Aloe, aloe

All this hand washing has taken its toll on my skin. I much prefer to use natural products and have an aloe vera plant that been waiting about 5 years in our bathroom for me to do finally do something with!

Extracting the gel is quite straight forward. I didn't actually realise there is a layer of perfectly pure aloe vera gel just beneath the surface of the leaves. Pick a leaf making sure you get as close to the base of the plant as possible as that's where it's most potent. Cut away the spiky edges. Use a vegetable peeler to take away the top layer of the leaf. The transparent gel is sitting right there glistening. Slide a knife beneath it to remove it from the rest of the leaf skin. Whip it up with an equal amount of coconut oil and add a few drops of lavender oil. It lasts in the fridge for a few days.