Aloe, aloe!

[KiwiMoose]

'Allo, 'allo!

There's talk of aloe vera juice, and aloe vera gel on the 'Soapy thing' thread at present. Who uses it, and what qualities does it bring to your soap? And how do you use it? As part of the water content?

TIA

 

[Clarice]

@KiwiMoose - you come up with the best titles! I too am curious about this - and having just spent 30 minutes at the grocery shelf looking at the very confusing array of ALOE stuff - I ended up leaving without buying!

The gel had some thickener in it that I was not sure would be compatible, and some of the juice said "inner leaf" or some such thing, so I threw my hands up in despair and walked out! Thanks for starting this!

 

[amd]

I use as full water replacement when making fresh lye. (When using masterbatch I use whatever amount is needed to get to the total liquid.) I use the unflavored AVJ found in the pharmacy aisle.
I have also used aloe vera gel purchased from crafters choice, but not as full liquid replacement (usually I'll do 1/4 of the water needed as aloe vera gel). If I were shopping for gel in a pharmacy / grocery, I would look for clear gel without any lidocaine or other "medications", I wouldn't worry too much about ingredients added as thickener agents or preservatives as those are likely small amounts in the bigger picture.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

good info--but I am wondering what aloe does for the soap?

 

[Dean]

Instead of water I use aloe juice because the sugar in it is suppose to increase lather. I use it at 100% for uncolored soap and 75% for colored soap. The other 25% is carrot juice.

 

[Clarice]

@Dean - can i clarify - you use this for all of your soaps? Thanks!

 

[midnightsoaper]

good info--but I am wondering what aloe does for the soap?

Bubbles I was reading through this blog post and chose a few things to try. My favorite soap recipe only has 10% coconut, so I'm always looking for bubble boosters.

I used it as 100% of the water. I used it at 52F and it seemed to do just fine. I only made the soap yesterday, so that's about all the experience I have with it

I used Fruit of the Earth aloe juice in a gallon jug from Walmart. It's 99.8% aloe and has some preservatives in it.

 

[Dean]

@Dean - can i clarify - you use this for all of your soaps? Thanks!

I use AJ in all my batches.

@midnightsoaper I've recently dropped my CO to 10% too. In addition to AJ, I use almond oil as my HO because it rated highest on a single-oil lather test.

 

[DeeAnna]

Aloe is usually thought to be a lather booster. https://www.flickr.com/photos/amathiasoapworks/7024626455/in/album-72157629324839760/

 

[midnightsoaper]

@Dean Yes, and every time I see your posts about using almond oil, it really makes me want to try it I will soon, I have a few other oils I need to use up before buying more.

 

[reeeen4]

I just harvested a huge bag of Aloe from our plants on our farm just the other day and once I seperated the gel from the plant I had a whopping 1.5kg of gel so I froze it all can't wait to soap with it! I use it in addition to water, and discount the water equal to how much aloe I put in.

Plant some, they grow really well and easily!

 

[Susie]

I masterbatch my lye and additives. If I am using a high enough water amount to need additional liquid, I add it in. I use the aloe vera juice from the pharmacy, and have used the gel with no problems. I mostly use it for label value, as I already have sugar in the additives.

 

[Hendejm]

I just harvested a huge bag of Aloe from our plants on our farm just the other day and once I seperated the gel from the plant I had a whopping 1.5kg of gel so I froze it all can't wait to soap with it! I use it in addition to water, and discount the water equal to how much aloe I put in.

Plant some, they grow really well and easily!

I agree! Super easy to grow here in Florida. I just harvested some from our gardens and used it in a lotion. I really like it. Freezing it is a great idea

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I have watched different videos using different things for the liquids--in them it seems that the substitutes are frozen first. is this what you do with aloe vera? I have wondered if you weigh the liquids first and then freeze or does it matter? I watched a video using cucumber juice cubes that I thought sounded interesting

 

[reeeen4]

I freeze mine becuase I had so much I'd never use it up in time and it would have gone bad since it's fresh and unprocessed and has no preservatives in it. Now I have it on hand when I need it and I won't need to make any more for a long time. I weighed them before I froze them.

 

[snappyllama]

I sometimes use aloe. I normally use powdered aloe to make aloe juice from some of my reserved water from my lye solution. I make sure to always have at least a little more water than lye so that it will fully dissolve. My regular recipe calls for about 300gm of water...I reserve 100gm to make the aloe juice (using enough powder so that it would make a full 300gm of juice). Then I can add the aloe juice directly to my oils without having to fuss with freezing anything.

It's the same method I use for making goat or coconut milk soap... so much easier and less waste (no spoiling of unused products).

As for its properties in soap... more open bubbles and a slicker/shinier bar than my milk soaps. One of my friends definitely can tell the difference - I accidentally sent him some unlabeled bars, and he correctly identified his favorite aloe soaps after trying them out.

 

[snappyllama]

I have watched different videos using different things for the liquids--in them it seems that the substitutes are frozen first. is this what you do with aloe vera? I have wondered if you weigh the liquids first and then freeze or does it matter? I watched a video using cucumber juice cubes that I thought sounded interesting

When using frozen liquids, I weigh before freezing and then weigh again... I must have fairies or unseen spillage since they should weigh the same amount - but they never do.

 

[reeeen4]

When using frozen liquids, I weigh before freezing and then weigh again... I must have fairies or unseen spillage since they should weigh the same amount - but they never do.

This is because of the density of liquids vs ice, liquids are denser than ice and the space it occupies is less as compared to that occupied by ice. Its to do with the spacing between the molecules and the molecules expanding or something like that.

 

[snappyllama]

This is because of the density of liquids vs ice, liquids are denser than ice and the space it occupies is less as compared to that occupied by ice. Its to do with the spacing between the molecules and the molecules expanding or something like that.

Hrmn, the weight of 100gm of water is the same whether it is frozen or liquid, right? It's just the volume that increases... or maybe I'm confused. I'm probably confused.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

As for its properties in soap... more open bubbles and a slicker/shinier bar than my milk soaps. One of my friends definitely can tell the difference - I accidentally sent him some unlabeled bars, and he correctly identified his favorite aloe soaps after trying them out.

haha I was reading up on Aloe in soap and I read one post that said it had more bubbles and was slicker/SLIMIER --made me second guess using it haha glad to know it was probably a typo. ok now does it need to be frozen when using it or just out of the bottle room temp?