A few aloe vera leaves broke off while some of the indoor plants made their yearly spring migration outside, so I collected them and processed them into aloe vera gel
I’ve watched videos on how to clean aloe vera before and did my best to get only the gooey goodness inside (and not the irritating yellow sticky sap). It went pretty well and I filled a small container with fresh gel.
I was thinking I would use it in soap, but soap takes several hours to do and I just didn’t have the time. So I sealed it up in an air-tight contained and set it on a shelf in my room. It sat for about a day and a half.
Well, this morning I opened it up to check on it and - gods, did it reek! My little container of goodness had turned into a nasty, putrid pile of goop. I’m so sad
Anyways, I am apparently the only one in the house who did not know that fresh aloe vera needs to be used immediately or it goes bad. Well, now I know - and if you were like me, now you know too!
Anyways, that was my plant lesson for the day. Hope my mistake might save you some strife in the future!
I didn’t know that either, I’d be curious what happened there! Oxidization, bacterial contamination or something else. Apparently that’s exactly why they sell aloe vera either in powder form or mixed in with citric acid and natural preservatives.
I was shocked too! Maybe a week, okay, if it was really hot out - but a day and a half in an air-tight container? Yikes!
Should’ve seen my face when I pried open the lid to see my happy goop and breathed in death and destruction instead
You’re absolutely right! The store’s aloe vera lasts for at least a year or two, and we bring it with us to the beach. Whatever stabilizers they use in the packaged stuff must pack quite a punch!
I’m allergic to Aloe Vera. I only found out when after a few days of taking it, everything tasted like butter. I even ate a red hot chilli and it tasted like butter. The doctor knew it was an allergy and put me on soup for a week to de-tox, that tasted like butter too. Funniest allergic reaction I’ve ever had.
Oh wow, that was quick! I didn’t know it would happen that fast, either. I don’t have any aloe anymore, but I’ll keep this in mind if I ever get another one!
@Amethyst It was indeed a stinky surprise! I’ll be using it immediately or sticking with the (much less pungent) store aloe vera from now on
@tracyS That’s wild, Tracy! I’ve never heard of an allergy turning everything into butter flavor - I guess it would make taking the medicine easier at least (assuming you liked the taste of butter? ).
@MeganB I’ve definitely learned my lesson - hopefully sharing it might save someone else from a lot of work and a stinky result!
I didn’t know it would happen that fast, either. I don’t have any aloe anymore, but I’ll keep this in mind if I ever get another one!