Is aloe vera a good moisturizer?

NC Fiction’s fanciful question…I recently made a discovery after throwing out garbage bags full of old/useless products that all of the products that work for me contain aloe barbadensis . I have been searching for awhile now for a good moisturizer to no avail. I started using aloe vera on my skin to wipe my face at night and my skin became clearer and brighter! I read that Aloe Vera can be moisturizing though so my question, since Im tired of looking for a moisturizer, is this… Would using aloe vera on my face be considered more like a toner or anti-inflammatory or a moisturizer? Maybe both? If it is moisturizing, is it moisturizing enough to use for the rest of my 20s?

The Right Brain’s response:

We’ve written before that aloe actually works. However, the ingredient is not magical – it has to be delivered from the proper formulation, at the correct concentration, and then left on the skin for it to have a chance to have a positive effect. So be careful when you jump to the conclusion that the products that work for you all have aloe, therefore it must be the aloe that providing the benefit. There are other variables that you need to take into consideration.

Not all aloe is equal

Some skin moisturizers that use high levels of aloe are your best bet for having an effect. For example, Jason Natural Cosmetics Aloe Vera Super Gel is a likely candidate because it’s almost pure aloe vera and it’s left on the skin. Other the other hand Methods Foaming Hand Wash with Green Tea Aloe is unlikely to deliver any aloe benefit since there’s less in the formula and, more importantly, it’s rinsed away.

You should also realize that while aloe can be good for your skin it doesn’t provide the kind of heavy duty moisturization benefits that your skin needs when it’s really dried out.