I remember that aloe vera gel was one of the very first recipes I tried to replicate at home when I started to DIY my own products, but the truth is that all the ingredients in it still looked a bit scary. Can you relate?
Preservatives are your friends!
Xhantan gum? Glycerin? Preservatives?? Anything that was not simple oils and butters would make my head turn. But the reality is that these are ingredients that are used in such small amount and last for such a long time, they are really nice to have in your cosmetics kitchen cupboard.
If you feel lost, though, go ahead and download my FREE preservative guide. In it, you'll find all the info you need!
Join Minimal – Bottega Zero Waste FREE Skincare Mini Course
Minimal is a free 4 DIY skincare projects mini course, designed to introduce you to the world of making your own products to truly reduce waste. Ready for your next adventure?
Aloe Vera Gel Recipe
The ingredients
- 85% Distilled water: 25.5g/0.89 oz
- 10% of 99% pure Aloe vera juice: 3 g/0.10 oz
- 3% Glycerin: 0.9 g/0.03 oz
- 1% Xhantan gum: 0.3 g/0.01 oz
- 0.5%-1% preservative (the amount depends on your preservative): c.a 0.3 g/0.01 oz
The process
- Mix xhatan gum with glycerin until a gel is formed
- In a separate beaker pour distilled water, aloe vera juice and a preservative of your choice
- Pour the gum and glycerine onto the other beaker and mix to combine
- At this point a gel will start to form
- It will thicken and stabilize more over the next few days
*Makes a small 30 grams/1.05 oz batch*
Shelf life: about 6 months but this depends on storage conditions and preservative used.
Tips: you can also increase the aloe vera juice amount if you want it to be stronger but as it's quite concentrated I would not go above 20-30%. You can also use panthenol and other hydrosols and remove some of the distilled water to add extra properties to your refreshing gel!
If you try this recipe, I'd really love to see the results and hear from you on how you like it. Make sure to tag me @bottegazerowaste on Instagram!
If you'd like to discover more natural DIY skincare recipes, make sure to check out the Bottega Zero Waste Make Your Own Academy.