Aloe vera gel: How to cut and Extract the gel from an aloe vera leaf?

Aloe vera has multiple uses and benefits. It is a plant with a very simple treatment process since it needs little water, sunlight, sandy soil and a clay pot if you want to plant it at home, but you can do it in arable land as we have it in Verdeaurora. Then the plant grows until it ripens and flowers. To be able to take advantage of it, first you have to know how to cut a leaf and how to extract the aloe vera gel and then apply it correctly.

Steps to follow to cut an aloe vera stalk

1. It is very important to cut the leaves that are going to be used, because if you cut too much, the juice of aloe vera withers and loses its properties.
2. It is imperative that the aloe vera plant is ripe so that it contains all its properties. For this they must spend approximately three years.
3. It is advisable to always cut the lower leaves of the plant, since these will be the oldest leaves that have been thrown and therefore will be the ones with the greatest properties and benefits.
4. You can see that the base part of the sheet is white. Make a longitudinal cut at that height and cut the stalk. For this you need a very sharp knife or a pruning shear. It is recommended that the material of the utensil to cut be made of wood or porcelain because this way the aloe vera gel will take much longer to oxidize.

With these four simple steps we have already cut the stalk of aloe vera ready to extract the gel and use it for our care.

How to extract the gel from the penca?

The first thing to do is cut the aloe vera leaf above and below the stalk, that is, the tip and base, thus eliminating the white color it had when it was cut from the plant.

Then a cross section of the blade is made on the pointed side to divide the stalk into two and then peel the skin of the stalk.
It is important to be careful with the yellowish substance that is between the skin of the penca and the gel of aloe vera, that is to say the acíbar, since it is not apt to ingest. This substance is mainly composed of aloin. Both have a laxative effect in the body so it is not advisable to take aloe gel without first having cleaned it.

To do this, just keep the aloe vera leaf upright for a few minutes for the aloin to drain. If you prefer a faster system you can rinse the piece of gel you want to ingest in water. Done one of the two processes, the aloe gel will be ready to take, or for the use you want to give it!

Hopefully the process will be useful and you can give more use to your plant using it for both your skin and your intake! 🙂