DIY Aloe Vera Gel

I’ve had a big aloe vera plant growing in my office for years, and in a pinch, I’ll grab one of the succulent’s leaves and rub it on a sunburn, as is. However, this time of year when sunburns are common, you can spot HUGE aloe leaves in the grocery store, so I always grab a couple and make enough of my own aloe vera gel to use on burns and freeze into ‘popsicles’ without decimating my beautiful plant!

Aloe vera gel is highly perishable as is, so most of the pre-made gels you see in the store have additives. Making your own gel it is good for about a week, but you can freeze it for up to six! The leaves just need a bit of prep before you can call it a gel!

Why Aloe Vera Gel?

There are a LOT of aloe varieties but the most common you’ll see in the grocery store or in suncare products is from Aloe barbadensis ‘Miller’ so the science I talk about here is referring to that variety in particular.

Because I have a family history of aggressive skin cancer, I’d be remiss if I didn’t start off by saying that the best sunburn treatment is prevention! However, if you *do* happen to get a sunburn (accidents happen!) aloe has a number of soothing properties that can make the healing process less painful!

Anti-Inflammatory: One of the reasons that sunburn can be painful is that the UV damage from the sun can destroy parts of the skin’s lipid barrier (what makes us ‘waterproof’ and prevents moisture loss.) The natural salicylic acid in aloe helps to inhibit the cyclooxygenase pathway (a biochemical process in the body that regulates lipid mediators that signal inflammation, pain, etcetera.) Essentially it can help alleviate pain caused by the burn’s inflammation.
Hydrating and Cooling: Aloe Vera gel (mucilage) is about 99.5% water. This high water content paired with that ‘sticky’ mucilage will evaporate on contact pulling heat away from the burn.
Antioxidants: UV radiation from a sunburn can stimulate the production of free radicals that create ‘oxidative stress’ which is when the body has an imbalance of free radicals (molecules with unpaired electrons that cause damage) and antioxidants defenses. Aloe Vera gel contains antioxidant compounds, including polyphenols, flavonoids, and vitamins (A, C, and E) that can help re-build these defenses!

DIY Aloe Vera Gel Method

Start by giving your aloe leaves a good rinse.

Then to break down the leaves for soaking we’ll remove the ‘dry’ bit of the stem end of each leaf by slicing away any excess plant material that doesn’t squish when you pinch it.

Then run a sharp knife along each side of the leaf to remove the spikes. Cut into chunks small enough to fit into a bowl.

Then we need to soak the leaves to remove the yellow latex sap from each leaf. This sap can be irritating to your skin, and when we’re dealing with sunburn that is the last thing we want! Place the cut leaves into a bowl of clean water and let sit for a minimum of thirty minutes or up to overnight. You’ll see the yellow latex start to color the water a pale yellow!

After soaking pat each leaf dry so they are easier to hold onto. I find the easiest way to remove the green part of the leaf to get to the gel/mucilage inside is to ‘shave’ one side of the leaf off and use a spoon to scrape the gel away from the second side of the leaf.

Place all of the scraped-off gel into a small, sturdy bowl (I like a heavy-bottomed glass bowl) and use either a stick blender or a hand mixer to blend the gel until there are no more lumps.

The blended gel will foam up and make tons of bubbles- that is super normal! I just let the get sit until they’ve all popped!

Why is my Aloe Gel Pink!?

A lot of store-bought aloe products are green for one of two reasons. The first? They add a green food coloring because people expect aloe gel to be green. The second is that some aloe products use the whole leaf, not just the gel inside.

Aloe gel oxidizes easily. If you leave it open, in the sun, or even in a warm room it can turn pink. This is completely normal and will not affect the efficacy of the gel! Sometimes it will turn back clear, and sometimes it will remain pink! Both are fine.

Storing Aloe Gel

So, we’ve made the gel, but it is fresh and has zero preservatives which means it will spoil relatively quickly. You *can* add things like lemon juice to preserve it, but lemon juice on sunburn is AWFUL. So, while you can keep the fresh aloe gel in the fridge for up to a week my favorite way to use it is to freeze it!

I pour the gel into silicone ice cube trays- either squares or round. Then pop a popsicle stick in the center to make a ‘lollipop; of aloe. These frozen cubes are good for about six months and makes application a breeze! The cold aloe melts onto the burn and the popsicle stick keeps your hands clean!

Store in an airtight container in either the fridge or the freezer.