Our new Aloe Lavender Mint shave pucks produce a rich, creamy lather, while the aloe soothes. We use purslane in our Anti-Aging Serum (extracted from the stems, which are juicy during a relatively short growing season in the Hudson Valley). Both aloe and purslane have a jelly-like structure inside leaf and stem that's called mucilage. This plant component can occur directly in fruit, leaf, flower, root, or stem OR in seeds after soaking in water (like chia or flax). Mucilage from different plants contains a variety of nutrients, but is universally composed of polysaccharides. These are biological polymers that help form plant structure and capacity for storing water. As with plants, polysaccharides assist skin’s natural ability to hydrate and retain water. They are also critical for skin repair and skin renewal, and therefore found in tons cosmetic ingredients. But, polysaccharides degrade somewhat in heat, and there's a lot of heat involved in formulating products. That's why no aloe product can soothe a burn better than opening and applying a fresh aloe leaf. I used rehydrated kombu seaweed to soothe and repair my son's burns from radiation treatments. In rotation with aloe and lavender hydrosol, it was extremely effective at relieving burn pain and soothing damaged skin.
Plant mucilage and DIY burn treatments
Posted by Barbara Mansfield on