Growing your own aloe vera plants in
your own compound is easy as it only requires fair weather; warm sun and watering.
Aloe vera plants do not flourish in cold temperatures. An aloe vera plant takes
about 4 years to reach full maturity. Be sure to plant yours in a large pot as
the plant grows to a height of up to two feet.
Extracting aloe vera gel – DIY
Extracting aloe vera gel – DIY
To harvest, choose an outer leaf
which is healthy. Try to pick a leaf that is closest to the ground not to
irritate the plant so that it can continue thriving. The thicker the leaf, the
more gel you will extract.
Once you have dismembered the leaf
from the plant, place it upright in a jar in a slightly tilted position to
drain out the bitter dark resin/sap. Leave it for about 10-15 minutes. This
step is important because the resin can irritate the skin if it ends up in your
gel.
After the resin has drained, wash
the leaf and place the aloe leaf on a chopping board. Cut off the tip and the
pointed rough edges on either side of the aloe leaf. If the leaf is very and
thick, you can chop it into smaller pieces to make peeling and removal of the
gel easier. Cut both sides of the leaf lengthwise. Separate the front and back
of the leaf from the inside.
Scoop out the muscilage and the clear inner (transparent) gel. A spoon will scoop out the aloe vera gel well. When scooping it out, it is important to press down lightly but firmly so as not to press out any remaining resin.
Scoop out the muscilage and the clear inner (transparent) gel. A spoon will scoop out the aloe vera gel well. When scooping it out, it is important to press down lightly but firmly so as not to press out any remaining resin.
Place the gel in a blender and
blend it. If you need to store it, add a few drops of vitamin E and a small
amount of citric acid powder and blend. This will help prevent discoloration
and preserve the gel for a longer period. If you do not have citric acid powder,
you can simply crush a vitamin C tablet into powder form or use a drop of grapefruit
seed extract. Finally, blend the mixture and strain it through a thick sieve: a
fabric one will strain out the fine fibers in the gel well.
Pour the gel into a clean glass jar
and cover/seal it. If the gel has foam on top, don’t worry, it will settle down.
Store the aloe vera gel in a refrigerator preferably in a dark brown or green
glass jar to keep out the light. Avoid exposing it to too much direct light or
sun.
Tip: Fresh aloe vera gel has the best healing properties. Prolonged exposure to the air or light normally weakens these properties. It is therefore not advisable to harvest many aloe leaves all at once or store the gel for prolonged periods of time.
Tip: Fresh aloe vera gel has the best healing properties. Prolonged exposure to the air or light normally weakens these properties. It is therefore not advisable to harvest many aloe leaves all at once or store the gel for prolonged periods of time.
