diff --git a/gtsam/base/make_shared.h b/gtsam/base/make_shared.h
index c7d98cdee..5281eec6d 100644
--- a/gtsam/base/make_shared.h
+++ b/gtsam/base/make_shared.h
@@ -26,16 +26,28 @@
 #include <type_traits>
 
 namespace gtsam {
+  /// An shorthand alias for accessing the ::type inside std::enable_if that can be used in a template directly
   template<bool B, class T = void>
   using enable_if_t = typename std::enable_if<B, T>::type;
 }
 
 namespace gtsam {
 
-  /** Add our own `make_shared` as a layer of wrapping on `boost::make_shared`
+  /**
+   * Add our own `make_shared` as a layer of wrapping on `boost::make_shared`
    * This solves the problem with the stock `make_shared` that custom alignment is not respected, causing SEGFAULTs
    * at runtime, which is notoriously hard to debug.
    *
+   * Explanation
+   * ===============
+   * The template `needs_eigen_aligned_allocator<T>::value` will evaluate to `std::true_type` if the type alias
+   * `_eigen_aligned_allocator_trait = void` is present in a class, which is automatically added by the
+   * `GTSAM_MAKE_ALIGNED_OPERATOR_NEW` macro.
+   *
+   * This function declaration will only be taken when the above condition is true, so if some object does not need to
+   * be aligned, `gtsam::make_shared` will fall back to the next definition, which is a simple wrapper for
+   * `boost::make_shared`.
+   *
    * @tparam T The type of object being constructed
    * @tparam Args Type of the arguments of the constructor
    * @param args Arguments of the constructor
diff --git a/gtsam/base/types.h b/gtsam/base/types.h
index a4b2fb6ea..b54cc2f2a 100644
--- a/gtsam/base/types.h
+++ b/gtsam/base/types.h
@@ -238,8 +238,18 @@ namespace gtsam {
 
   /**
    * A SFINAE trait to mark classes that need special alignment.
+   *
    * This is required to make boost::make_shared and etc respect alignment, which is essential for the Python
    * wrappers to work properly.
+   *
+   * Explanation
+   * =============
+   * When a GTSAM type is not declared with the type alias `_eigen_aligned_allocator_trait = void`, the first template
+   * will be taken so `needs_eigen_aligned_allocator` will be resolved to `std::false_type`.
+   *
+   * Otherwise, it will resolve to the second template, which will be resolved to `std::true_type`.
+   *
+   * Please refer to `gtsam/base/make_shared.h` for an example.
    */
   template<typename, typename = void_t<>>
   struct needs_eigen_aligned_allocator : std::false_type {
@@ -253,7 +263,7 @@ namespace gtsam {
 /**
  * This marks a GTSAM object to require alignment. With this macro an object will automatically be allocated in aligned
  * memory when one uses `gtsam::make_shared`. It reduces future misalignment problems that is hard to debug.
- * See https://eigen.tuxfamily.org/dox/group__DenseMatrixManipulation__Alignement.html for details
+ * See https://eigen.tuxfamily.org/dox/group__DenseMatrixManipulation__Alignement.html for detailed explanation.
  */
 #define GTSAM_MAKE_ALIGNED_OPERATOR_NEW \
   EIGEN_MAKE_ALIGNED_OPERATOR_NEW \