Best Aloe Vera Face Packs to get Clear, Glowing Skin

By Nidhal

It’s juicy. It’s succulent. It’s tender. It is a magic potion for your skin and hair. If consumed on a regular basis, it endows your body with a whole range of vital nutrients. It comes packed in tubs, tubes and bottles but that’s as good as a paper airplane in the name of defence equipment! It’s not real. Raw/real Aloe vera displays the tendency to turn stale within half an hour of being extracted.

Naturally the one in tubs, tubes or bottles would either be conspicuously fake or pumped with an overwhelmingly large number of chemicals. In the name of revitalising our skin, why then go for something that is just gel and nowhere as nourishing as our real Aloe Vera is?

Today, I will enlist a few tried-and- tested face masks with real Aloe Vera that you can easily whip at home to nurture your skin from within

1. ALOE VERA & HONEY MASK

The secret of Aloe Vera lies in its long, tender, succulent leaves – it is this gel that makes aloe vera a magical plant. It contains a host of beneficial compounds like polysaccharides, lectins and mannans etc. The main constituent of Aloe Vera is water but it also packs inside a bulk of minerals, vitamins and many active compounds which will leave your skin nourished and refreshed.

Honey, on the other hand, being a humectant (moisture binding agent) traps in moisture and doesn’t let your skin feel dry or stretchy.

PROCEDURE- Simply extract the gel of a whole Aloe vera plant and add half the quantity of raw (preferably Manuka) honey to whatsoever quantity of Aloe Vera gel you’ve extracted. Mix, apply and wash after 15 minutes. Since the mask contains honey, it won’t dry up solely so, there’s no point in sitting with it for hours. At most, half an hour is suggested after which Aloe vera would tend to be infested by bacteria.

2. ALOE VERA & CURD MASK

Known to be a peerless retainer of one’s skin’s firmness, Aloe vera in combination with curd that has lactic acid and hence, efficacious in lightening scars, spots, freckles, marks, blemishes, etc. is a wonderful mask to kick away spots and dullness. It also raises radiance.

PROCEDURE- As usual, extract the gel of an Aloe Vera plant (a single leaf would be sufficient) painstakingly and add two tbsp. of curd to it. Mix both well, massage on your skin gently and let it stay for 15-20 minutes or till it gets dry completely. Wash off with ample cold water to reveal brighter and energised face.

3. ALOE VERA, BESAN & HALDI POWDER MASK

The humble Aloe Vera gel has anti-microbial properties which spells cheer. Why? Because that makes it ideal to treat acne and pimples. Did I just see acne-prone ladies cavort excitedly on reading this? Besan helps to sort sallow complexion thereby evening out skin tone. Haldi makes for an excellent instant skin brightening ingredient that you just cannot skip in this recipe. I would suggest using either Kasthoori Haldi or Amba Haldi because these two variants are exclusively crafted for skin care and won’t turn your skin yellow if applied a little in excess (of course, don’t add an entire pack of Haldi just to ascertain the level at which your skin would turn yellow)

PROCEDURE- Simply extract Aloe vera’s gel off a leaf. Add a tsp of Kasthoori haldi or Amba haldi as well as besan. Mix well, apply and wash off within 15-20 minutes. Do not keep any Aloe vera face mask for more than half an hour. It gets infested by bacteria. You may not feel it but its nutritive value surely diminishes.

4. ALOE VERA, MILK & RICE FLOUR MASK

This mask comes to rescue to those who are battling sunburns. Aloe vera helps reduce inflammation and when teamed up with milk (that is high in lactic acid which lightens blemishes and deep cleanses skin) and rice flour (which helps to even out complexion), there’s surely no way your sunburn would stay for long.

PROCEDURE- Simply mix adequate amount of raw Aloe vera gel in a tablespoon of rice and  little milk (enough to liquefy) the resulting mixture and smear it liberally on your skin. Once dry, splash cold water and scrub it gently to remove it. Voila! Someone’s glowing.

Editor’s Note: Loved this! I love curd & honey, definitely trying first two <3

Do you use aloe vera in your DIY face packs? How do you use it?