RYDAL MAN GETS (SKIN) CARE PACKAGES TO TROOPS. In charity there is no excess.

reprinted from Times Chronicle – Glenside News [December 22, 2004]
Staff Writer: Paul Guest

With the holidays in full swing, charity becomes synonymous with the giving spirit of the season. And Magic of Aloe founder and Rydal resident Paul Aloe is going above and beyond the parameters of charity by embarking on a project to send much needed aloe-based skin care products to U.S. troops in Iraq.

“During the holidays, you really wonder if anyone is thinking about the troops,” Aloe said. It is disturbing that they are over there.”

Aloe’s company, founded 34 years ago and based in Pennsauken, NJ, manufacturers skin care products and cosmetics. After reading an article by Reuters stating that aloe may treat battle wounds because of its healing powers, he realized his products could help troops.

“Aloe can heal during battle,” he said. “If applied right away, it can treat wounds.”

Aloe is a staunch believer in the healing powers of the plant, as he regularly drinks the gel from the aloe plant to boost his immune system and combat ulcers and arthritis.

Aloe is magic,” he said. “If you cut the aloe leaf, it will heal itself and close the wound.”

In February 2003, Aloe began sending various products to troops, including a sunscreen, a first-aid cream, a moisturizing lip balm, a hand and body lotion, a shaving gel and a body and hair shampoo. The healing powers of aloe vera gel in the products helped the soldiers combat the climatic conditions of Iraq, he said.

The soldiers need first-aid cream,” he said. “They need all the help they can get; I wish I could do more. My products should be a great relief.

Aloe’s unexpected charity proved to be very beneficial to troops, according to family friend Dr. Joseph MacDonald, a battalion surgeon who served on the front lines as a major with the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry of the 101st Airborne Division. MacDonald served one year of active duty from February 2003 until February 2004, and now has a practice in Lancaster.

MacDonald’s duties focused on treating troops as they conducted combat operations in the city of Najaf in southern Iraq and providing a higher level of care to injured troops after a medic had treated them, the idea being able to provide higher care to troops earlier, MacDonald said. As a physician, MacDonald already knew the benefits of having aloe in such hazardous conditions, he said.

“It was great that he supplied us with his products. We got the first package in March of 2003,” MacDonald said. “The conditions were extreme; our hands and faces were constantly exposed to the sun. We had winters in the 50s and summer in the 130s, along with sunburn and windburn and dust storms in Kuwait.”

Besides healing burns from the desert and helping to ease injuries soldiers sustained from roadside bombs and shrapnel, the packages were non-scented to keep bugs away, he said.

The practical nature of the products assisted soldiers as well. During combat operations MacDonald and his unit were required to observe military protocol and be clean-shaven, he said. At one time, MacDonald went 23 days without shaving in order to conserve water, so he utilized the aloe shave gel to both lube his skin and to get a decent shave.

The troops are still in Iraq, so the donating continues. Last week, Aloe shipped out a number of his products to C Company, 3rd Platoon, Unit 73075.

12.22.2004

You can purchase a Magic of Aloe package to send to the troops overseas. The package contains:

2oz. Hair and Body Shampoo 2oz. SPF 30 Sunscreen 2oz. Hand & Body Lotion 2oz. Aloe First Aid Cream 1oz. Shaving Gel Moisturize Aloe Lip Balm $6.95

The Benefits of Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera possesses fantastic moisturizing properties and is excellent for the skin because its pH value is almost identical to that of skin (slightly acidic). Aloe vera based cosmetics can help replenish and rejuvinate skin. Scientific analysis reveals a complex group of chemicals and enzymes that are biologically active in aloe gel.

To ensure the natural moisturizing benefits of the plant are preserved for cosmetic formulations aloe gel is stabilized through a process that involves precision controlled temperatures.

Aloe's Natural Healing Qualities

More and more studies confirm the natural healing qualites of Aloe Vera gel, extracted from the Aloe Vera plant. Medicinal use of Aloe Vera gel has proven to be powerful in internal healing as well as external skin treatment. Read about the most recent study which was conducted by University of Pittsburgh scientists and reported on by the BBC

Links of Interest:
Modern Steam Showers

Over 200 biologically active elements !
How aloe's active compounds work - an overview.

Aloe Vera contains over 200 biologically active elements. Of which the most dominant element is the protein, polysaccharide. Polysaccharide directs the other active components such as amino acids, vitamins and sterols, in a relationship which is analogous to a conductor and an orchestra. The communication in this relationship is made possible through the polarity of water. The positive or negative end of the water molecule bonds accordingly with the charged aloe compound. The water molecules then continue to bond with each other to form a chain between polysaccharide and other compounds, this enables communication between receptors and activates change.

One example of aloes active elements at work is the use of aloe gel on a wound.
When skin has been cut or damaged, the body sends fibroblasts to the wound. The fibroblasts create proteoglycans and collagen. The proteoglycans form a base which the collagen fibers embed in to rebuild the connective tissue. When aloe vera is used on the wound it bonds to the fibroblasts. Then the active aloe molecules create additional proteoglycans and collagen. The added production of these healing protein fibers both speeds up the process of healing and strengthens the tensile.