Growing up with acne was extremely hard. I used to pick at my skin as an attempt to get those pesky white heads off of my face. However, intense picking lead to a few dark marks on my skin, better known as acne scars. I began to research ways to rid my face of these marks and aloe vera gel was a prominent search result. So, before I left home this summer, I decided to stop by my local Home Depot and get an actual aloe vera plant. I decided to name my plant Ringo, which is not weird at all. After weeks of letting Ringo grow, I decided it was time to cut off a stem and try an aloe vera gel face mask.
To begin, I cut the leaf at the base of my plant.
Then, I cut the stem on the sides (the sides are a little sharp). After that, I cut the stem into little chunks. Starting with the thickest chunk (the part that is closest to where the base was), I cut off the top and I was home free! It took all of 1 to 2 minutes to cut in order for me to have access to the plant’s gel.
By this point my fingers were dripping in goopy gel. This situation was quite entertaining because every time I thought I could get the gel off of my fingers, more of the goo would come out of nowhere! Ironically I attempted to clean my hands without realizing that they would get all goopy again once I applied the gel to my face.
Taking one of the chunks, I rubbed the gel side of the plant onto my face. The instant it touched my face it felt really odd, because I am not used to putting stuff on my face, especially gooey substances. But as I rubbed it in, the feeling got a little better. It was very soothing and went on extremely well!
By this point I had used 2 chunks on my face, because go big or go home. I began smelling like a plant, which was not as wonderful as you think it might be. I was shocked because Ringo doesn’t really smell like anything, but once you open a stem its like greenery goes right up your nostrils. I was not complaining though, because the gel felt quite soothing on my face. I decided to sleep with the gel on because one of the reviews I had read said that the longer it was on the better it worked. I was a little worried that I would wake up with either a rash, or a tree growing off my face, but I was feeling brave.
I woke up the next morning excited to see how my face looked. Surprisingly, it worked really well! My cheeks were not as red as they had been when I went to bed, and the pimples I had been stress-touching were slightly calmed! I was relieved. I washed the aloe off my face, and my face was extremely smooth too! It basically rejuvenated my winter skin, which I am entirely grateful for.
I would definitely recommend using Aloe Vera gel! I am excited to try it again, but mix a few different ingredients in for a better “face mask”. There are a lot of benefits of aloe Vera gel, and I would also recommend researching them and coming up with your own way to use this “wonder plant!”