How aloe vera - loved by Cleopatra and Nicki Minaj - could help you

 

Long before beauty lotions were a thing, I remember my grandmother applying aloe vera on her face every night, South China Morning Post quoted Delhi-based journalist and editor Neeta Lal.

Lal, inspired by her 93-year-old grandmom's glowing skin that made her look years younger, decided to take the jelly-like substance from inside aloe vera leaves and massage it into her face. Over the years, the plant has become an essential part of her beauty regimen.

The aloe vera plant, also known as the Lily of the Desert, has constantly received tremendous appreciation in almost every place in the world and almost in every age as well. From Egyptian queens to Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities to explorers like Christopher Columbus, scores of people around the world are known to have loved reaping aloe vera's benefits.

Several celebrities, including Nicki Minaj, Drew Barrymore, Salman Khan, Deepika Padukone, and Alia Bhatt, are loyal fans of the gel, with 56-year-old Khan even recommending drinking aloe vera juice to those who complement him on his youthful appearance.

Egyptian queens Cleopatra and Nefertiti are known to have applied the gel and consumed the juice for its health and beauty benefits.

According to Indian Ayurvedic practitioner Anjali Asok, aloe vera eliminates skin infections, heals wounds and mild burns, helps in tan removal and treatment of stretch marks and sunburn, and slows down skin ageing. The skin absorbs the gel up to four times faster than water, she added.

Historical records show that 15th-century Italian explorer Christopher Columbus and Alexander the Great, ancient king of Macedonia, both used aloe gel to treat their soldiers' wounds.

In addition to its extensive involvement in millions of people's beauty regimes, aloe vera also helps improve appetite, strengthen digestion, reduce chances of developing diabetes and heart disease, and protect eye health. It may even relieve constipation and detoxify the system as well as help athletes with muscle recovery.

Aloe vera gel, juice, or leaves are readily available, although you can even grow your own plant at home in a pot with minimal care.