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Tue Jan 08, 2008 11:12 pm  |
I have bad, irritated sensitive dehydrated congested skin right now and decided to ditch everything for a few days to see how my skin responds. I bought food grade aloe vera gel to use as a moisturizer/humectant. Well, I first put the aloe vera gel on my neck and hands and it soaked right in - no problems. Then I put it on my cheek over a congested patch and within a minute or two it turned bright red and felt hot. It's Lily of the Desert brand with the following ingredients:
Inner fillet aloe, carrageenan (thickening agent), citric acid (ph stabilizer) an dpotassium sorbate (mold inhibitor)
I read that reactions to aloe are extremely rare. Could it be one of the other ingredients? I figured if this product was marketed for consumption/eating, it was surely safe for my skin.
thoughts? this is depressing me! |
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Wed Jan 09, 2008 8:58 am |
Hi shelly,
I don't think you are having a reaction, per se, but I can tell you that when my skin was freaking out in mid-winter last year, aloe exacerbated it for some reason as well. I do not think it is the additives in the aloe that are worsening your problem (although pure aloe is always preferable), but aloe can be drying and it sounds like your skin is having a reaction to dryness/weather/products--am I right? did you overexfoliate? You need to focus on reconstituting your barrier at the moment.
I would use a micellar cleanser--one that doesn't need to be washed off (water dehydrates skin), and some aquaphor or cerave--two extremely basic and healing moisturizers that will not set you back much. Then you might want to look into Remergent Barrier Repair when your skin is on the mend.
You can also try using a healing oil that is neutral and the chemical makeup of which is close to that of the skin--such as hazelnut or macadamia--massage lightly into the skin am and pm. Finally, drink lots of water and get lots of Essential Fatty Acids in your diet. I grind up flax seeds everyday and add them to my yogurt.
Let us know how it goes!
--avalange |
_________________
http://newnaturalbeauty.tumblr.com/ 37, light-toned olive skin, broken caps, normal skin. My staples: Osea cleansing milk, Algae Oil, Advanced Protection Cream, Eyes & Lips, Tata Harper, Julie Hewett makeup, Amazing Cosmetics Powder, & By Terry Light Expert, Burnout, and daily inversion therapy and green smoothies! |
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Wed Jan 09, 2008 2:48 pm |
| Hello.....I have used a very good grade of aloe vera with not so great results. I found it to be very drying to my skin. It's not that it irritated my skin in any way, the strange thing is that it did not moisturize my skin either and I always felt my skin to be a little drier after using it. I gave up on the aloe vera thinking that it was just me not being able to use normal products. |
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Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:29 pm |
| I have used aloe and I didnt notice it doing anything for my skin either. |
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Thu Jan 10, 2008 7:56 pm |
Thanks everyone. Sounds like my focus should be on "repairing the barrier". And thanks avalange for the product reco's...I'll check them out!
Oh, how long does it take to repair the barrier?
Shelly |
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Sat Jan 12, 2008 10:14 pm |
| I've heard that skin regenerates itself in around a month. As for aloe, I've used some a few and none of them have done squat for my skin. A rep at sephoras said that they are good for pimples. I don't have any. If I do, I may try it though. I've heard Veld's Ferox is good ( that's highest grade aloe you can get). I've ordered a sample of it so I'll let everyone know how that goes. I've just found aloe to be cooling on sunburns. |
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Mon Feb 11, 2008 12:19 am |
| Can you use cetaphil moisturizer cream? I think this cream is for sensitive skin. |
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Mon Feb 11, 2008 9:39 am |
Sounds to me as though you are allergic to aloe. I am allergic to it - I break out in a rash, similar to when I eat mangoes.. I have heard that it is not too uncommon for blonde or fair skin types to be allergic to aloe (mangoes, and plenty of other things, too).
I would stay away from all products with aloe... Cetaphil is very gentle - and recommended by dermatologists as a safe daily cleanser. I like the Wei Milky Chestnut Cleanser, Cliniques Comforting Cleanser - very gentle (although it leaves a little bit of a film), and a gentle cleanser/exfoliation that is nice is MD Formulations facial cleanser. Amazing how complicated washing your face can be! |
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Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:48 pm |
Thanks everyone for the additional thoughts.
Shelly |
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