It’s summer time here in the Northern Hemisphere, the time of year when I stock up on the childhood remedy my mother swears by. What is this wonder product, you may ask? It’s aloe vera. While I laud the pros of summer, like the abatement of my seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and the lack of chill in my bones, summer is not without its cons, like bugs and their bites. Mosquitos are the most pressing but I have had run-ins with some spiders and recently, the largest flies I have ever seen. I use aloe to help treat these bites.
In addition to bug bites, I use aloe vera for other minor skin irritants. When I’ve become stressed recently, I have been breaking out in hives. Aloe vera to the rescue. Unlike other products, I am able to apply it liberally and as often as I need. I purchase Fruit of the Earth gel and I keep small containers of the stuff throughout my home next to my lotion and lip balm: in my office, in my car, and in my bedroom in case I wake up itching in the middle of the night.
This succulent plant originates from the Arabian Peninsula and grows in the tropical, semi-tropical and arid climates around the world. It can also be a houseplant; I recall at least one in my childhood home. A quick web search will bring up a large list of articles and studies on the uses and effectiveness of aloe vera, which is considered safe for most of the population, with about 1% having allergic reactions.
Aloe is considered an invasive species, I can say that the way my mom used aloe vera was proliferative, if not exactly invasive. She uses aloe vera for everything! I was prone to many breakouts during my teenage years and instead of the Proactiv that I desperately wanted, she’d tell me to put some aloe on it. She isn’t one for a lot of skin-care products. Her regimen is simple: water, soap, vaseline (she once told me that the beautiful and iconic Lena Horne used it regularly on her face), and, you guessed it, aloe vera. And now between the perimenopause that is soon to be upon me and my stress levels about the state of the world, my acne has returned. Aloe vera it is. I also like to use it as a mask-of-sorts, putting some on my face and neck prior to getting into the shower and letting the steam interact with it. Any benefits to this have not been proven by research but I love the way my skin feels after I rinse it off.
One of the most common uses of aloe is for the treatment of burns. When you burn yourself cooking on the stove—or the air fryer as I did last month—aloe vera is the first thing you should reach for. It is truly a marvel. Burns that are not treated with aloe vera always hurt longer and take more time to heal. I remember both my grandmothers having aloe plants near, if not in, the kitchen itself. Aloe wasn’t there for aesthetic reasons, it was there for its medicinal purpose: to treat burns from cooking. I’m sure there are commercial topical treatments for burns, but I don’t know them, and like my grandmothers, never use them. Why? Was it because when my grandmothers’ mothers and their mothers were alive, aloe was what was accessible and that info was passed down from generation to generation? In my experience, aloe works and I don’t need anything else.
Burns can also include sunburns. I have even used it when I was a tad sunburned on my shoulders after a particularly long run. I’m a woman of color and I cannot recall any one in my family, including myself prior to or since that aforementioned long run, ever experiencing sunburn, so using aloe to treat it was not something we ever did. However, it worked wonderfully, and a friend has commented that is one of her primary uses of the plant. Aloe also works for razor burns. It is truly a marvel.
How about you? I’d love my very own aloe vera plant and apparently, there are even more uses with the plant itself. How do you use aloe and what has been your experience? Share in the comments. I’d love to continue learning about this wonderful plant.
P.S. Ask me about my pencils and My secret to beautifully wrapped presents.
About the author
Shannan Malone is the MMD Cohost and Contributor. Her go-to genre depends on her mood! You can find Shannan on Instagram @shannanenjoyslife.