Aloe vera is a beautiful lush green, aesthetically pleasing succulent plant. It has recently been a quite popular gel for acne and dark spots treatment in the herbal, organic and cosmetic industries.
This plant thrives in direct sunlight and needs no real care.
In spite of the humble nature of aloe vera, it has amazing antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
The gel inside the plant, when you remove its outer covering and thrones is immensely healing and calming for the skin.
Not just this, aloe vera contains aloin and phenol that work to reduce pigmentation and scars.
Aloe Vera also contains natural salicylic acid so it is quite effective in reducing acne without clogging pores.
Let’s find out how to use Aloe vera gel overnight for acne and dark spots treatment.
Table of Contents
What’s Inside Aloe Vera?
The non-comedogenic healing gel inside an aloe vera leaf contains natural salicylic acid, aloin, phenol, magnesium lactate, amino acids and 8 enzymes.
The most popular active compounds in aloe vera are aloe-emodin, aloin, aloesin, emodin, and acemannan (source)
Due to such goodness inside, even the latest study in 2023 has found aloe vera gel to be effective in acne treatment (source).
Let’s find out how to use this godsend acne healing gel overnight to fight acne.
How to Apply Aloe Vera for Acne on the Face Overnight
- To treat your acne faster, one of the best tricks is to apply the aloe vera gel overnight. You can either extract the fresh aloe vera gel from its leaf or use the store-bought aloe vera gel.
- If you are using fresh aloe then keep it upright in a glass after cutting the leaf for about 10 minutes. This removes the latex from the plant and you can safely use the aloe vera leaf then.
- If using store-bought aloe vera, make sure it has the aloe vera listed as the first ingredient in the list. My favourite is Patanjali aloe vera (saffron variant) as it has 95% aloe vera in it and is super-effective on acne and affordable as well.
- Just massage the Aloe vera gel on a clean and dry face. Focusing on the problem areas, don’t rub on the active acne just make sure you apply it over that.
- Let the gel dry out so that it won’t stick to your pillow. If using overnight, I always prefer the store-bought gel as it won’t spoil my pillow covers.
- However, if you want to apply the fresh aloe vera gel only then let it dry for 10 minutes then go to sleep.
- Wash it off with plain water while massaging gently, followed by a DIY Facewash , DIY toner and gel-based moisturizer for acne-prone skin.
- See the whole natural homemade skin care routine for acne that helped me
My Experience with aloe vera for Acne – How I used it to Clear My Acne
After trying a lot many things and seeing results too, Aloe vera has never disappointed me.
Even when I suffered from the worst acne of my time, and was frustrated, I ditched all the skincare products and moved to natural products only.
Aloe vera helped a LOT.
I used grapeseed oil in winter as a moisturizer but in summer, I couldn’t use that so I switched to natural aloe vera gel from my homegrown lovely-looking aloe vera plant.
However it was quite cumbersome to store and I was too lazy to take it out from the fridge every time, although it was THE MOST EFFECTIVE thing, I kid you not.
My lazy self settled for an aloe vera bottle and that thing is still going on.
Result – I won’t say only aloe vera did it, All things I used when I ditched skincare products, cured my acne.
P.S – they still come sparingly due to better lifestyle choices for acne and the right products.
How to Use Aloe Vera Gel to Clear Acne
One of the most common ingredients in anti-acne medicines and ointments is aloe vera and salicylic acid. More than 35 % of anti-acne products contain salicylic acid (source) and you are getting the natural salicylic in aloe vera itself.
Apply it as a moisturiser
That’s how I use it, I use it as a moisturizer after my DIY apple cider toner during the day and forget about it. Here is how to make a DIY moisturizer with aloe vera gel for oily skin
I use the retinol night repair after night face wash. I don’t use my DIY toner before retinol and vitamin C and retinol don’t go together.
Apply it overnight
As mentioned above, apply the aloe vera gel at night, massage it, let it dry for 10 minutes then go to sleep. Wash off in the morning.
Spot Treat for acne
To spot treat, you need a potent concoction, so I advise you to add a drop of tea tree oil to a coin-sized aloe vera gel.
Mix it well and apply the dots on the acne. Let it dry for a while and leave it like this for at least 1-2 hours or overnight for the best treatment.
Aloe Vera masks
Although there are a lot of ways to make aloe vera masks, I think these two are the best –
Mangosteen rind (kokum), aloe vera and Gree tea leaf Mask
This mask has been proven to be better than clindamycin (source), a popular anti-acne medicine. You need to mix the mangosteen rind or kokum powder with the aloe vera gel along with green tea leaves (take them out from the tea bag) and mix to form a paste-like consistency.
Apply it on your face for 10-30 minutes then rinse. This works great for acne, acne marks and pigmentation.
Cinnamon & honey
Add one teaspoon of honey to one teaspoon of aloe vera gel and add 1/4rth teaspoon of cinnamon powder. Mix well to form a gel-based paste. Apply it on your face for 10 to 30 minutes before washing off. (got this idea from Healthline)
It gives a healthy glow as honey and aloe vera hydrate the skin, and kill bacteria and cinnamon also helps in killing any bacteria present on the face.
Aloe Vera Face Mist
Mix 1 cup of drinking water with 1 tablespoon of aloe vera gel and a few drops of any essential oil (optional) you like. Tea tree and peppermint oils are the best for acne-prone skin.
Mix it well and add to a spray bottle and use it as a face mist.
Aloe Vera Moisturizer, lotion or cream
If you are buying from the market, then make sure it has real aloe vera in it and is non-comedogenic too.
Here are some awesome options for the best moisturizer for acne-prone skin
Aloe Vera gel with Ultrasound
The kind of ultrasound machines the physical therapy centres have has a different frequency and it works well in the absorption of the medication in the skin.
Aloe vera gel with a soft gel mask with ultrasound is effective for acne and inflamed skin (source). This has been proven as well. So you can go to your nearest physical therapy centre, show them this article ( I am saying this as a qualified physical therapist) and if they agree you can have this session twice a week for great results.
Other Uses of Aloe Vera Gel
- Treats Acne
- Prevents blockage of pores
- Clean wounds – also used in wound dressing to enhance chances of healing (source). Aloe vera accelerates wound healing by promoting the proliferation and migration of fibroblasts and keratinocytes( source).
- Even used in burns
- Psoriasis – Soothes the itchiness, redness, scaling and itching
- Eczema – moisturizes and calms the skin
- Antifungal Properties as well
- Herpes Simplex heals faster when the aloe vera gel is applied daily (source)
- Some Unproven Benefits – Diabetes control, cholesterol levels (source)
- Has shown healing after pulpotomy in children (source)
Aloe Vera for Pimple Marks
Found to be better than the acne medicine erythromycin gel in reducing acne and acne scars (source) when combined with propolis and tea tree oil.
If you can’t find propolis ( a wax-like substance used by honeybees in their honeycomb) then you can use the kokum-aloe vera mask as well to achieve acne marks reduction.
Apple cider vinegar works for acne marks too.
How to Extract Aloe Vera Gel from a Leaf
Cut the fresh aloe vera leaf from the plant.
Let it stand in a glass for about 10 minutes.
You will see the yellow latex released from it.
After that wash the end of the plant to wash off any sticky latex.
Then remove the thorns and the outer covering of the leaf.
Remove the gel as shown in the image below
You can either use it as it is, apply it overnight, add it to masks, or simply apply it as moisturizer as well.
Things to Consider While Using Aloe Vera for acne overnight
- Don’t apply on surgical wounds or severe burns
- Always do a patch test on your inner elbow before using it. If no redness or reaction appears after 24 to 48 hours, you can use it on your face.
- Don’t ingest the gel without asking a healthcare professional
- Make sure you are using the aloe vera only, many other succulents look like aloe vera, so ask the nursery person or a herbalist before applying it on your face.
Not Just Aloe vera, you need a good Detox routine to clean acne
Yes, applying aloe vera on your face overnight, during the day, as a mask definitely helps in treating acne. But you need to do a lot of other things to stay acne-free, drink lots of water, eat healthily, eat spicy and fried only once or twice a week, and always drink one detoxifying tea if you are acne-prone. This hormonal acne tea is everything!
I cold brew my teas in summer, whether hibiscus, green, coriander or even fennel tea. Mix the ingredients in a glass of water and keep it overnight in the fridge. Drink in the morning!
Amla juice (Indian gooseberry juice) or amla powder (amal ki rasayan) work wonders in detoxifying your body, preventing acne and even helping in turning grey hair to black again.
Here is the whole inner cleansing routine for acne treatment that I follow.
Most Common FAQ
Can I drink aloe vera juice?
There is a debate about whether aloe vera is actually anti-cancerous or carcinogenic. You should not ingest the juice without asking a healthcare professional as recent studies on rats have found out that aloe vera can be cancer-causing and can lead to kidney failure as well (source). This activity however can be due to problems in harvesting, storing or creating juice, that remain unclear.
That was all folks! I am starting an aloe vera series for skin, hair and body issues. So please subscribe to my weekly newsletter so that you don’t miss out on them.
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