Aloe's Juicy Secret Revealed

Aloe Plant

Most of us learned growing up that you can break off an aloe leaf and use the clear, viscous gel inside as a topical ointment for burns, cuts, scrapes, etc., and lately we’ve been hearing a lot about the benefits of ingesting aloe vera juice as well, such as its ability to aid in digestion and as a way to ward off diabetes.  Well, with all the hype around aloe, I thought I would do a little investigating myself and what I discovered blew me away!   Mind you, this information would not have made much of an impact on me a year ago, but after studying skin health and skin histology in depth over the course of my Esthetics training, it makes a difference now and I’ll tell you why.  You see, skin has a natural protective layer made up of water, oil, lipids and sweat called the acid mantle.  Well, the acid mantle has an acidic pH (as you can probably guess by its name,) of 4.5-5.5 and it is important to maintain that range for the skin to protect itself.  When we wash our skin (and hair, too, for that matter), our skin is taken on a wild ride outside of its comfort zone by the alkaline nature of most cleansing products.  It really has to fight to get back to its normal acidic state, a process that can take hours, during which time your skin is left vulnerable to skin sensitivity and germ invasion!  So, the first thing you need to do is make sure you are washing your skin (and scalp/hair) with a cleanser that is pH-balanced.  If you’re unsure whether your cleanser is pH-balanced, then make sure you use a toner immediately after cleansing.  A toner will bring your skin back to it’s happy place:  it’s appropriate pH.  If your skin care product IS already pH-balanced (and it should state so on the packaging) then you shouldn’t need a toner.  To take the guesswork out of this equation (drumroll please!), enter aloe with its astounding little secret:  aloe vera juice has the EXACT SAME pH as your skin!!  To me this is such a great discovery;  I’m not sure if I should whisper it or shout it from the rooftops!  Remember the skin’s pH range is 4.5-5.5, well, aloe averages in at about a 4.5-5.5 pH*!  No wonder it works wonders on your skin!  And not only that, according to a free online excerpt from Dr. Reuben Titus’ book “Aloe Vera—The Magical Plant Amongst Us”, one of aloe’s most powerful skin care attributes is its ability to ‘penetrate deeply into the dermal layers (7 layers deep)’.  Why is this important?  A lot of skin care products are formulated in such a way that their molecular structure is simply too big to penetrate the skin, therefore, they simply lay on the skin and provide no benefit whatsoever.  If you’re going to spend money on a product, invest it in something that is actually going to benefit your skin!  Dr. Titus goes on to say that aloe contains, “…a diverse mixture of antibiotics, pain inhibitors, cell growth stimulators, inflammation fighters…and moisturizers, all having a remarkable degree of penetration.”  Milady’s book, “Skin Care & Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary” 2^nd Edition defines aloe as having “hydrating, softening, healing, antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.” Is such a miracle plant being under-utilized in the skin care industry?  I think so!  Water is usually the main ingredient in products both for its moisturizing potential and its inexpensive nature, but water does not have the same pH as skin.  Wouldn’t it make more sense to use aloe juice as the main ingredient?  Now, before any of you rush out and try to develop your own aloe-based skin care line, hold your horses, Blackbox Cosmetics beat you to it!  In fact, it’s one of the reasons that this brand is so highly effective: it uses an aloe base for all of it’s skin and hair care products and for good reason!  Not only is it already pH-balanced for your skin and scalp, but we know it will also penetrate the skin and provide it with much-needed nutrition.  If you missed my earlier blog about how the skin gets fed, check it out here at: http://greenearthskin.blogspot.com/2013/09/skin-whathave-you-done-for-it-lately.html.  For more information on Blackbox Cosmetics and how you can get your hands on some of their healthy and effective products, just click here:  http://shop.blackboxcosmetics.com/JB1943. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s juicy blog!  Please keep reading and let me know if you have any comments, questions, requests or suggestions in the box below!!

~~ Jessica Barahona

*According to wiki.answers.com (other sites give it a range of anywhere from 4.0-5.5, maintaining a consistent average)