Cracked Up

So, I'm a pyromaniac. I love fire. V can attest to my intense love of gigantic, roaring bonfires. A fire is not a fire unless it lights up the night sky and attracts the neighbors' attention. (That's not always a good thing, LOL) I also have a bad habit about constantly piling more stuff on an already outrageously hot fire. And I always suffer for it. Right now I'm nursing dry, cracked lips, hands and a burnt rear end. (Yep, I roasted my heiny by standing a bit to close to the conflagration that was supposed to be a nice small fire, HA.Anyone that wants to see said fire can read my post here.) 

I woke up yesterday morning, feeling like I'd kissed a stove. My lips were swollen and burnt feeling, but of course, I couldn't find a tube of chapstick anywhere. I could barely put a cup to my lips and anything that even remotely felt warm I couldn't bring near my face. *sigh* Then it dawned on me, aloe vera is good for cooking burns and sunburns and just about any other kind of burn or wound you can think of, so why won't it work on burnt lips? 

I broke off a leaf and squeezed some of the gel onto my finger. I, oh so gently, rubbed the gel across my lips. Ahhhhhh, instant relief. The burning feeling went away and after about an hour the swelling went down considerably. I must say, the aloe vera gel worked a million times better than any chapstick I've ever used, and for most people who enjoy cooking, have an aloe vera plant readily available for all those pops and splatters that inevitably happen.

Now on to the hands. After the realization that the aloe worked well on my lips, I wondered if maybe it wouldn't do something for my dry, cracked hands. Being a mom, a dog owner, keeping reptiles and rodents, I am constantly washing my hands. So, as soon as the weather starts getting cooler, the skin on my hands starts drying out fairly quickly and cracks easily and is just painful, overall. I have extremely sensitive skin to start with, so I have a hard time finding a decent moisturizing lotion that doesn't give me hives. And let me just say, having a nasty, itchy rash on top of already dry, cracked skin is even more painful than just the dryness and cracking. So, using the leaf that I already snipped to tame my "hot lips", I squeezed some more of the gel out and began rubbing it on my hands. Another almost instant relief moment. The nice thing about using pure aloe is, for those of us with sensitive skin who can't use scented, expensive lotions, it doesn't give you hives or a rash. 

I managed to find a gallon of Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera Gel at Super Supplements, online. The total came to about $20.00 after shipping. I bought a gallon because I know I will find many uses for it in my daily life, but I'm sure, if you do your research, you can find a smaller amount for sale. Just be sure that it is at least 97% pure aloe, otherwise, there is no telling what other ingredients you might end up with. 

With this magnificent find, I've crossed lotion and chapstick off my shopping list. I have an empty lotion bottle, that has been cleaned thoroughly, to fill with the gel, to keep at home and a small traveler's bottle to keep in my purse. 

The moisturizing and healing properties, in pure aloe vera gel, are amazing. You can read more about aloe and it's medicinal properties here. Annie's Remedy has an amazing catalog of herbs and their uses in natural medicine. It's my go to site, when I need to look up something quickly, on an herb.

Happy DIYing Everyone!!!