Elana44 asks…I need a clarification on this botanical. I know that there are these natural forms of aloe barbadensis. But what is aloe barbadensis gel? Is it all-natural or is it made of one of the other forms by the help of some chemical?
The Right Brain responds:
Here are the officially recognized terms for different versions of Aloe Barbadensis.
- Aloe barbadensis flower extract
- Aloe barbadensis leaf extract
- Aloe barbadensis leaf juice
- Aloe barbadensis leaf juice powder
- Aloe barbadensis leaf polysaccharides
- Aloe barbadensis leaf water
As you can see, “aloe barbadensis gel” is not on the list and so it’s not an officially recognized name for aloe vera. So, suppliers can use the “gel” name as long as their Material Safety Data Sheet uses one of the official names. For example, one supplier sells aloe barbadensis gel and lists the the following as the “real” names:
- EU Substance Name: Aloe vera extract
- EU INCI Name: Aloe barbadensis Leaf Extract
- CTFA INCI Name: Aloe barbadensis Leaf Juice
- JCIA INCI Name: Aloe barbadensis Leaf Extract
So the answer to your first question is sort of “all of the above.”
Are there chemicals in my aloe vera?
To answer your second question we have to look at what ingredients are added to the “aloe.” If you buy any kind of water containing aloe extract it will also contain some kind of preservative. For example one supplier uses a combination of sodium benzoate, sodium sulphate, potassium sorbate, and ascorbic acid to preserve their aloe barbadensis leaf extract.
References:
http://www.makingcosmetics.com/msds1/msds-aloe-vera-gel.pdf
http://www.essentialingredients.com/msds/Aloe%20Gel%20%20200X%20Powder%20.pdf
Image credit: http://www.public-domain-image.com/plants/flowers/slides/aloe-vera.jpg
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Thanks for the information. I have also wanted to use aloe vera for a long time because I have read that it just oh-so-good for our skin and scalp as well. My grandparents were always using that before, well they use the leaves itself and apply it on the scalp.
Thanks a lot, Right Brain!
Any ideas?
Now this is absolutely clear to me how it works. I found this aloe barbadensis gel ingredient in a shampoo and it is listed as the first ingredient, followed by water, sodium laureth sulfate and cocamydopropyl betaine. The company (LR Cosmetics) states that this gel is present at 45% of the total volume and this is the “catch” of this shampoo. But i am really skeptical if it is any better than a “traditional” shampoo with same detergents and whether i should be paying $18 for aloe gel of unknown origin. Tough the company’s representative said that their gel is “146% natural product” and i have no idea what that is supposed to mean
146% ?????????????? ???????
Oops,sorry, i didn’t mean all those question marks! (* embarrassed)
@Elana: 146% natural? That has to be one of the funniest claims I’ve ever heard. That makes no sense what so ever. I wouldn’t pay extra for aloe in a shampoo because it just rinses down the drain. In a leave in product, maybe. But rinse out? Forget it!
TreSkinRX uses a form of aloe that’s known as pharmaceutical grade. There are different grades of aloe, ours being the most pure and potent form of aloe. It has to be processed within a 4-6 hour period to be this grade of aloe. Depending on how it’s processed can lead to bacteria building up within the gel or juice. TreSkinRX uses only the inner fillet of the plant. A grade of aloe that most companies use is cosmetic grade. Our products use this high grade aloe as the 1st ingredient. Most of the bottle or jar is this aloe, rather than using water like most other skincare products. When looking for products with aloe – make sure it’s the first ingredient, and the most pure and potent.
no matter what is added, isn’t aloe comprised of chemicals? like just about everything else in the universe including water ?
Thank you for that JC. I wish there was a way to bump up your comment. I’m so sick of hearing advertising and comments about ‘natural’ and ‘chemical-free’ (I’m a chemist, everything is a chemical unless they are selling me a bottle of vacuum). What people don’t realize is that there are plenty of chemicals which are lab-synthesized versions of naturally occurring molecules, which may be higher in purity and allow the consumer a more reasonable price point, and then many more that learn from and then *improve on* naturally occurring molecules by choosing a structure that makes it work even better. The marketing folks are having a field day with the premiums they can charge for claiming something is ‘natural’ though!
If it is an extract, what is doing the extraction?
That would be an added “chemical”, surely.
I suppose they could puree the plant and filter out everything larger than, say, 1um, but I doubt this is done.
Ugh, people and their “chemicals”.
Read a book!
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