I experienced the power of pure Aloe Vera for the first time when we were in Singapore at Christmas. I had a whopper of an insect bite on my back (I always react really badly and swell up when I get bitten), so my lovely mother in law broke the leaf tip off an aloe plant next to the pool and smeared the sticky juice that oozed out of it onto my bite. The mad itching eased immediately and by that evening the redness and swelling had reduced dramatically.
Shortly after this, Australian Aloe Essentials kindly offered me the chance to try some Aloe products and naturally I was interested. Sexy and glamorous they are not… and hands up, I do love all that. But pure, natural and effective are equally alluring in my book - and these tick all three boxes.
Aloe Vera Body Lotion
The moisturising body lotion comes in a huge 375 ml bottle and contains highly concentrated Aloe Vera extract, and vitamins A, D & E. It’s cooling, easily absorbed and non greasy. The scent is quite unusual but I like it… it contains lemongrass oil which is what I notice the most and is slightly herbal and cucumbery - a clean, fresh smell that doesn’t linger much.
I’ve been using this as hand cream, body cream and post shaving soothing lotion. My legs really flare up the day after shaving, which drives me nuts - and this has really helped settle them and ease the itching.
It’s been great for my little boy’s very dry skin and eczema - and when my daughter developed a raw, sore and uber dry outbreak of contact dermatitis on her knuckles this week (for the first time ever) I applied this and it was almost gone by next morning - no more redness and less than half as dry. I was amazed.
Aloe Vera Body Lotion £7.00 (375ml)
Aloe Baby Bubble Bath
I’ve also been using this cute bottle of Aloe Baby Bubble Bath for the children, as my boy is particularly prone to dried out skin after bathing. This one contains essential oils of lavender and ylang ylang as well as soothing camomile and calendula extracts. It smells beautiful and is very soothing before bedtime. Katrina said it would be fine for my two even though they’re no longer babies (4&7) and she was right - it’s gorgeous and I’d quite happily bathe in it myself!
Aloe Baby Bubble Bath £5.00 for 200ml
Aloe Vera Shaving Gel
Yes it’s for men - and my husband has been using this… in fact I’d have reviewed it sooner had he not sneaked it into his bag for a trip abroad! I’ve also been using it, due to the leg shaving issues I mentioned above, so will share both of our experiences. I’ve just asked him how he found it and (without looking up from the golf) he replied: ‘yeah, good.’
To give a bit of background, he has sensitive skin and is very careful about which shaving products he uses as he’s prone to flaring up and a raw red rash on his neck. After much persuasion, he came up with the following… ‘It took more product than expected to build a lather, but it worked well and didn’t irritate my skin. I got a close shave and wasn’t dry, tight or itchy afterwards.’
Believe me, this is high praise indeed coming from the man whose ultimate compliment is ‘you look nice’. I rest my case.
I’ve also been using this in the shower to shave my legs… it smells fresh and clean - quite unisex really and I got a nice close shave. My legs were less irritated than usual afterwards, though to be fair I was also using the Aloe Vera Body Lotion.
Aloe Vera Shaving Gel £8.50 for 240ml
A full range of skincare products designed for men, women, teenagers, babies and even animals (!!) is included on the website and I really recommend that you check them out. The prices are very reasonable for products with such high quality ingredients and I’ll definitely be back for more! Katrina is based in Ireland and all of her products are produced in Australia - check out the links below for more details.
AustralianAloeEssentials.co.uk ….. twitter @aloessentials ….. Facebook
Have you tried any products with Aloe Vera?
