aloe vera plant?

[mel63]

I went out and bought an aloe vera plant to give it a try on my rosacea. I cut a piece of the plant and rubbed it on my clean face. It felt very soothing and did not irritate my face. After a while, my face was a lot less red than normal and not as tight.

I tried aloe from health food stores,that claim to be 100% aloe but did not work like the plant did for my skin. I am happy to find something that works but the problem is how do you grow enough aloe plants to use it everyday? How do you extract the juice/gel to make it last. Seems to me it's not going to be too convenient.

Any thoughts?

[Peter]

Hello Mel

My sister used to use Aloe Vera this way and she cut part of a leaf off, split it into small individual pieces, wrapped it in cling film and stored it in the fridge where it keeps fresh for several days. When you need to use it then take a piece out and squeeze the juice out into a small pot and then apply. I suppose you need several plants on the go to provide enough gel for daily use.

If you can tolerate Aloe Vera gel than it can be very beneficial for the rosacea skin - I have used it for years and swear by it although I use a packaged product called Aloe99 which I found to be the best one for me.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keyw ... 7pmx3tgo_e

Good luck

Peter

[mel63]

Thanks for your response. I wonder about packaged products,since they need preservatives to last longer, I think I may get a reaction to the preservatives/additives. I also wonder if products like aloe 99 are 99.9% pure aloe. Could be,maybe I will give it a try.

[Peter]

Hello Mel

Suppose the only way of finding out is to buy one like Aloe99 and try it for a while - always do a patch test first in a small area. My skin was very sensitive but I had no problems with this one and have used it for over 12 years. They list the ingredients as:

99.9% Aloe vera. carbomer, tea, methylparaben, phenoxythanol.

Some people are just allergic to natural plant based type products but if you used the gel neat from the plant then you should be ok.

If you try it let us know how it goes.

Peter

[Matthew]

Coming at this from the angle of growing the plant... tell us where you are (for climate info) and I can suggest some culture tips for growing the plants if you wish to try it that way. Ive got aloe coming out of my ears down here (I should start using it on my face). Depending where you are, it might be pretty easy to grow, the stuff is pretty tough and will multiply given the chance.

[mel63]

I live in the North East, central NJ. I have one plant now in a small clay pot, I know I need to buy a shallow wide pot but have not had a chance to get one yet.

How do you repot and separate the one I already have? How many would I need ?

[samantha70]

I tried the Aloe 99 during a recent flare (my first proper bad one) and I have to say the Aloe 99 really, really helped to calm down my skin, made it feel so much less angry, and cooled it down. I really rate it - thanks Peter for the recommendation

[Peter]

Hello Sam

No problem – glad it helped you so much. I have used this particular product for years and swear by it but of course due to the nature of rosacea then it will not suit everybody. There are other Aloe vera gels around but this one is probably one of the best.

Bye

Peter

[fanny]

As Aloe 99 is available in the UK I've been looking around to see what is available in the US
This product Real Aloe is a gel organically grown and unscented, it contains Real Aloe vera, Purified water, Irish Moss, Xantham Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate
www.RealAloeInc.com
Tel: 1 800 541 7809
I haven't been to the website as I found this in a local health food store and I have no affiliation with the company at all.
Good luck to all

[Peter]

I thought Aloe99 was available in the US?

Citric acid can be an irritant – well it is for me, so I try and avoid products that contain it.