How to Make Aloe Vera Gel for Herbal Remedies

Aloe vera has been cultivated for use in medicine since the Roman Empire. It is reputed to be able to help calm the stomach, sooth irritated skin, and promote the appearance of the skin. If you are interested in making use of aloe vera's reputed properties, there is a simple recipe to make gel using the pulp of aloe vera leaves. You can either grow the commonly available ingredients or purchase them from stores in your local area.

Gathering the Materials

• Make aloe vera gel using ingredients harvested from fresh aloe vera leaves. You can either grow your own aloe vera at home or find a local supplier of fresh leaves. If you are interested in cultivating your own aloe vera, the plant is widely available because of its popularity at most gardening stores. Other ingredients in aloe vera gel include vitamins C and E.

Equipment Needed

• You'll need both a knife and a spoon to be able to easily harvest the main ingredient from the aloe vera leaves. These tools will also come in handy for grinding down vitamin C tablets and extracting vitamin E from its capsules if you are using those ingredients. A vegetable blender is necessary for producing the gel, while a cheesecloth can be helpful for straining the final results. You'll also need some kind of container to hold the contents, and one with a tight seal is preferable.

Extracting the Pulp

• Use a knife to harvest the outermost leaves on the aloe vera, the ones that are biggest and lean closest to the soil. Let each leaf sit tilted at an angle to drain the sap, but don't panic if this doesn't happen. Make a cut along the length of each leaf. Scoop out the contents using a spoon. Press on the leaf to get the most pulp out of each leaf, but not too hard, because you don't want the yellow sap getting into your pulp.

Creating and Storing the Gel

• Crush enough vitamin C tablets and extract enough vitamin E to put in 500 mg of vitamin C and 400 IU of vitamin E for every quarter cup of the aloe vera pulp. Pour the mixture into the vegetable blender and then let it get to work. You can use a cheesecloth to strain the contents if you want to eliminate any chunks floating in the gel. Both the vitamin C and E help to keep the aloe vera gel from spoiling, but you should still use a sterilized container to store it in a cool place.