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Most of us have come across the indoor plant Aloe or, as it is also called, agave. And although it is inferior in visual appeal to many other ornamental plants, aloe is still often found in our homes. In nature, the plant can reach up to four meters in height. Its leaves have hard teeth along the edges; inside the leaves there is juicy pulp, divided into cells, which are designed to retain moisture during periods of drought. This plant is unpretentious and does not require special care. However, its popularity is not due to these qualities and certainly not to the decorative properties of the plant. The source of its popularity is the juice obtained from the leaves of the agave, which has been used both in medicine and in cosmetology since ancient times.
Agave leaves contain:
- natural antioxidants in the form of B-complex vitamins, vitamins C, E;
- beta-carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body;
Due to the presence of these substances, juice from agave leaves is used as an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory agent, which also has an analgesic effect. In this regard, the question of whether aloe helps with acne does not even arise. With proper use of juice from agave leaves, you can count on the rapid elimination of inflammation and acceleration of the skin regeneration process. In addition, the layer on the skin that forms when using preparations containing agave juice performs a protective function and reduces the degree of exposure to various negative environmental factors on the skin.
Methods for preparing aloe juice
If you are the happy owner of this plant, then you can prepare aloe juice for acne at home.
The first method is suitable for immediate use.
From a plant that is at least three years old, cut off the thickest leaf, rinse it thoroughly and peel off the top layer of thick peel. You can squeeze the juice out of the remaining pulp and apply it directly to the pimples. You don’t have to squeeze the juice, but simply divide the pulp into small pieces and apply them to the pimples for a few minutes.
The useful life of such juice is very short. Within a couple of hours after processing the leaf, the beneficial properties that help in the fight against acne are lost and the use of juice becomes ineffective.
You can prepare the juice for subsequent use in masks, lotions and compresses in the following way.
Cut off the required number of leaves from agave that is at least three years old, rinse them, wrap them in cloth and put them in the refrigerator for ten to twelve days. After the period has passed, remove the leaves and discard those that are very dry or darkened. Peel the remaining leaves from the top thick layer of peel, and squeeze the juice from the resulting pulp. The substance obtained in this way can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. It can be used not only for making masks and compresses, but also by applying it precisely to formed pimples.
Video of preparing juice from agave leaves
Important points:
When preparing juice, it is imperative to remove the peel, which contains the carcinogenic substance aloin. Consuming this substance in large doses can trigger the development of cancer. For the same reason, agave juice should not be used by people suffering from skin cancer.
Before using aloe juice for acne for the first time (especially if you plan to use it to treat acne on your face), you should be examined by an allergist. If this is not possible, then to check for a possible allergic reaction, apply a couple of drops to your wrist and wait a while. An allergic reaction to the external use of agave juice is a very rare occurrence, but in some cases other discomforting sensations (for example, itching, irritation of the skin) may occur. Therefore, it is better to conduct an appropriate test and find out in advance the individual reaction to the components of the plant.
During periods of severe exacerbation, the rash can be treated daily in the morning and evening. Under normal circumstances and for prevention, you should use juice for rubbing no more than three times a week.
If you don’t have a houseplant at hand, then any pharmacy has a large selection of preparations containing aloe. When choosing a suitable product, it is worth considering the percentage of juice content in it. Most cosmetic products contain up to twenty percent juice. This concentration is sufficient for preventive measures and protecting the skin from harmful external influences, but not enough to provide a therapeutic effect. Creams and lotions that have a therapeutic effect are based on twenty to eighty percent of the juice of agave leaves.
Application options
How else, besides spot application on inflammation, can you use aloe juice for acne?
Applications
- cut off the leaf, cut off the skin from the sides and the wide side of the leaf, apply the pulp to the pimple and secure with an adhesive plaster. Usually this compress is applied at night and removed in the morning. As a rule, the pimple goes away after a couple of nights;
— moisten gauze, a piece of bandage or cloth in agave juice and apply to the pimple for twenty to thirty minutes, no more than once a day. The procedure can be performed no more than three times a week.
Lotion
Mix agave juice with pure medical alcohol in a ratio of four to one, so that the proportion of aloe in the resulting lotion is 80 percent (for example, four tablespoons of juice and one spoon of alcohol). This composition can be used to wipe acne areas in the morning and evening. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator.
Aloe masks for acne on the face
Mask with honey
To prepare the mask, mix the juice from agave leaves and uncandied honey in a one to one ratio. Apply the resulting mixture evenly onto the face, excluding the area around the eyes. Leave the mask on for 10 minutes, then rinse with cool water. If unpleasant sensations occur (for example, burning), the mask should be washed off immediately;
Egg white mask
To prepare the mask, take a fresh egg, separate protein from the yolk and beat it thoroughly. Add a tablespoon of agave leaf pulp and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Mix all this until a homogeneous mass is obtained. Apply the resulting composition evenly to the face for fifteen minutes. You can remove the mask by gently patting your face with your fingers; the protein contained in the mask gives it stickiness, so pieces of the mask will stick to your fingers, which will ensure not only its removal, but also effective cleansing of the pores.
Mask with cosmetic clay
To prepare a mask, you can take white or blue clay. Take the required amount of clay and add agave juice while stirring until you obtain a homogeneous creamy mass. Apply the mask evenly on the face for fifteen minutes. However, if it starts to dry out before this time, it must be washed off immediately.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that mankind’s use of aloe for acne for such a long period of time, as well as at the present stage, despite the rapid progress in the field of cosmetology and pharmacology, is explained by its unique properties. This is a truly effective, easily accessible product that provides skin care without major financial costs.
Do you know that aloe for facial acne is one of the most effective anti-inflammatory agents, as it has medicinal and cosmetic properties? Find out as much as you can about the benefits of this plant. You can buy a ready-made cream with its extract or make a homemade mask.
The menstrual cycle, adolescence, pregnancy, menopause, bad water, low-quality cosmetics, allergies - and now they are right there. Many companies offer branded expensive creams, traditional medicine - all kinds of masks, dermatology - anti-inflammatory drugs for treatment.
In fact, many people grow a very effective remedy on their windowsill. Proper use aloe for acne allows you to cope with this scourge in a short time without the use of drugs and cosmetics stuffed with “chemistry”.
After all, this houseplant and child of the prairies in the past has medicinal properties: it reduces the number of rashes, disinfects, prevents inflammation from spreading throughout the face, relieves redness and helps to avoid post-acne after acne disappears.
Benefits of aloe for the face
Not only traditional medicine, but also specialists (cosmetologists and dermatologists) claim that aloe for acne on face is one of the most effective ways to solve this problem. This plant has a unique composition, thanks to which it has healing properties:
- aloin - a substance contained in the peel of aloe leaves, it is this that gives it a specific bitter taste, creates a protective barrier on the skin, preventing external factors from provoking the appearance of acne on the face;
- pectin - a polysaccharide with cleansing and moisturizing properties;
- catechins — flavonoids normalize blood circulation, which, by providing the skin with oxygen, heals its inflamed areas;
- carotenoids — pigments that can regenerate the epidermis damaged by abscesses and ulcers, relieve redness and inflammation;
- tannins - phenols, which narrow enlarged pores and have antimicrobial and bactericidal effects, help treat acne;
- organic acids (aloe contains cinnamon, lemon, amber, l-coumaric, apple) have long been active fighters against acne, as they regenerate tissues damaged by inflammation;
- vitamins (in aloe, scientists found A, C, E and several from group B) are needed for proper nutrition of the various layers of the epidermis, activate metabolism, resume the production of collagen and elastin fibers, thanks to which recovery from acne occurs much faster;
- microelements (there are few of them in aloe, but they exist) are also active participants in the treatment of inflammation on the face;
- mineral salts are needed to maintain water-salt balance, violations of which most often lead to the formation of acne on the face.
Such a composition enriched with useful substances allows you to actively use aloe against acne both at home (for making masks) and on a more global scale (many cosmetic companies include the extract of this plant in their anti-inflammatory products).
But, before using agave as a medicine for rashes on the face, it is worth knowing one small but very important nuance. Aloin, which is contained in its leaves, is quite harmful in overdose. Therefore, regular or too frequent use of this indoor healer can harm not only the skin, but also the body. So first, it is advisable to study the list of contraindications.
Through the pages of history. According to ancient legend, Aristotle sent the Macedonian to capture the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, where aloe grew in huge quantities. And the great commander did this only for the sake of the plant.
Contraindications
The high biological activity of the plant and the aloin contained in it make it necessary to handle this natural miracle healer with great care. To get rid of acne with the help of aloe and not suffer from such folk treatment, you need to familiarize yourself with the list of contraindications for its use.
If the substances in its composition interfere with the functioning of cells, systems and organs whose functioning is impaired, this will lead to a deterioration in their condition. It is not recommended to apply aloe products to an inflamed face if the following points exist:
- period of the menstrual cycle;
- lactation;
- individual intolerance to aloe;
- hypertrichosis (excessive facial hair);
- pregnancy;
- telangiectasia, rosacea (spider veins).
Understand that aloe helps with acne only in the absence of contraindications for its external use as a therapeutic and cosmetic anti-inflammatory agent. Otherwise, over time (or immediately), the skin may react to such therapy with itching, swelling and irritation. So be extremely careful.
If nothing can stop you from enjoying the effects of this amazing plant, make a choice: will you buy a ready-made acne remedy with aloe extract or will you make your own homemade mask? For the first option, we have a small cosmetics rating for you.
Interesting fact. There are more than 200 species of aloe in nature.
Rating of cosmetics with aloe against acne
Get started aloe acne treatment from cosmetics containing an extract of this plant. A suitable option for those who do not have such a house friend on the windowsill or do not have the time to prepare a healing mask at home.
Many modern cosmetic brands have lines designed specifically for problem skin based on aloe vera (Aloe vera is listed in the composition). The products included in them can be purchased at the pharmacy (preferably) or store. We offer you a rating of such medicinal cosmetics against acne.
- Pure Eco Aloe Gel is an environmentally natural multifunctional cream-gel with aloe concentrate. Tony Moly. South Korea. $13.3.
- Cream mousse with hyaluronic acid and aloe leaf gel. Merz Special. Germany. $12.4.
- Multivitamin cream with aloe vera. New Line bark. Russia. $11.2.
- Moisturizing Nourishing cream Avocado & Aloe Vera - moisturizing and nourishing cream with avocado and aloe vera. Dr. Sea. Israel. $10.1.
- Aloe - serum-gel with aloe juice. Etude organix. South Korea. $9.8.
- Hydrate gel Aloe vera is an active moisturizing gel for problem skin. Gezanne Velona. Spain. $8.7.
- Jeju Aloe vera 95% soothing gel is a multifunctional facial gel with 95% aloe vera content. Royal Skin. South Korea. $7.3.
- Gentle cleansing - facial scrub with aloe vera gel. Malavit. Russia. $2.6.
- Cleansing nasal strips for acne and blackheads with activated charcoal and aloe vera extract. Propeller. Russia. $2.2.
- Clearwin is an Ayurvedic lotion for acne and skin blemishes with aloe vera extract. Fitosila-Bio. Russia. $1.
As you can see, modern manufacturers are very actively using aloe extract in anti-acne cosmetics. This once again proves how effective this remedy is in the fight against inflammation. But a store-bought product will never be 100% natural. In order to extend shelf life, preservatives are needed.
And for a pleasant aroma - fragrances. For an attractive color - dyes. Because of this, many women still prefer to make anti-inflammatory medicine with their own hands - without unnecessary harmful ingredients.
On a note. Aloe is a cactus in origin, so its true relatives are in deserts.
How to use aloe against acne?
Homemade masks with aloe against acne require a little more attention and time than similar products made from sour cream or honey. This is due to additional processing of raw materials and the presence of medicinal properties.
If you are taking on this task for the first time, keep the instructions below before your eyes and follow them. In the future, you will acquire all the necessary skills for preparing aloe masks and will do everything much faster, already by intuition.
Preparation of raw materials
- Cut off 5-6 lower leaves from the plant. Choose the most fleshy ones so that they are not rotten or yellow.
- Rinse them thoroughly with water.
- Dry.
- Wrap in gauze folded in 2-3 layers.
- Place in the side compartment of the refrigerator door for 2 weeks. This is necessary so that biological stimulants are released from the plant, allowing aloe removes acne (their purulent contents).
- After 2 weeks, cut the leaves lengthwise.
- Squeeze out the juice for compresses.
- Grind the pulp separately from the juice in a blender to prepare masks.
Facial skin preparation
- Wash your face using a cleansing gel from the anti-inflammatory series of cosmetics (the same Propeller).
- Steam your face in a herbal steam bath.
- Do not use scrubs or gommages.
Preparing a mask/compress
- Mix aloe pulp with other ingredients specified in the recipe, using a blender so that there are no lumps.
- Cosmetic and vegetable oils, dairy products and honey must first be heated until warm.
Application
- You can simply wipe your face with aloe juice every day (locally for acne). You can make compresses based on it. You can add healing liquid to masks.
- Apply the product to your face precisely - only on pimples.
- Action time: 20 minutes.
- Rinse with warm water, but without additional cleansers (foam, soap, gel).
- Apply an anti-inflammatory cream to your face (preferably from the same series as the gel/foam cleanser).
- It is advisable to apply aloe compresses and masks against acne on the face once every 3 days.
- Course - 10 procedures. Interval - 2-3 weeks.
Such detailed instructions how to use aloe for acne will help you get a very effective remedy for acne breakouts at home. Do recipes, look for the best option for your problem skin.
Variety of names. Aloe is called differently: agave, scarlet, alliance, prickly flower, doctor, tree of paradise, sabur.
Aloe Recipes
Several effective recipes for aloe masks and compresses for acne and acne will help you choose the right remedy.
For 2 weeks wipe your face with aloe juice twice a day.
- Softening mask with cream
Mix aloe juice and heavy cream, one tablespoon at a time.
- Drying mask with protein
Beat a tablespoon of aloe juice with 2 egg whites.
- Soothing herbal mask
Mix crushed linden flowers, rose petals, St. John's wort and chamomile in a tablespoon. Add a teaspoon of peppermint. Mix with 50 ml of aloe juice.
- Whitening mask with lemon
Mix 2 tablespoons of pureed aloe pulp and a tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Complex anti-inflammatory mask
Mix aloe juice, olive oil, honey, oatmeal by tablespoon.
- Treatment mask with honey
Mix 50 ml of warm honey with a tablespoon of aloe pulp.
- Cosmetic ice with aloe
Pour 2 tablespoons of aloe pulp into a glass of very warm water, cool for 4 hours. Pour into ice cube trays and leave in the freezer for a day. Apply daily to pimples.
- Aloe tincture
Pour vodka over the pureed pulp of the leaves (2 tablespoons glass). Cover up. Leave in a warm place for 5-7 days. Strain. Use the resulting lotion to wipe acne.
If you are faced with such a scourge, be sure to learn how to use aloe for acne at home, because this plant will cope with it quickly enough. You will notice the effect after the first procedure: the rashes will begin to dry out, and over time there will be fewer and fewer of them.
Complete a full course of anti-inflammatory masks - and there will be no residual effects from the rash. As a pleasant bonus, you will receive a healthy, beautiful complexion, lightening of age spots and a noticeable lifting of sagging skin.
Aloe is the only indoor flower that is bred not so much for interior decoration, but for the beneficial properties of this plant.
Aloe leaf juice can truly be called "universal medicine", which is used in various fields of medicine, including as an effective cosmetic product for the care of problem skin.
Aloe juice tones the skin, nourishing and moisturizing it, and also helps cope with pimples and acne.
Does aloe help with acne?
After just two or three hours, the juice becomes practically useless and cannot have the desired effect.
But fresh aloe juice is not only good for getting rid of small blackheads and small pimples: it can also draw out pus from inflamed pimples in just a few days.
Main – use the product in certain correct proportions.
If you do not grow indoor plants, you can purchase medicines that use aloe juice at any nearest pharmacy, but you should take into account the nuances:
- Only drugs containing more than 20% aloe juice will be effective against acne. All other remedies are suitable only as preventative measures.
- Medicines may contain other ingredients that cause allergic reactions.
- To combat acne, only the complex use of several pharmaceutical products based on aloe juice can help, which always leads to additional financial costs.
It follows that the best option would be to use natural aloe juice – it effectively fights pimples and acne and has virtually no side effects.
Beneficial properties of aloe juice
- vitamins A, E, B;
- beta-carotene;
- more than twenty amino acids;
- magnesium;
- iron;
- selenium;
- zinc;
- ascorbic acid;
- salicylic acid and many other compounds and elements.
Thanks to the presence of amino acids and healthy fats in the composition, pus is quickly drawn out from acne and the skin heals, and inflammation caused by such skin disorders quickly disappears.
In cosmetology practice, aloe juice is often used as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and even painkiller remedy, and when removing acne, all these properties of the plant are in demand.
Aloe juice, when used regularly and correctly, forms a protective film on the skin of the face, which protects tissues from the negative influence of the environment and harmful microorganisms - and these are the main factors contributing to the appearance of acne.
Use Cases
But using the juice, you can independently prepare various cosmetics to eliminate acne. But first you need to squeeze the juice correctly.
Firstly, the age of the plant itself must be at least three to four years - in young aloe, the concentration of nutrients has not yet reached the required level.
Second important point – There is no need to squeeze freshly cut leaves. They need to be carefully packed in foil (you can use food foil) or in a sealed plastic bag and kept in the refrigerator for ten to twelve days. During these days, the concentration of nutrients in the cut leaves increases, and after this period the juice can be squeezed out.
But this method is only suitable for prophylactic use, and not for full treatment.
The resulting aloe juice must be used within the next three hours. Based on it, you can quickly make the following cosmetic products for acne yourself:
The simplest option – make a lotion by mixing eight tablespoons of aloe juice with two tablespoons of pure medical alcohol. This lotion should be used to wipe acne in the morning and before bed, always after removing makeup and washing your face. This recipe may be ineffective in advanced and severe cases, when more radical measures in the form of compresses and masks are required.
Application of compresses
The simplest type of compress – a cut of a fresh leaf, which is applied directly to the pimples and fixed with a medical plaster, since the application is applied overnight.
Practice shows that in just two or three nights you can get rid of even the largest purulent acne in this way.
Such compress applied to acne for half an hour, while the procedure is performed daily for the first few days, and after a week, the application of compresses can be reduced to once every two days.
After another week, it is enough to use compresses twice a week.
The entire course of such treatment should consist of no more than thirty procedures.
Rubbing your face with aloe juice
The procedure is performed in the morning and before bedtime.
In this case, one important condition must be observed - there should be no makeup on the face.
One of the popular recipes is alcohol based lotion, however, it can be replaced with calendula tincture.
For two tablespoons of tincture, take eight of the same tablespoons of freshly squeezed aloe juice; the finished product can be stored in the refrigerator, in a tightly closed, airtight container. You can also try to treat purulent acne with the same remedy, but to do this, the proportions of the lotion need to be changed.
Calendula tincture and aloe juice are mixed in a one to one ratio, while the product is applied pointwise – with a cotton swab or cotton swab on each pimple separately.
- Several aloe leaves must be mashed and crushed until smooth.
- This material is poured with boiling water (100 milliliters is enough).
- Mix everything thoroughly and put on fire - the mixture should boil for about thirty minutes.
- Once completely cooled, the product can be applied to the skin; it is recommended to perform the procedure twice a day.
This decoction is desirable cook in small portions, which is enough for two or three uses. The remaining product can also be stored in the refrigerator until the next procedure.
Homemade mask of agave leaves or juice
This cosmetic product has a long-lasting effect and allows you not only to quickly deal with acne, but also provides the skin with nutrition and hydration.
One of the most common folk recipes is aloe juice mask with bee honey.
Aloe juice and bee honey are mixed in a ratio of 1 to 2 and mixed thoroughly until a thick, homogeneous mass is obtained, in which there should be no lumps.
Another version of this mask does not involve adding juice, but using crushed freshly cut aloe leaves, which must be thoroughly crushed to a liquid pulp and mixed with honey in the same proportions.
In this case, ten drops of hydrogen peroxide must be added to the finished mixture - it does not have any negative effect on the skin, but makes the resulting mass not so thick and makes it easier to apply the maxi to the skin.
Masks with honey are applied no more than once every seven days and last no more than 25 minutes.
If the mask begins to burn your face or tighten the skin too much, you can wash it off earlier. To remove the mask, use cosmetic milk.
Face masks
Maxi facials based on aloe juice do not require the use of “exotic” or rare ingredients, and the entire preparation process takes no more than an hour.
Exists a large number of recipes, in which different ingredients are mixed in different proportions, but masks with egg white and masks with cosmetic clay have long been recognized as the most famous and effective.
Aloe with egg white
To prepare this mask you need the following ingredients:
- one raw egg white, separated from the yolk;
- a tablespoon of aloe leaf pulp;
- lemon juice (teaspoon).
The protein must be thoroughly beaten, after which the pulp of aloe leaves and prepared lemon juice are added to it. All this mixed until smooth and apply to a face previously moistened with cool water. Wetting the skin is necessary so that the mass is applied easily and evenly. Due to the presence of protein, it turns out to be quite sticky, and it will not be possible to apply this composition in an even layer on dry skin.
After 15 minutes, the mask is removed in a special way. It is necessary to lightly pat the face, as a result of which fragments of the mask will stick to the fingers, and thus the mask is not only quickly and painlessly removed, but also the pores are cleansed due to the sharp separation of the composition from the skin.
Aloe mask with clay
Can be used as white, so blue clay.
To prepare the mask, only one tablespoon of clay is used, to which just enough aloe juice is added “by eye” so that when stirred, the result is a homogeneous mass, according to consistency close to cream: It should be viscous to stay on the face, but not very thick.
With the correct proportions, the mask should stay on the face for fifteen minutes without drying out. If the drying process begins earlier, the mask must be washed off.
Contraindications
It is generally accepted that contraindications to the use of aloe apply only to the internal use of preparations based on it, but external use in masks or as rubs can also have its consequences.
Before starting a course of treatment with aloe juice, It is recommended to be examined by an allergist, which will help to find out whether a person has an individual intolerance to the juice of this plant.
Also in rare cases allergic reactions are possible.
If there are no such problems, there is always a possibility that aloe juice may cause discomfort And irritation. In such cases, it is not necessary to refuse to use aloe juice, but it is better to reduce its concentration in the above recipes to a level at which such sensations do not occur.