For years, aloe vera has been praised for its healing properties in many areas. Recent clinical studies have also shown it has a rejuvenating effect on skin.

Aloe vera lotion and gel are effective for a number of skin problems including sunburn, treating sores, treating cuts, and more. Aloe vera can even be used without purchasing gels if you have an aloe vera plant in your home. Simply cutting a leaf from the plant, splitting it open and applying the gel to your sunburn will provide immediate and soothing relief. A study conducted in the 1990s found that aloe vera was more effective in treating moderate to severe burns than covering them in gauze bandages (Farrar, 2005).

Aloe vera is particularly effective in preventing stretch marks. It can be an essential ally in guarding against tearing of skin that produces stretch marks. And fighting scars is important because stretch marks are essentially scars created by tearing of a woman’s skin during pregnancy.

However, while stretch marks are most often associated with pregnancy, a woman doesn’t have to be pregnant to experience stretch marks. And they are not restricted to women alone. Stretch marks form in some women during puberty, but they can impact both women and men as a result of obesity and sudden muscle growth as a result of using steroids.

Whether a result of pregnancy, obesity or other factors, aloe vera help heal the wounds created by the formation of scar tissue which prevents the onset of stretch marks.

The gel from this North African plant is obtained by cutting up open the lower leafs of the plant. Commercial products containing aloe vera or aloe vera extract can be purchased throughout the world at pharmacies, grocery stores, and Beauté Claire.

Although clinical studies in the past few years have pointed to its effectiveness, aloe vera has been used for thousands of years by the Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Indians and Chinese to decrease the appearance of scars, prevent stretch marks, and to moisturize and heal skin.

The result is skin that has an appearance that is younger looking, smoother and firmer.

Just the sound of the words shea butter evokes positive images. Having “butter” in the words make them sound like something that has to be tasty.

Even more pleasant is that shea butter lotion can be used as an anti-aging treatment to improve your skin. That’s because shea butter, which is natural fat extracted from fruit of the shea tree, is known for its cosmetic properties as a moisturizer and emollient.

Shea trees are found throughout the African Contient. Shea butter is produced by crushing and boiling fruit from the tree.

And in fact, shea butter is edible. It can be consumed in foods and is also used in the manufacture of chocolate as a substitute for cocoa butter.

The two kinds of shea butter available are:

1. Unrefined certified organic, which is processed without chemicals.
2. Chemically refined that is bleached, heated, and has a solvent extracted using a petrol-chemical. Purist claim the chemically refined version lacks the healing properties found in unrefined organic shea butter.

The healing properties of shea butter as they relate to skin care include treating:

• Burns
• Rashes
• Fading scars
• Eczema
• Severely dry skin

Shea butter also provides natural UV sun protection and has been used for centuries by people in Africa to moisturize and protect their skin from sun, wind, heat and salt water. Shea Butter is also used as hairdressing to moisturize a dry scalp and encourage hair growth, hold hairstyles and lightly relax curls.

Shea Butter lotion is frequently used in massage to create a frictionless surface on the skin, allowing for therapeutic deep tissue work. It also acts as excellent base for the addition of medical and cosmetic ingredients.

Shea butter is also a key ingredient in the most reputable beauty products and soaps, only recently gaining recognition in the United States in products like Beauté Claire Matrice Sérum. Shea butter can actually help stimulate collagen production in the skin, making it very effective in helping to reduce wrinkles, burns, and scars.

Further evidence of shea butter’s effectiveness is that the medical community has begun to take note of its healing powers. Shea butter has been found to be useful in cases of arthritis and in cases of rheumatism. Shea butter has also been studied as a nasal decongestant by application to the inside of the nostrils. It can also be helpful in cases of eczema and dermatitis and can help reduce skin bruising and soreness.

But its use in cosmetics is what has many facing old age excited. Shea butter can produce softer, smoother and younger looking skin is as little as six weeks.

As a result, shea butter is not only tasty, but contains natural ingredients that are better for people and can help produce a better appearance for them when used in cosmetics.