There are those who can still steal a few days of sunshine from this summer that is about to end, but it is advisable to always do it with due attention and without thinking that, being September, there is no longer any danger of sunburn. Because that remains. And when this happens, aloe gel is often used to help the skin soothe the discomfort. But does it really work?
Aloe has a very respectable history: the first known written about it is on a Sumerian clay tablet of 2100 BC, then we find it in ancient Egypt, cited as the plant of immortality and the subject of a papyrus that describes all its properties. Therapeutic virtues are also attributed to her by Hippocrates (460-377 BC) and other Greek doctors, up to Christopher Columbus, who praises her as a ‘healer’.
Supplements: some aloe-based products banned in Europe
by Giulia Masoero Regis
It is a tropical succulent plant from the family of Asphodelaceae (which groups about 500 species) native to southern Africa but naturalized in many other countries and used for dermatological disorders, burns, as a laxative, purifier and more. Its gel, composed mainly of water, contains vitamins, amino acids, enzymes.
That of aloe (especially aloe vera, A.barbadensis) is a constantly growing market but in reality scientific studies on its benefits are still few and, moreover, its widespread diffusion has led to the marketing of products with even harmful ingredients. In April this year, the European Commission blocked the use of substances that occur naturally in aloe and other plants (preparations that contain hydroxyanthracene derivatives) for their genotoxic and carcinogenic action. In the United States, some products of a well-known pharmaceutical brand have been withdrawn from the market because they were contaminated with benzene.
But let’s see what science has said about aloe. In 2012, Professor Oliver Grundmann, Pharmaceutical Chemist at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Florida, conducted a review of various clinical trials for the use of Aloe vera since 1985, on psoriasis, burns, herpes etc, finding some confirmations on the benefits produced by its use.
In a 2008 study, researchers exposed a portion of the volunteers’ backs to ultraviolet rays and treated the redness with 97.5 percent aloe vera gel, a 1 percent hydrocortisone gel, a hydrocortisone cream. ‘1 percent and a placebo gel. The aloe gel was more effective than the hydrocortisone gel but less than the cream. Other research has shown that aloe vera can speed the healing of people with first and second degree burns.
Supplements: some aloe-based products banned in Europe
by Giulia Masoero Regis
A further review of research on the subject was compiled in 2020 by the Department of Pharmacology Complutense University of Madrid, which takes into consideration the published studies dividing them by therapeutic virtues: from dermatology to antidiabetic uses. Some have evaluated the effectiveness of aloe vera on ulcers: its administration in gel twice a day for 3 months has improved and accelerated wound healing and reduced hospitalization time, in other cases it facilitated rapid epithelialization of the tissues and granulation in burns. Randomized studies have confirmed its benefits in maintaining healthy skin, however there are clinical researches that have not found the efficacy of this medicinal plant, particularly in decreasing radiation-induced skin lesions.
A judgment still “in doubt” therefore for the scientific community, but returning to the sun and sunburn, there are those who argue undoubtedly its soothing action: “Aloe has an immediate effect on sunburn because it is a powerful antioxidant and blocks the whole system that is part of inflammation. Even more powerful when combined with vitamin E and vitamin C “, says Dr. Marcella Ribuffo, specialist in dermatology. “Erythema is the expression of inflammation, the sun cascades the release of free radicals which in turn trigger an inflammatory factor, the action of aloe counteracts it and, not being a cortisone, has no collateral effects . The problem depends on the type of extract used in cosmetic preparations and on the quantity of pure aloe. The latter has an immediate effect, otherwise you need to find a formulation that does not alter the properties, and it is also important to consider where it is grown, not dry extracts that have a lower efficacy should be used “.
Therefore, you must choose a gel with 95% aloe vera (indicated in the first place on the label, as the ingredient with the highest percentage) made with five-year old leaves, cold pressed and from organic cultivation. Finally, with a low content of substances for preservation. Seeing is believing.
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