 Aloe Vera gel has some of the most diverse uses of any plant, from treating burns to healing wounds to helping with constipation. It's one of the most common ingredients found in many of my homemade DIY products, and best of all, it can be grown right at home in your garden. Aloe Vera can be used as a treatment for acne scars and craters, simply rub the Aloe gel on affected areas 2-3 times a day. This is slow acting treatment, so you won't see much of a result right away. Some anecdotal reports specify that improvements were noticed after one and a half years, and only when this treatment was applied consistently every day. It can also be rubbed into the scalp to promote hair growth, blended into smoothies and juices for health boosting benefits, applied as a face mask, used after the bath or a shower as a moisturizer, or even used in makeup, such as homemade mascara, eyeliner and things like that. There are so many uses for Aloe, and today I'll be showing how to extract the gel from an Aloe Vera leaf to collect as much of the gel as possible. To begin with, start by picking the leaf you'll be collecting the gel from. When picking the leaves, opt for the outermost ones, choosing the oldest and largest of the leaves to use. Next, clean away the yellow liquid oozing from the cut in the leaf. This is a sap called Aloe latex, and it's not actually part of the Aloe Vera gel, which you'll see is clear. Aloe latex contains laxative properties. To stop the liquid from oozing everywhere, point the leaf vertically with the cut facing down and leave it sitting in a bowl to allow the liquid to drain. From here, cut away the top section of the leaf. As you'll see towards the top end of the leaf, it starts to become much thinner. Rather than spending the time fiddling with this tiny amount of gel, trying to extract every last bit, just cut this portion off and compost it. Next, remove the sparky edges on either side of the leaf by carefully sliding the knife along the edge of the leaf, keeping your hands a safe distance away. Cut as close to the sparks as possible to avoid losing some of the gel in the process. Next, remove the top and bottom leaf skin layers. The leaves have a flat side and a curved side. Begin with the flat side, lay your leaf flat on a cutting board and carefully slice away the skin of the Aloe Vera leaf, pushing your knife down into the chopping board as you slide it along the bottom, while also pushing the top of the leaf down onto the knife to make it as flat as possible. Your knife should be in between the gel and the green skin. Repeat this on the other side to remove the other green skin layer. At this point, you'll have slabs of clear gel. If you notice any bits of leaf left on them, cut it away. The Aloe Vera gel can be used as is, or it can be blended up to break down its fibrous structure. Simply pop the gel pieces into a blender and blitz until frothy and liquefied. This should only take a few seconds. The gel will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or you can freeze it into ice cubes and keep it for up to 6 months. Aloe gel can be rubbed into the skin straight from the plant, or the gel can be blended up with a little water and frozen into some popsicle molds or ice cubes for easy application. This gel can help to clear up acne scars, pimples and dark spots, and improve skin's overall complexion when used consistently over time. Aloe is a slow acting treatment, so results in skin health are seen over the long term. Thank you so much for watching my video, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you found it helpful. I'd love to know what you use Aloe Vera for. I'm sending you so much love, and I hope to see you soon again.