Aloe, aloe!

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100 grams liquid is 100 grams frozen - end of story (completely sealed, impermeable container, no evaporation or sublimation, etc. etc. etc.)

100 grams of liquid may take up less space (volume) than 100 grams frozen - expansion relates to volume, not weight.

ice cubes are subject to sublimation because they are open to the air, hence the evaporation. I am going to guess that most plastics have micropores that allow for a degree of evaporation - and that perhaps only glass or metal would eliminate this.

The store bought gel has thickeners.
Super intrigued by the powder! Searching now!
 
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Don't misunderstand this post, please, but there have been studies that show that the liquid aloe that we buy at Walmart/Walgreens, etc, is not actually aloe, but does contain sugars. The rest is water. So I gave up on using aloe in soap since most of the aloe I have access to is not true aloe. I am curious about the powder now, and certainly if you grow your own, you are going to get aloe. Perhaps the sugar increases bubbles and not the aloe? I'm curious about your reactions to this.

Good to know! I found this article when I went searching. Maybe this is why some people say they don't notice a difference and some do? I'm interested in the powder as well. But I thought I'd try it first with something I could pick up locally. Maybe it's not such a good test of aloe!
 
Hi @penelopejane! Tell me more! How do you use it? At 200:1 concentration it would seem like you would need just a tiny bit! And could you tell me where you purchase it? I like the idea of a powder that won't go "off" with age.

Thank you!
It’s easy to use as it is a tiny amount and I add it to some recipe water.
Do the maths to work out the comparison cost. The 200:1 powder works out to be much cheaper than the juice.

I get it from new directions in Oz but yours doesn’t stock it.
Amazon has it:
https://www.amazon.com/Aloe-Vera-Powder-Organic-Concentration/dp/B00DYRPGPU

Bulk apothecary has 100:1
https://www.bulkapothecary.com/prod...MI67iUnZTu4AIVFg4rCh1A1wgdEAMYASAAEgKddfD_BwE
 
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Don't misunderstand this post, please, but there have been studies that show that the liquid aloe that we buy at Walmart/Walgreens, etc, is not actually aloe, but does contain sugars. The rest is water. So I gave up on using aloe in soap since most of the aloe I have access to is not true aloe. I am curious about the powder now, and certainly if you grow your own, you are going to get aloe. Perhaps the sugar increases bubbles and not the aloe? I'm curious about your reactions to this.

I think this is a case of reading the labels, the aloe gel I buy has no other ingredients in it
 
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So to make a aloe Vera soap I just have to take the inside of a aloe Vera, make a paste and replace it with amount of water I use to make lye.. is that it. did I miss anything ?
 
So to make a aloe Vera soap I just have to take the inside of a aloe Vera, make a paste and replace it with amount of water I use to make lye.. is that it. did I miss anything ?
No that's exactly it. When you put the insides of the aloe vera into a blender its turns into a very thin liquid, suitable for mixing with lye. I usually strain the liquid after coming out of the blender to ensure there's no lumps.
 
A friend recently asked for soap made from 50/50 Olive Oil/Aloe Vera Gel. I told him I couldn't do 50/50, but would replace the water with Aloe Vera Gel.

Because Aloe Vera Gel isn't 100% water -- obviously -- using it as a replacement for water automatically includes a water discount. Faster trace -- harder bar.

This is 100% Aloe Vera Gel from inner filet -- purchased from a health food store.

I also told him to mark his calendar for one year from the date I made the soap -- 3 July. So, I don't know how it'll turn out and whether he'll even like it.

To give him something he could use sooner, I made 50/50 Olive Oil/Butterfat soap -- with Aloe Vera Gel replacing the water. Then I read that butter tends to give the soap an unpleasant aroma. I told him that if it started to stink, just throw it away -- I'd make him something else.

I use 100% coconut oil to make my own soap (my friend is allergic to coconut). Just to see what the Aloe Vera Gel would do, I made a single bar of coconut oil soap with Aloe Vera Gel replacing the water. It's very sudsy -- more so than coconut oil and water. It also has a very soft feel to it when you wash your hands -- not sure how to describe that quality. But it's not slimy like a super-fatted soap that leaves your hands feeling like you need to wash them. Rather, once your hands are dry, they end up feeling like you used a bit of hand lotion.

Because of the sugar in the AVG and the water discount, you need to make sure the ingredients are a bit cooler than normal -- to prevent it from volcanoing.

Also, the AVG and lye turn a very dark orange -- but the color almost entirely disappears when combined with the fat/oil -- leaving the soap with a slightly creamy color. And it didn't seem to change the color of the OO soap at all.
 
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I use Aloe Vera Juice from Walgreens. I freeze some as cubes, and then I use part liquid juice, part cubes for most of my liquid. It's supposed to add bubbles due to both the sugar and the salicylic acids (if memory serves) in the juice. I've never soaped with just distilled water, so I can't compare. The only thing I might use distilled water for is a Citric Acid solution that I mix into my oils before adding my lye/juice solution. My recipe bubbles really well, but I've never soaped with just distilled water because I want every batch to bubble it's best, so I can't vouch for how much of a difference it makes. I know somebody did a study of a bunch of different lather boosters and Aloe Vera Juice compared favorably, but I'm not finding the link at the moment.
Oops, I didn't realize this was a necropost.
 

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