7 Best Aloe Vera Gels for Face and Skin

We asked experts to recommend some of the best Aloe Vera Gel products that could help soothe, hydrate, and clear up our skin and face!

A commercial gel made of 100% aloe doesn’t exist. This is possible only when the gel is directly extracted from the plant with no further processing, but in that form, it cannot be commercialized since it isn’t preserved. Without a preservative, the gel would quickly grow bacteria, yeast, and mold and it wouldn’t be safe.

This is how it’s done in the industry:

Cosmetic chemists use a dry powder that is made from the aloe gel extracted by the plant (the aloe gel is extracted, concentrated by evaporation and freeze-dried into said powder). The cosmetic chemists reconstitute the aloe gel by adding the powder to water, making the aloe juice. The juice is then gelled with a gelling agent, for example, carbomer, the pH is adjusted and a preservative is added to be commercialized. So, since to make a commercial aloe gel at minimum a gelling agent and a preservative are required, a gel made of 100% alone can never exist.

Many articles convince people that if the water is the first ingredient in the gel, that’s a filler and the gel is a scam. That’s the furthest from the truth. Water is the solvent for the aloe powder. Only with water, the aloe juice can be reconstituted. Often the aloe powder used is 200x, that means that to make 100 grams of aloe juice, 0.5g of aloe powder is dissolved in 99.5g of water.

Now, this seems a very little amount of aloe, but that is actually the exact concentration to recreate the aloe juice from the plant. So, an ingredients list where water is in the first place and aloe extract at the bottom is a correct ingredients list. Many companies list “aloe barbadensis juice” at the top, that is still made of 99.5% water and 0.5% aloe extract.

Aromatica Organic Aloe Vera Gel

This is one of the purest, and therefore basic, formulations for aloe gel. This is an aloe juice gelled and preserved. It’s Ecocert certified.

The reason why I like it is that, besides aloe, it contains two great ingredients: Panthenol (provitamin B5) promotes wound healing and allantoin is hydrating, protective, anti-inflammatory and it relieves irritation and redness. It’s a wonderful ingredient that works at very low concentrations.

Amara Beauty Aloe Vera Gel

It is the best around. It’s great for the face and body. It has a very thin preparation, which is easy to spread. Plus, it’s relatively inexpensive!

It helps keep my skin clear, and it’s also been really beneficial for my nieces’ acne. It’s vegan-friendly and all organic, so I don’t have to worry about any pesticides or insecticides being used on the aloe vera plant.

As a biologist, this is important to me because our skin is our largest organ and its heavily porous. I hope this recommendation helps someone.

In addition to the soothing and cooling properties of organic aloe vera, ultra-moisturizing ingredients like shea butter and jojoba oil nourish deep down to seal in moisture and regulate oil production. Vitamin-rich sea minerals provide antioxidants and restore pH balance.

I use it almost every night on my lower back and neck. I have an office job, so it really helps after sitting all day! We know a lot of athletes use it too – especially after hard workouts. It has simple ingredients – aloe, hemp, arnica and chamomile and is made in the U.S. This is recommended for skin, but I would not recommend for use on your face.

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