: Jojoba Wax Ester, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Grape Seed Oil, Fragrance Oil Blend, Olive Squalane, Vitamin A Oil, Vitamin E Oil, Tea Tree Oil
