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You Don't Have To Use Sticky Aloe Gel To Reap Its Wonderful Benefits
Hannah Frye is the Assistant Beauty Editor at mindbodygreen. She has a B.S. in journalism and a minor in women’s, gender, and queer studies from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Hannah has written across lifestyle sections including health, wellness, sustainability, personal development, and more.
Sometimes regardless of how much SPF you load on or how diligent you are with sun care, you might still end up with a sunburn. As an all-natural remedy, you may reach for some aloe vera gel, thanks to its well-known skin healing power. The only problem? You'll end up sticky and unable to do, well, much of anything until you either wash it off or it fully soaks into your skin.
If you're looking to avoid this gooey post-sun treatment but still want to take care of your skin after exposing it to UV rays, we have a very helpful summertime tip: Look for aloe as a main ingredient in your body lotion. A bonus? The benefits don't stop at post-sunburn relief.
Allow us to give you a quick refresher on the skin care benefits of aloe vera, how to incorporate it into your routine (sans sticky gel), and a few other tips for choosing a post-sun lotion—so you can prepare for sunny days ahead.
Benefits of aloe vera for skin.
We highly recommend familiarizing yourself with our full aloe vera guide here, but let's discuss some of the highlights:
- May help ease discomfort from minor sunburns1
- Contains metallothionein2, which has been found to have a protective effect on skin
- Can help fade dark spots3
- Moisturizes4 the skin
- Encourages healthy skin aging5
- May help clear stubborn breakouts
What to look for in your after-sun products.
OK, so now you know why aloe is a superstar ingredient, but just because aloe is listed as an ingredient doesn't necessarily mean it's a main character. You should look for a body lotion that contains a decent amount of aloe, ideally with aloe vera juice as a base (you can tell if it's listed near the top of the ingredient list). Just make sure that the aloe is certified organic, and for what it's worth, the aloe in our postbiotic body lotion is decolorized and certified organic.
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But aloe isn't the only ingredient that can help your skin recover from a day out in the sun. For after-sun care, it's crucial to look for antioxidants in your go-to lotion as well. When you expose your skin to the sun—even if you are wearing SPF protection—the UV light causes oxidative stress in the skin (it's a complex topic, but you can scan our full breakdown of oxidative stress here). Luckily, antioxidants can help relieve some of that inflammation6. There are tons of different antioxidant ingredients, many of which are fruit extracts, but our favorite is CoQ10, as it protects the membranes of mitochondria and regenerates other antioxidants, like vitamins C and E.
Now, you know to look for aloe vera extracts toward the top of the ingredient list and keep an eye out for some antioxidant properties, but you also can't forget about adequate skin hydration. After you've been in the sun for hours, and especially if you've been swimming, your skin can feel a little bit dehydrated. This comes from damage to the moisture barrier caused by UV exposure. So in order to rehydrate the skin to prevent both discomfort and premature aging of the skin, look for a powerful blend of humectants, emollients, and occlusives. Our top picks are coconut oil, shea butter, moringa seed oil, and squalene, all of which we included in mbg's postbiotic body lotion (our holy grail moisturizer).
So if you're looking to give your skin a little TLC after basking in the sun, make sure to keep an eye out for aloe vera in your body lotion, as well as antioxidants and a blend of ultra-hydrating ingredients. That way, you can help your skin recover without dousing it in sticky aloe gel, if that sounds less than appealing to you. If you do have a serious sunburn, different precautions do apply, of course, and you should always give your derm or doctor a ring if you're concerned. But if you're just looking for some after-sun bliss, we made sure the mbg postbiotic body lotion hit all of these standards.
The takeaway.
As summertime approaches, it's important to brush up on our pre- and post-sun skin care. If you love the skin care benefits of aloe but would rather not cover yourself in gel from head to toe, just look for aloe as a main ingredient in your body lotion. In addition to aloe vera juice, antioxidants and a blend of hydrators can help your skin recover even quicker. And remember: The most important sun care step is to treat your skin before you even see the light—apply and reapply SPF to protect against sun damage and be smart about your time in the sun. Here's a list of our favorite mineral sunscreens if you're on the hunt.
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