I hear that aloe vera gel has soothing properties conducive to skin healing when applied topically. Would the skin experience any difficulty handling this plant extract? Would copper peptides interact negatively with aloe vera gel? I understand that the skin has problems handling even 'natural' plant extracts. My skin has irritation from five months' usage of hydroquinone and retinoic acid, and I'm hoping that aloe vera would help reduce the inflammation. Thank you in advance.

We did studies on aloe vera and copper peptides and found they worked very well together.

But be certain to get a real aloe vera gel. Many years ago, a friend of mine was visiting a plant that produced aloe vera products in a very large building. In one corner there was a single aloe vera plant under a plant light. When a batch of products was nearing completion in a very large mixing tank, one leaf would be taken off the plants and the juice squeezed into the tank. This was the sole source of aloe vera for this "Aloe vera" products company.

Unfortunately, this type of manufacturing is very common in skin care products.