Discover the best home remedies with aloe vera
It is one of the medicinal plants most used as a home remedy, since there are many people who even have aloe vera at home and use its gel whenever necessary. The plant as such may seem to have an image of a cactus, but it is not, although it does usually grow in warm climates. For it to grow, it needs a necessary substrate, which must be rich in minerals and clay.
Its beneficial properties are well known. “If we make a small advance, we can say that, internally, it is very detoxic, it has purifying, laxative and stomach-protecting properties. Meanwhile, as a topical use, the anti-inflammatory ones stand out above all and, above all, it is ideal for irritations and possible burns, not just sunburns,” pharmacist Meritxell Martí tells us.
From the plant, latex and gel are mainly used. The gel is the mucilaginous part, which is found in the innermost part of the leaves. It is rich in glucomannans, amino acids, lipids, sterols and vitamins. In the middle part of the leaf is where latex is found, a yellowish liquid, and contains glycosides and anthraquinones. The outermost part is the one that protects the leaf and contains the proteins and carbohydrates (the cortex),” the expert tells us.
So you can take advantage of it -Oral use.
It protects the stomach mucosa, making it especially effective in cases of ulcers, heartburn, reflux and digestive heartburn.
It is also a good ally of an oral detox, as it is a light laxative and regulates intestinal transit.
Topical use. Above all, its healing, emollient, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, anti-irritant and regenerating properties stand out, to improve all types of burns, including sunburns.
This is how you should use it It is a plant with very easy access, just like home remedies. “The ideal is to cut the leaf of the plant in the morning. Subsequently, the thorns are removed, the leaf is peeled (the cortex is removed), leaving the extracted part of the aloe, known as the fillet. Wash the fillet, putting it in water for 24 hours, changing the water two or three times. And that is what we are going to use, to extract the gel or juice,” Meritxell Martí tells us, who points out that this way the leaves expel the Aloin, which can be toxic (it is highly purgative), whenever we want to use it orally. , although if the use is topical only it is not really necessary to extract it and we can go to the next step directly.
Then we simply take the leaf of the aloe plant, and after removing the first layer, you can see the gelatin, which is what we will use. We can easily extract it with a spoon and put it in a bowl or simply let the juice fall by placing the leaf upside down.
For burns and skin irritations
We can use aloe vera gel directly on the skin, but if the skin is very sensitive or especially dry, I advise mixing aloe vera with coconut oil, or rosehip oil, the latter especially when it comes to skin burns. fur. Aloe vera gel after shaving the skin, to reduce irritation, reduces possible redness. It is applied directly to the skin,” says the pharmacist.
When it’s sunburn, a good idea is to put it very cold. “To do this, we can apply the gel, which we have previously stored in the refrigerator in a bowl in a water bath with ice, although I understand that the sensation is difficult to endure at first, the inflammation goes down much faster,” he explains.
For irritated and inflamed acne, you can apply aloe gel directly, but if we mix it with lemon juice, it will be astringent and antiseptic. The gel is much more liquid and therefore we can use it as if it were a toner by soaking a cotton ball and using it after cleansing the skin.