What is the difference between aloe vera extract, aloe vera powder, and aloe vera gel?

Hi good morning guys. Today ill be addressing a question raised by one of our client on aloe vera. As you know in SoapLab; we have aloe vera extract, aloe vera powder, and aloe vera gel. Whats the difference?

Now before we go into details on the difference of all three; lets talk about aloe vera first. 

What are they used for?

Aloe vera generally is used on skin to reduce inflammation, redness and rashes. It contains more than 200 active constituents; out of which mostly are anti oxidants like vitamin A, C and E; (which help in reducing scars), enzymes like bradykinase which helps in reducing inflammation, and hormones like auxin and gibberellins which helps in anti inflammatory activity.

Yes i know it sounds sciency but at times ive got to explain the phytochemical part because if not; at times you will read in the net about 100’s of benefits of aloe vera and have no idea which is true. Down here by learning about what is the real constituent in aloe vera; we can distinguish which properties is real. So please bare with me:-0

so anyways; since these are abundant in aloe plant; it can be concluded that aloe vera will be perfect for skin conditions that are easily inflammed like eczema, psoriosis, wound healiny, scar healing and burn skin. When it comes to hair and scalp; it would be great to be used on scalp psoriasis; and post chemical treatment/ burn ( you know after straightening or perms and colouring).

Types of aloe vera in the market.

In the market; there are three type of aloe vera sold: the extract, the powder, and the gel (all which soaplab has). We cant use the fresh aloe vera gel off the plant itself in the skincare because it will spoil easily. (Heres an article i wrote about before about adding fresh ingredients in cosmetics.) so because of that you will have to use all the other forms.

Aloe vera extract

Aloe vera extract is the most potent aloe vera available. If aloe vera had scent; aloe vera extract would have been made into essential oil:-0. However; since aloe vera is water based product; its made into extract. Its the same as all the other extracts (like hibiscus extract, mulberry extract etc) most of these extracts are mainly water soluble; therefore they are made into extract. If an ingredient has oil phase or its more oil soluble, it will become essential oil. 

Since aloe vera extract is potent; most of the time you should not use more than 5% in your creation. However; if its a rinse off product; you can use more without any trouble. Having said that; becareful when you purchase these from your suppliers. Some dilute them to be able to sell it at cheaper price. We came across many as well (when we were looking for suppliers). So becareful ya. 

Aloe vera powder

Aloe vera powder is dehydrated aloe vera. Its quite potent but not as potent as the extracts. If you notice the aloe vera plant itself; it contains close to 98% water, and about 2% is the phytochemicals mentioned above. So aloe vera powder is generally the aloe vera plant that was dehydrated, and made into powder.

Aloe vera gel

Aloe vera gel; unlike all the others above; is actually aloe vera extract that is added into a gel base. Basically its almost like a finished product so you can use as is. Most aloe vera gel in the market contains 2% aloe vera extract, and 98% water. It is said that the reason they do this is because it mimics the ‘real aloe vera’. For me it doesnt make sense. We have so many aloe vera plant growing everywhere in Malaysia. Why make a ‘gel’ thats same as the plant? Just go and pluck and rub la! 

So anyways; because of that i decided to make a more ‘potent’ aloe vera gel. Soaplab’s gel base contains 5%-10% aloe vera extract, and it also contains allantoin; another aloe vera like cosmeceutical thats for treatment of inflammation and wound. In that way the gel that you get in soaplab is more ‘stronger’ than the other finished product you have in the market; but not as strong as the extracts and powders above.

So when to use what?

The extracts and powder; use it in your skincare product. Means add into your soapbase, or your lotions etc. Especially if you are making a product for someone with eczema, psoriosis, scars and wounds. The gel; treat it as a finished product and you could use directly on skin. You can also add your favourite scents and color if you wanted. Do not add it into your premade product (like if you making lotion from scratch or serum from scratch; dont add the gel because then the aloe vera is actually too ‘little’ that you wont get its benefit. Use the extract instead).

Hope you found this article useful;
Thank you for reading;
Nisha