There are three "major" medicinal Aloes: Aloe arborescens (seriously people, if you live in SoCal, use this!), Aloe saporina, and Aloe vera. These are the standard, "put it on what hurts" Aloes, good for burns, scrapes, and other topical ailments. There are many other species used for other reasons (purgatives and laxatives are common!). In reality, most stuff sold at supermarkets is just the inner gel of the leaf with some other stuff mixed in. The thing is, most of the "medicinal" compounds are in the yellowish sap than runs more in the skin of the Aloe than in the middle, clear gel. If you've ever used real leaves instead of a supermarket bottle, you'd have found that it is much more effective, but leaves a yellowish, sticky residue that would be too uncivilized for something sold in the beauty department. So would A. maculata work? Probably, since the inner leaf gel is mostly just water in all species, and the supermarket bottles are mostly just water too. Then again, it is possible that it has some sort of compound in it that might actually irritate your skin. Depending on how much of a gambler you are (and how much extra A. maculata you have laying around) it may be worth a shot. Then again, I'm not even remotely a doctor, so maybe I'm not the best person to be listening to!

Thank you for the quick response. Also do i use the pulp (gel) the same way?

Certainly not here to dispute the name of the Lowes plant. I bought a couple of the same plants, chuckling to myself that ALL of the aloes were labeled Aloe vera. Mine are PIG, growing well and curiously have lost their spots. You can see some of the spots remain on the bottom, oldest leaves. So I'm pondering the label again. Of course it hasn't flowered yet (about 3 years old), which will add to the info. I guess I wonder if Aloe vera pups start with spots. I have no pups to compare. My plant does not look like the OP's first plants. This post was edited by Crenda on Thu, Aug 7, 14 at 10:23

If you place your plant in full sun, you need to do is slowly. As you found out, it will burn. Wean it into the sun just like you would do yourself to get used to the sun. My plants are in full sun all year long, but I do not get as hot as you mentioned. When it is dry my plants turn brownish, but not burnt like you describe. Your plant should do well beside your brightest window, preferably south facing. The sun is generally not as strong after coming through a window, so wean your plant to that area. A gritty, fast draining soil is best. Many use half perlite and half cactus and succulent soil mixed. I am in a very humid area, so a mix of perlite, granite chicken grit and Turface is what I use. Where are you located? Your growing zone and general area will help determine which potting mix may work best for you.