Elexia,

Could we see the whole plant? It could be the real Aloe vera, but it looks to me to be too small to ID with certainty.

Does this second photo help at all?

It does, but first, a few questions - does that pot have a drainage hole, because it needs one. Second, that soil should be more porous (it appears to be straight potting soil, but I could be wrong). Yes, it could be the real Aloe vera, but confirmation will likely take a few years (until it flowers - the authentic one has yellow flowers).

thanks for letting me know that I have to wait a few years to correctly identify it. and yes, the pot has several drainage holes. I repotted it soon after I bought it, so I wet the soil a bit. However, it is planted in a succulent/cactus soil mix that I bought from the store .

Unless you got it privately from some seller, it's most likely the common aloe vera. Mine looks the same as yours.

Many of us have discovered that commercial Cactus & Succulent soil still needs additional help to be fast draining (even tho' it claims to be C&S soil). Here we often recommend adding Perlite or Pumice so that the mix is 50/50 each.

I might reconsider that double potting arrangement, nice but rather a tight fit. I'd be concerned that a thorough watering might leave water down below btwn the pots, which could be problematic.

ETA - it seems HOUSE is having a problem with us uploading, so I'll show a picture of a flowering Aloe vera later, when it gets fixed.

Elexia, Karen brings up a good point. There are many premade C&S soils which are suitable for jungle cacti (which like a lot of water) but not much else. Yours appears to be one of those that are highly water-retentive. Cutting it with 50% perlite would likely help your plant in the long run (though it appears healthy, mind you).

Matt, I disagree. It's actually much more common to find Aloe vera 'chinensis' (the one with spots and orange flowers) sold as Aloe vera, instead of the real one, in my experience.

thank you guys! I'll consider changing the soil in the future. 'chinensis' is still edible and can be used on the skin correct?

additionally, the aloe does have faint white spots on the leaves that are more prominent toward the bottom of the leaf near the root

I don't know. I wouldn't eat any of them. Yes it can be used as a topical salve.

DItto, I'm w/ Jeff on this, pls do not eat them since you don't know exactly what they are.

@cactusmcharris I should not have used common because they are both common here. You just have to know what you're looking for lol. I made that mistake in the beginning.

A common use of several Aloes by the native peoples of South Africa is as a very, very powerful laxative. Best not to eat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk8mm1Qmt-Y