Six thousand years ago, someone made a discovery that would change skincare forever.
The exact moment is lost to history, but the evidence remains carved into Mesopotamian clay tablets dating to 2100 BC—the first written record of aloe vera's medicinal properties. What these ancient Sumerians understood, and what every civilization since has confirmed, is that this unassuming succulent holds remarkable power for skin health.
Here on our Washington State farm, where aloe is an ingredient in every product we formulate, I find myself thinking about this extraordinary timeline. The same gel that Cleopatra reportedly smoothed across her legendary complexion is the same one we incorporate into our creams today. Not because it's trendy—because it works. And it has worked for millennia.
The Egyptian Era: Where "Plant of Immortality" Was Born
The ancient Egyptians didn't use the term lightly.
When they called aloe vera the "plant of immortality," they meant it literally. The Papyrus Ebers, an Egyptian medical document written around 1550 BC, contains the first detailed discussion of aloe's medicinal value. This remarkable text—essentially an ancient medical textbook—lists twelve different formulas combining aloe with other agents to treat both internal and external ailments.
But it wasn't just medicine. Egyptian queens Nefertiti and Cleopatra reportedly incorporated aloe vera into their daily beauty regimens. According to historical accounts, the gel was used for its cooling, soothing properties and its ability to keep skin supple and radiant in the harsh desert climate.
The Egyptians took their reverence for aloe even further. They used it in the embalming process for pharaohs, believing that the plant's antibacterial and antifungal properties would aid in preservation. When a pharaoh died, the amount of aloe a person brought as an offering to the funeral indicated their wealth and esteem. Aloe plants were reportedly placed along the path to the Valley of the Kings, and when the fresh aloe bloomed, it was believed the deceased pharaoh had successfully "reached the other side."
This wasn't superstition without substance. The Egyptians understood something that modern science has since confirmed: aloe vera has genuine preservative and healing properties that made it invaluable for both the living and the dead.
Greece and Rome: The Military Medicine of Aloe
When Alexander the Great conquered territories across the ancient world, he didn't just bring armies. He brought aloe.
Historical accounts describe Alexander using aloe vera to heal the wounds of his warriors during his military campaigns. The legend goes that Aristotle convinced Alexander to capture the island of Socotra specifically to gain possession of its precious aloe groves—ensuring his battalions would have sufficient medicine for their injuries.
Whether or not this specific story is accurate, the broader truth is undeniable: aloe was considered essential military medicine. The Greeks called it the "silent healer," and their physicians documented its applications extensively.
Around 70 AD, a Greek physician named Pedanius Dioscorides compiled his findings on aloe's medicinal properties in De Materia Medica—a five-volume work that would become the pharmaceutical reference across Europe and the Middle East for over 1,500 years. Dioscorides documented aloe's use for treating wounds, hair loss, genital ulcers, and hemorrhoids. His work was so authoritative that monks on Mount Athos were still using copies of Dioscorides to identify plants as recently as 1934.
The Romans continued this tradition. During the reign of Emperor Nero, physicians prescribed aloe for various skin conditions and wounds. Roman soldiers carried aloe as part of their medical kit, applying it to cuts, abrasions, and the inevitable skin damage that came from life on campaign.
The Arab World and the Silk Road
By 600 BC, Arab traders had carried aloe vera to Persia and India, where it found new applications in traditional medicine systems.
In India, aloe became known as "ghritkumari"—"kumari" meaning "princess" for its renewing qualities. Ayurvedic healers incorporated it into treatments for skin conditions, digestive issues, and wounds. The plant appears in the Charaka Samhita, a classic work of Indian Ayurvedic medicine dating to the 2nd century BC, described as useful for treating digestive, skin, and diabetic disorders.
In China, aloe vera (called "lu hui") was used in traditional medicine for skin conditions and various internal ailments. The knowledge traveled along trade routes, spreading the plant and its applications across the ancient world.
The Mahometans of Egypt developed a belief that hanging aloe vera over a doorway would protect the household from slander and evil influences—a spiritual dimension that reflected the plant's esteemed status in their culture.
The New World and Colonial Era
When Christopher Columbus set sail, aloe vera came along.
Columbus is reported to have said, "Four vegetables are indispensable for the well being of man: Wheat, the grape, the olive, and aloe. The first nourishes, the second raises the spirit, the third brings him harmony, and the fourth cures him."
Spanish Jesuit monks became instrumental in spreading aloe vera cultivation. They harvested wild aloe and were known to plant it in areas where it hadn't previously grown. These monks, renowned as skilled botanists and healers, helped ensure the plant's survival and proliferation in the New World.
The Maya Indians called aloe vera "the Fountain of Youth," and various indigenous tribes incorporated it into their healing practices. Some tribes worshipped it as one of sixteen holy plants.
By the time English botanist Philip Miller formally named the species "Aloe barbadensis Miller" (after the Caribbean island of Barbados where he studied it), aloe had already established itself across continents as an indispensable skincare and medicinal plant.
Why This History Matters for Your Skin Today
When I'm formulating products on our farm, this history isn't just interesting trivia—it's validation.
Think about what it means that a plant has been used continuously for skin health across every major civilization for over 6,000 years. That's not a marketing trend. That's not a wellness fad. That's an ingredient that has proven itself across cultures, climates, and centuries.
Modern science has since identified why aloe works: it's approximately 95% water combined with a complex mixture of polysaccharides (notably acemannan), vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and enzymes. But the ancient Egyptians didn't need gas chromatography to know that aloe soothed burns, hydrated dry skin, and helped wounds heal faster. They simply observed results.
Every Artisan formula contains organic aloe barbadensis leaf—the same species Cleopatra reportedly used, the same plant Dioscorides documented, the same ingredient Alexander carried across his empire. We use it because thousands of years of human experience, now backed by modern research, confirms what our ancestors understood intuitively: aloe vera genuinely supports skin health.
Some ingredients earn their place through clever marketing. Aloe earned its place through six millennia of human observation and use. That's the kind of track record we look for when choosing what goes into our formulations.
