Aloe and coconut body moisturizer

Summer is here and the sun is hot! Well for us in Singapore the sun is always hot, which is why we need to protect our skin that much more.

This recipe is for an all-over, head-to-toe Aloe & Coconut moisturizer that leaves your skin feeling gorgeous. I really cannot stop touching my arms right now (I was covered after photographing this DIY!)

You’ll want to apply this all over your body and you should. It’s going to heal you from the damage of the harsh sun, hydrate your skin (and hair!) and protect it for another day out.

You’ll need:

• An aloe vera leaf
• 2-3 Tablespoons of virgin raw coconut oil
  (add more or less oil depending on whether you want a more light or intense moisturizer)

Read about the benefits of coconut oil here.

Aloe vera is a skin superfood! When you want to feel good, you eat healthy food. Well, if you want to look good, feed your skin healthy food!

I’m in my 30s now and though my skin is changing, I’m not prepared to spend hundreds of dollars on anti-aging creams when natural ingredients can provide so much. Our skin is put under constant stress from pollution, from the sun and all the chemicals that we are exposed to. Aloe helps to heal and protect at a cellular level. It pulls moisture into the skin and has an anti-inflammatory property which is great for acne and eczema. Its properties are well documented and that’s why you find it in so many products… but keeping it green means that we go straight to the natural source itself!

For the second ingredient, I chose to use coconut oil, because I love the instant results that I feel as my skin soaks up this nourishing oil. It’s brilliant for the hair as it can actually penetrate the hair shaft, truly conditioning it. Its antibacterial, antifungal and helps with itchy or dry scalp conditions. It’s great for nails, skin… it’s perfect.

There is a trick to getting the gel from the aloe vera…

Between the inner gel and the rind, is a layer of a yellow sap called aloin that has an obnoxious smell and can be irritating. I wash it off, and though some gel gets washed away too, there’s so much more in the leaf that to me it’s better to remove the sap. Can you see it in the cut leaf below? Aloin is actually used separately as a laxative, so if you wan to eat your aloe, but do not want the laxative effects, make sure to remove it!

After a quick rinse, you can then squeeze and scrape off the gel – it’s messy fun and what you’ll have is a lovely thick gel. For me it’s sometimes easier to just plop the whole thing into blender and whizz it up with the coconut oil. The plant is made of 96% water, so it comes out like a juice, which you can then pour into a spray-bottle and spray onto your body, or onto your hair as a moisturizing treatment. Either way, gel or juice, you are getting all of the benefits!

I hope that you enjoy this summer and spent time outdoors, barefoot on the grass and under the sun. Take care of your body, nourish your skin and radiate health and beauty!