Aloe Vera Advice

[Thyri]

My sweetiepie just said he knows where he can get me some aloe vera plant.

If I peel it, and then put it in a food processor- and then maybe strain it- I could use it in place of water yes?

You've all got my brains going now!

 

[dcornett]

My sweetiepie just said he knows where he can get me some aloe vera plant.

If I peel it, and then put it in a food processor- and then maybe strain it- I could use it in place of water yes?

You've all got my brains going now!

You could peel it and strain it, but you don't necessarily have to. That would depend on if you like tiny flecks of color and such in your soaps. I do, but not everyone does. I've made cucumber soap with processed (unpeeled) cukes before (replacing that amount of water) and it turned out great. As long as you don't have chuncks you shouldn't have to worry about spoilage. But that's all a matter of personal preference, no two people are the same.

 

[musiccitysuds]

As I said I use 100% aloe juice most of the time... and I have no trouble with the soap hardness or curing times. My lye concentration is usually 33% (2 parts aloe juice to 1 part lye).

Are you saying you've done the exact same recipe with water and had different results? If not maybe your recipe would help us help you.

Actually, I think I figured out what it is. Upon closer inspection I wasn't using 100% aloe juice. It had some other ingredients in it. Next time I'll go with 100% juice and see what happens.

 

[sewforpeace]

This is great information on using the aloe juice. I bought some last night to try. I would like to get a plant and use it fresh too. Has anyone used aloe powder instead of juice?

 

[busymakinsoap!]

Hi Everyone,

I'm thinking of making a face soap and like the idea of using aloe vera juice. I have some in the fridge that I brought a while back from my naturapath. However its only 90% aloe and contains lemon, lime, citric acid and preservatives in the other 10%

Would this be safe to use? Im thinking the acidic ingredients might react with the lye?

 

[soapbuddy]

Lemon, lime & citric acid might neutralize some of your lye.

 

[musiccitysuds]

I think that's what happened to me. My bars took forever to cure (still a little too soft for my liking). But I just tried another batch with 100% aloe juice (no additives) and they're coming along quite nicely.

 

[JackiK]

Okay. I'm bummed. I bought aloe vera gel before doing my due diligence. The label says it's 99% organic ingredients. It includes Carrageenan (thickening agent), citric acid and potassium sorbate (mold inhibitor). I know a previous post said that citric acid may work against the lye. Will the other ingredients cause any issues that anyone is aware of?

Thanks.