Byline: CHARLOTTE MORTENSSON & ALLAN HALL
Aloe vera
WHICH famous plant is found in almost every beauty product you can lay your hands on?
From shampoos to sunscreens to moisturisers, at least one item in each range boasts it contains aloe vera. There are even aloe vera toothpastes.
The over-exposure might leave you wondering if it's all just a marketing ploy, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest this really is a superplant.
It has been shown to ease a wide range of problems, mostly connected to the skin and the digestion.
We certainly aren't the first society to slap it on. There are records of Alexander the Great's armies taking it into battle with them to help treat wounds. Its medicinal and cosmetic use go back to Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India.
The first scientific research into aloe vera started in the Thirties during the early days of x-rays. It wasn't unusual for patients to accidentally end up with radiation burns and hospitals found the skin healed at least 10 per cent more quickly when aloe vera was applied.
MAGICAL JUICES
JUDGING by the pictures of spiky green plants you see on aloe vera products, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's a cactus.
In fact, it's part of the lily family. It grows in warm climates and the goodness comes from the shiny, slimy pulp inside, as well as the thicker internal …
