How to Make Aloe Vera Gel from Fresh Aloe

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How to make aloe vera gel from fresh aloe leaves
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We recently got a new grocery store in a town near me. I was checking it out one day and came across an array of fun and unusual foods uncommon to most average grocery stores. While there I saw several long beautiful aloe vera leaves and decided to purchase some.

As I continued shopping, a woman stopped me and said, “Excuse me for asking, but what IS that?” I smiled and briefly explained to her that it is the leaves from the aloe plant and how to use it for burns and cuts. She left with a smile on her face and I was happy to teach her something new.

I know sometimes I sound like a broken record but aloe vera gel is one of those things I grew up believing could only be bought in a store, processed, and in a fancy package. But just like so many other things, it is incredibly easy and inexpensive to make at home.

What Is Aloe Vera Good For

Most people are aware of the benefits of aloe vera gel on sunburns. It is wonderful for soothing pain and reducing inflammation caused by minor burns, but in addition to that, it has a wide application of uses.

Several other over-the-counter first aid products can easily be replaced with homemade, natural versions. Aloe vera is anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and has antioxidant properties that aid in healing.

I use aloe vera gel in several of my beauty care recipes. It is very hydrating to the skin but does not leave an oily feel so it is good for most skin types. These qualities also make it great for the hair and scalp, especially if you struggle with dry, itchy scalp and dandruff.

Many people also take aloe vera internally to aid in digestion and to help relieve stomach ulcers. Aloe vera gel contains numerous vitamins and minerals that help replenish the body. These remedies should be practiced under the advice of your health care provider.

Where Can You Get It

Aloe vera makes a wonderful houseplant. Not only will it help filter the air in your home, but you will always have it on hand for all of its wonderful uses. A small aloe vera plant shouldn’t be too hard to find at a nursery.

The aloe plant is similar to a cactus in care requirements. It requires well draining, sandy soil and does not tolerate frost, but will do very well indoors. Water it thoroughly but then allow the soil to dry about 2 inches down before watering again. (Be sure to check the care instructions for your particular plant.)

As I mentioned, I was able to get cut aloe vera leaves locally in the produce section at a grocery store, but they are probably going to be more readily available at organic stores or markets that cater to healthful living. You could also try a smaller grocery store that specializes in Indian food if you have one in your area.

How To Harvest The Gel from Aloe Vera

Aloe vera leaves are long and slightly curved with serrated edges. The gel is the thick fleshy part that is between the skin of the leaf.

Supplies:

  • aloe vera leaf
  • sharp knife
  • clean airtight container for storing
  • blender or immersion blender
  • clean bowl (if you are using an immersion blender)

Directions:

  1. Cut the leaf into sections about 8″ long. This makes it a little more manageable.
  2. Cut off the serrated edge. Try to get just the edge because it is difficult to get the gel out of those pieces.
  3. Cut the 8″ lengths into 2 or 3 long strips.
  4. Turn your blade to its side and slide it in just under the skin on the end of one of the strips.
  5. Carefully slide the knife along the bottom edge of the skin down the whole length of the leaf. Try to stay close to the skin so you get as much gel as you can.
  6. Once you get the whole piece of skin off, flip the section over and repeat with the other side.
  7. Cut the flesh into 2 or 3 pieces and place in a clean bowl (if you are using an immersion blender) or your blender pitcher.
  8. Repeat steps 4-7 until all sections have been skinned and gathered into your blender pitcher.
  9. Blend until smooth. It will almost immediately froth when you start your blender. This is normal. If you are using an immersion blender just blend it in the bowl until smooth.
  10. The froth will eventually go down. You can wait or you can just go ahead and pour the gel into the clean storage container and refrigerate.
  11. It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.

Preserving The Gel

Fresh aloe vera gel will only be good for about a week in the refrigerator. This may not be a problem if you are using a smaller leaf from your own houseplant, but if you buy a large leaf you will likely end up with more gel than you can use in a week. There are other ways you can preserve it so that none of it goes to waste.

Freeze It

After you store the aloe vera gel you will use in the coming week, pour the extra gel into ice cube trays and freeze until solid. Then transfer the aloe cubes into a freezer safe container or bag. Pull out an aloe cube as needed for burns or to use in one of the above recipes. This is a great way to keep it on hand if having your own plant is not an option.

Alternately, before you blend the flesh, cut it into cubes and lay it on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze until solid. Once the pieces are solid, transfer to a freezer safe container or bag. Pull a piece out as needed.

Add Natural Preservatives

When I get one of the large leaves I usually end up with about 1.5 cups. I place 1 cup into a clean pint mason jar. The remaining gel gets frozen as I instructed above. I waited for the froth to go down before I did this so I knew exactly how much I had.

To the 1 cup I add 2000 mg of Vitamin C and 1600 IU (1 tablespoon or 4 400 IU capsules) of Vitamin E. Powdered Vitamin C works well or you can crush the appropriate amount of tablets. Stir well until the vitamins are well incorporated. I stirred for a bit and then let it sit. When I came back to stir it again the Vitamin C was much easier to stir in.

You could also blend this with your immersion blender. This should increase the life of your gel to about 8 months if it is stored in the refrigerator.

Do you have an aloe vera plant? How do you use the gel?

Sources

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Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

72 responses to “How to Make Aloe Vera Gel from Fresh Aloe”

  1. mauro guimas Avatar
    mauro guimas

    I use it for shaving and after shaving, my face.
    i have a large plantation around my house..it is superb!!

  2. Karla Avatar

    Hello I have a question regarding on how to preserve natural aloe vera gel. I’ve read that vitamin C and E are not preservatives. Do I am confused about the information. Also I read about guar gum and xantan gum being used as preservatives but again, I don’t really know if this information is accurate. Can you help me clarify these questions? Thank you very much in advance.

  3. Robert Roske Avatar
    Robert Roske

    If I use this in a recipe for aftershave not kept in the fridge will it spoil?

  4. Shree Avatar

    Some of patients want to how they can get pure Aloe Vera Gel. Can we please share your link from our website?

  5. Claire Avatar

    I made a moisturizer a few months ago from Wellness Mamma that had Aloe blended into it- and I LOVED it…. but now I can’t find it- is it still on the website? I would love to make it again…

  6. katherine Avatar
    katherine

    Hi, I love Aloe Vera and have recently gotten into making my own DIY face and body “gel-serum,” adding sweet almond oil, lavender essential oil and sandalwood essential oil. I place it in a glass, air tight bottle and keep it refrigerated. However, it turns pink after a day or so. Is it safe to use? I googled it and have gotten mixed responses. Thanks in advance! K

  7. Taylor Avatar

    Hi,

    After I blended the aloe, it frothed like you said but now it is just pure liquid. It’s not a gel. Is this still okay to use?

  8. Margie Avatar

    I have been putting the gel from aloe vera leaves for the past month or so. I noticed today that it has a pinkish color. Is it still good. It is in the fridge. Thanks.

  9. Jenn Avatar

    When you use fresh aloe gel in your other recipes like the face shave soap do you still have to keep it refrigerated? I was wanting to add some to a foaming hand soap that I make and keep in the bathroom.

  10. Grace Avatar

    I recently discovered aloe vera powder on Amazon. It costs less than gel and is USDA organic. What are the differences in use and potency between gel and powder? Is it something that I should avoid? The price is really good, but I need to know if the product itself is good.

  11. Cary Avatar

    Make sure you rinse off the toxic latex from the plant,and dont let pets nibble.

  12. Sue Avatar

    Hi
    I make my own skin products and wonder if you can tell me if i preserve my aloe in products do they have to be kept in the fridge. I am after a way that the aloe won’t go off
    Thank you

  13. Meghan Avatar

    Question: If pure Aloe Vera gel needs to be refrigerated for storage (even the store bought ones like the Seven Minerals brand you recommend require refrigeration after opening)… then how can we use it in DIY homemade body care recipes without our finished product going bad? For example, with a DIY hand sanitizer or face lotion recipe that calls for Aloe Vera gel – if we store those products without refrigerating them, will they go bad as a consequence of being mixed with pure aloe vera gel? I really want to add aloe vera gel to my face creams and hair conditioners – but I don’t want to have to store all of my everyday body care products in my kitchen fridge! Thanks in advance for any insights you can offer!

  14. Sekar Avatar

    Can I use The same technique to make watermelon gel… and use vitamin c as a preservative

  15. Nixie Knox Avatar
    Nixie Knox

    I make a face mask with it. I have some nasty skin damage. Likely from a depleted moisture barrier. My skin looked the skin of an orange and always red in appearance as if I were sunburned. I found my skin to be easily irritated and increasingly so, my usual facial products would sting and make my face red and itchy. So I have had to seek out more natural ways to help my skin. Which leads me to this mask.
    The recipe:
    1 egg
    1 tablespoon raw unfiltered honey
    1 table spoon fresh aloe
    1 clean jar (or other covered container)

    Place whole egg, honey and aloe in a bowl (or blender) and blend thoroughly. Put in airtight container and store in the fridge. This mixture is good for a week.
    Each morning I smear this all over my face (eye brows included). Allow to remain on skin for about 15 minutes. Then I get in the shower as usual and rinse the mask away and cleanse as usual. My skin is soft and smooth, and all the irritation I had is diminishing, my pores seem to be shrinking in size, blackheads are reduced, texture is improving. I also like to do a yogurt facial once a week. To plain, whole milk yogurt I will add the honey and aloe (though sometimes I use just the yogurt without adding in anything.) Just apply all over face and leave for 10-15 minutes, then rinse mask away and cleanse as usual. These two masks have been very helpful. Healing will take some time, but these natural ingredients are not irritating and seem to be helping a great deal.

    1. Marguerite Avatar
      Marguerite

      Coconut oil and beeswax is what you need for your face

      1 Tablespoon each melted and put into a small glass/metal container.

      Both are great for skin irritations, rashes, etc.

      Soaps, shampoos, conditioner’s, laundry soap, etc can cause allergic reactions to some folks skin. This is what causes eczema, psoriasis, etc. I make a homemade soap that is used in my home for everything like shampoo, body/face soap, laundry soap, dish soap, etc. It is a very simple soap to make.

      3/4 cup water
      1/4 cup lye
      2/3 cup coconut oil (adds moisture & lather)
      2/3 cup grapeseed oil
      2/3 cup lard (make the soap hard)
      2 Tablespoons beeswax
      1 – 1 1/2 Tablespoons essential oil

      Use a stainless steel pot/bowl and add your water. Pour your lye in slowly and stir. Let this cool down to 95 – 100°. Melt your oils and measure each one out to the recommended measurements. You do not need to heat the liquid oils. Just the solid ones. Melt your beeswax with the last oil you heat up. Add all your oils and let them cool down to 95 – 100°.when both your lye water and oils are in the 95 – 100° range pour the oil first into a blender/food processor and then pour in your lye mixture. Blend this till it looks like pudding (3-5) minutes. Add your essential oil and blend just enough to mix. Pour this into 7 soap molds (Michael’s Arts and Crafts sells them) and put them into a pizza box or something with a lid and let sit for 2 days. Pop them out of the mold and they’re ready.

      For laundry soap, I grate a few bars on the cheese grater with the smallest holes.
      For dish soap, I put the bar in the water as I wash dishes. This cuts grease far better than Dawn dish soap, and you use less water to rinse.
      For shampoo, you rub the bar on your head till it lathers. No need for conditioner cause your hair is so soft after it dries.
      If you suffer from eczema/psoriasis/ any type of dry skin use this soap and after your shower apply a thin layer of coconut oil to those dry areas. They both work hand in hand together. Also, use sunflower oil instead of grapeseed oil if you have the dry skin problems. Hope this helps those who need it. Enjoy!

  16. Victoria Avatar
    Victoria

    Can you use this in preparations right away? What does I’d do to the shelf life of a cream if you use it in one you make?

  17. Kelsey Avatar

    Hello!
    Is it safe to use the gel on your face everyday without washing it off? For example, putting it on before bed?

  18. Shay Avatar

    I cut a leaf off my aloe plant and there’s no gel. What should I do? Should I just boil it or blend it.

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