I am rearranging the plants in my home (to make room for more African violets), and my aloe plant had become quite tall and rangy, but had new growth underneath. I cut off the larger plant and processed it with the intent of collecting the fiber.

The gel scraped from the inside of the leaf is very viscous. I did save the clearest sections from the center in a mason jar, but the rest I wiped from the counter with a dry paper towel because water just makes it more slimy. I rinsed the skins and will let them dry before trying to comb out the fiber.

I do love aloe vera gel for sunburned skin, and I read that if you rinse the gel well it is edible. Aloe latex is a substance that is next to the outer layer and can cause an unpleasant laxative effect if too much is ingested. I can’t even get past the idea of the feel of the slime in my mouth, so I think I will stick to topical applications.