Aloe vera gel has many applications for skin care. It's useful for soothing rashes and sunburns as well as skin dried and scarred from chemotherapy. The gel is non-oily, easily absorbed and should not contain any fragrance or alcohol. Different manufacturers may add stabilizers or other ingredients to their particular brand of aloe vera gel, but this article lists the ingredients typically found in the gel.
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera gel is taken from inside the leaves of the aloe vera plant and then pulverized. Many gels still contain tiny pieces of the aloe vera plant. A good aloe vera gel will list this gel as the first ingredient on the package, and only some vitamins and preservatives will be added. Pure aloe vera gel needs to be refrigerated.
Vitamins
Aloe vera gel is often enhanced by the addition of vitamins, particularly vitamin E. Vitamin E is found naturally in aloe vera, but is added to many gel preparations to further the moisturizing properties. In addition, vitamins A and C are sometimes added to aloe vera gel.
Preservatives
Most aloe vera gels will contain some sort of preservative to make them shelf-stable. Preservatives include sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate and citric aid.
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