Ingredients To Die For Blog

Aloe Vera is used extensively in cosmetic, personal care, and other products for its known rejuvenating action. It achieves this through several mechanisms, listed at the bottom of this article.

Ingredients To Die For carriers a Aloe Vera Powder 200x and Aloe Vera juice.

Our Aloe Vera powder is a freeze dried 200X concentrate that allows you to create an Aloe Vera Juice(Liquid) with 1 part powder to 199 parts water. This concentrate allows you to save considerably because you are not shipping water and it also maintains the integrity of the aloe because it is in dry form, which is still susceptible to spoilage, just not as susceptible. You can buy 1 oz of Aloe Vera powder to make almost 2 gallons of Aloe Vera Juice or you can add the powder to the water phase of your formula at .1 to .4% to turn your water into aloe juice in formulation. The savings is unbelievable compared to buying Aloe Vera Juice (Liquid).

Because Aloe Vera Powder is highly hygroscopic it is packaged in a aluminum moisture barrier outer bag. To prevent it from attracting water from the environment and becoming a brick we recommend that you store it in it's moisture barrier bag.

Our Aloe products are organic. The supplier does also offer a certified aloe powder to meet consumer demand, which is all grown in the same fields and processed identically. We do not offer certified organic products because we don't support the certification movements which are now hurting the small farmer who has been growing organically since before anyone cared or heard of certified, and is now being crushed by the exorbitant fees and procedures while big business capitalizes and really couldn't care less, except to satisfy the consumer.

Example: to make 1 gallon of aloe vera use .64 oz of 200X dried aloe and 127.36 oz water. Heat to 160f and hold at this temperature for 20 minutes to pasturize and then cool before preserving with Suttocide A to stay paraben free or our NatureCide if you'd like to keep it fully plant derived .... viola!!!

When you use 200X as directed, using .5% of the water in your formula, you may list only aloe vera instead of water

Methods of Activity:

First, the polysaccharides act as moisturizers, hydrating the skin.

Secondly, aloe is absorbed into the skin and stimulates the fibroblasts to replicate themselves faster and it is these cells that produce the collagen and elastin fibers, so the skin becomes more elastic and less wrinkled.

Aloe also makes the surface of the skin smoother because of its cohesive effect on the superficial flaking epidermal cells by sticking them together.

It also possesses the ability to interfere with the enzyme that produces melanin deposits in the skin, preventing the formation of 'liver spots', which tend to form in aging skin. It has been said that if Aloe Vera is applied regularly and for long enough it will often cause established spots to disappear.

ALOE VERA IS AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF...

• Vitamins::It is rich in all vitamins excluding Vitamin D, especially the antioxidant Vitamins A (beta-carotene), C and E and even contains a trace of Vit. B12, one of the very few plant sources of this vitamin. This is important for vegetarians and vegans.
• Enzymes:: Several different types of these biochemical catalysts when taken orally aid digestion by breaking down fat and sugars. One in particular, Bradykinase, helps to reduce excessive inflammation when applied to the skin topically and therefore reduces pain, whereas others help digest any dead tissues in wounds. Lipases and proteases which break down foods and aid digestion are present.
• Sugars:: These are derived from the mucilage layer of the plant which surrounds the inner gel. and are known as mucopolysaccharides, which enhance the immune system and help to detoxify. Aloe Vera contains both mono and polysaccharides, but the most important are the long chain sugars involving glucose and mannose or the gluco-mannans which I have already referred to. These sugars are ingested whole from the gut, not broken down like other sugars, and appear in the bloodstream in exactly the same form. This process is known as pinocytosis. Once in the blood stream they are able to exert their immuno-regulating effect. Some of these polysaccharides are not absorbed but stick to certain cells lining the gut and form a barrier preventing absorption of unwanted material so helping to prevent a "leaking" gut syndrome. In topical preparations the sugars are also the main moisturisers.
• Anthraquinones:: There are twelve of these Phenolic compounds which are found exclusively in the plant sap. In small quantities, when they do not exert their purgative effect, they aid absorption from the gastro-intestinal tract and have anti-microbial and pain killing effects. In some commercial health drinks, the anthraquinones are removed because of the fear of producing abdominal pain or diarrhea, but I feel that they are actually beneficial in small amounts. The important ones, Aloin and Emodin, act as painkillers. They also function as anti-bacterials and anti-virals.
• Lignin::This in itself is an inert substance but when included in topical preparations it endows Aloe Vera with a singular penetrative effect so the other ingredients are absorbed into the skin.
• Saponins:: These soapy substances form about 3% of the Aloe Vera gel and are capable of cleansing, having antiseptic properties. These act powerfully as anti-microbials against bacteria, viruses, fungi and yeasts.
• Fatty Acids:: Cholesterol, Campesterol, b. Sisosterol and Lupeol. These four plant steroids are important anti-inflammatory agents.
• Salicylic Acid:: An aspirin-like compound possessing anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.
• Amino Acids:: The body needs 22 amino acids – the gel provides 20 of these. More importantly, it provides 7 out of the 8 essential amino acids which the body cannot synthesize.