Can Aloe Vera Beauty? It's based on science!

A cluster of green fleshy leaves, with small white spots, very cute and lovely, close to the edge of the leaves unexpectedly have prickly teeth, revealing a bit of power, can only be viewed from a distance and can not be coiffed, this is the protagonist of today's upcoming appearance - aloe vera.

If plants can also be pets, then aloe vera can be said to be a pet that people love. Because of its strong vitality, beautiful appearance and unique chemical composition, this plant is active in medicine, beauty, health care, food and ornamental fields.

Legend has it that the magnificent Egyptian Queen Cleopatra had a mysterious pool in which she often bathed. Time flies, and year after year, the queen has not lost her age. Later, it was discovered at the site of a decaying Egyptian dynasty that the liquid in the pool was actually the juice of aloe vera. Through thousands of years of history, we can feel the natural skin care effects of aloe vera.

I、Aloe vera's past and present lives

aloe is a general in the lily family. Its English name aloe comes from the Arabic word alloeh, meaning "bitter" taste. In China, the name "Lu" of aloe means black, and "hui" means gathering. The liquid dripping from the cut of fresh aloe leaves is yellow brown, which oxidizes to black in the air and solidifies into a mass. It is called aloe vera.

Aloe vera's origin in the tropical arid areas of the African continent, its variety and variety, so far there are more than 500 kinds, but only a small number of medicinal value, mainly distributed in South Africa as the center of the tropical areas and around the world, between different varieties, the shape will be different. There are two kinds of wild aloe in Yuanjiang area of Yunnan Province, southern Fujian Province, Hainan Island and Leizhou Peninsula of Guangzhou. They are Aloe vera L.Vir.chinensis (Haw.)Berg. And Aloe yuanjiangensis Xiong,Zheng et Liu.

According to research, the earliest use of aloe vera to cure the disease was 5,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egyptians worshipped aloe vera as a god, and even used aloe vera in funeral ceremonies, thinking that aloe can make the dead in the afterlife journey to reduce the pain, a bit of plant worship!

In the 4th century B.C., Emperor Alexander, who founded the Macedonian Empire, the largest in the ancient world, conquered the island of Sugkla in East Africa, which is rich in aloe. He used aloe to heal soldiers who were wounded by guns and swords. In addition, on the occasion of the great expedition, he also made soldiers take aloe vera to prevent and control diseases caused by soil and water resistance, and maintain the health of soldiers.

Due to the use of aloe vera, the emperor won the trust of the soldiers, the support of the indigenous people in the occupied areas, and achieved great results. Later, Emperor Alexander went on to conquer the vast triangle of Afghanistan and northwest India, and the aloe vera carried by the soldiers also spread to the southern tropical regions of Asia with the expedition. In 300-400 BC, during Emperor Alexander's journey to West Asia to conquer Persia, aloe vera was introduced to China via the Silk Road.

Aloe vera is popular all over the world because of its strong vitality and unique chemical composition. Chinese Aloe, Cape Aloe (Aloe Ferox Miller), Curacao aloe (Aloe vera L.), and wooden aloe (Aloe arborescensMill.) are all varieties of native aloe vera in Africa after cultivation and breeding.

Aloe vera L. var. chinensis(Haw.)Berg. It belongs to Liliaceae and is a variety of aloe vera of Curacao. It is a perennial, evergreen, pulpy, succulent herb. Succulent leaves densely rosette arranged on short stems, leaves evergreen, thickly succulent, margin sparsely spiny, leaf blade long acuminate; Flowering in summer and autumn, it has a raceme of small yellow flowers in a distant arrangement; Capsule seeds majority.

It is worth mentioning that Yunnan Yuanjiang Hani Yi Dai Autonomous County is the birthplace of wild Chinese aloe, has the reputation of "China's aloe Township", and now Yuanjiang retains a large area of wild aloe community.

Yuanjiang is located in the valley area of the Red River, with a unique environment for aloe growth. There are a large number of high-quality aloe varieties such as Chinese aloe, Curacao Aloe and Japanese aloe that are grown in a standardized way. The locally grown aloe has the characteristics of fast growth, high yield and excellent quality, making it the largest aloe growth base in China.

II、 The medicinal value of aloe

In Chinese folk, aloe vera has long been used as a natural medicine for beauty, hair care and skin diseases. There are many records about the medicinal use of aloe vera among the ethnic minorities in Yunnan. "Annals of Yunnan Province", teeth brain (Deang called aloe), leaves, flowers to cure children's fever. "Dian medicine Record" contains: Yarang (aloe Dai name), the whole grass treatment of stomach pain, burns, scalds. "Dai Medicine" contains, Yarang, used for clearing heat and defecating, killing insects, burning burns, wounds.

During World War II, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan, and a large number of survivors suffered nuclear radiation burns. The injured use a variety of drugs to treat, the effect is not obvious, the doctor is also at a loss. Later, someone proposed to use aloe vera juice on the wound, and began to try, the wound magically healed, more than twice as fast as other drugs, and even left no scars. Therefore, aloe vera in Japan also has a household name "no doctor". When the U.S. government learned that aloe vera cured terrible radiation burns, it immediately conducted an investigation and published a report on aloe vera that confirmed this fact.

III、 The beauty benefits of aloe Vera

Modern studies have shown that in addition to the traditional effects of antibacterial, laxative and purging, aloe vera also has good antioxidant, anti-aging, free radical scavenging, anti-tumor, improve body immunity, bactericidal and anti-inflammatory, reduce cholesterol, reduce blood lipids and other effects. Through the analysis of extracts from aloe juice and gel, researchers found that aloe mainly contains anthraquinones, polysaccharides, organic acids, superoxides such as SOD, amino acids and multiple vitamins.

Aloe Vera is a natural sunscreen that protects against UV rays, prevents pigmentation and keeps skin white. When you wash your hair, apply aloe vera gel to your hair to keep it moist and smooth.

So far, there is no plant like aloe at the same time with moisturizing, sunscreen, whitening, freckle, detoxification, calming, anti-inflammatory, sterilization, hair care and promote wound healing and other all-round beauty effects, so many cosmetics have aloe vera ingredients, aloe vera is also known as "universal herb".

IV、 Why is aloe Vera Beauty?

The most prominent beauty effect of aloe vera is moisturizing, sunscreen, acne, whitening. So why does it have cosmetic benefits?

Originally, in the fresh aloe vera leaves, there is an important component - "water skiing", which can promote the mucopolysaccharide in aloe vera ingredients to be rapidly absorbed by the human body, accelerate cell division, promote cell metabolism, and thus help repair damaged cells. In addition, aloin protects against UV exposure. Aloe Vera gel is a natural sunscreen that prevents hyperpigmentation.

Aloe Vera is rich in natural vitamins A, C, E and B vitamins, superoxide dismutase, mineral elements, amino acids, etc., which are essential nutrients to keep the skin young. Aloe polysaccharides can regulate the cellular and humoral immunity of the body, activate Langhan cells in the basal layer of the skin, enhance their local immune function and repair function in the skin, promote the removal of skin pigment, antioxidant damage, and increase the elasticity of the skin.

In the past ten years, people pay more and more attention to their skin, aloe vera as a natural skin care plant ingredient is widely used in skin care products, such as aloe gel, aloe face wash, aloe face cream, aloe shower gel and so on. However, many of the big aloe vera brands are South African or foreign, products in the domestic price is higher, which is related to aloe originated in South Africa.

Researchers have been actively developing China aloe skin care products, I believe that through the efforts of researchers, in the near future, this potential stock will enter thousands of households, we will have a beautiful life, we will personally experience this magical gift given by nature.