If you read my personal trek through google and Pinterest “remedies” in Sunburn: 5 Things You’re Doing to Sabotage Healing, you would know that I needed to come up with The Ultimate Sunburn Relief Guide to relieving that annoying, stinging and itching sunburn. Let’s waste no time.
1. WATER, WATER, WATER
I cannot state this enough. The reason we end up with a sunburn is the combination of UV ray damage to the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, and dehydration.
Immediately shower after sun exposure to rinse off any chemicals remaining on your skin. Also, avoid any soap products containing alcohol.
(** This is a huge life tip if you weren’t aware already.. a lot of products that claim to heal your skin (including beauty products) contain alcohol, which dries your skin.
They temporarily give you relief, only to drain your skin in the long run.. having you come back for their product. Think about it. Some chapsticks. If their product TRULY gave you long term relief, you wouldn’t need them anymore. What business is going to do that?!)
Constantly consume water. Keep a water on your work desk, in your kitchen, on your coffee table, your night stand and in your purse. You catch the drift. This is one of the most crucial pieces of advice that is simple but a lot of us forget or overlook it.
2. Use BASIC aloe vera with no additives
The moment I went back to the basics and got rid of my aloe vera with lidocaine and the spray Solarcaine, my skin started healing again. If you’re curious as to why lidocaine isn’t the best solution for sunburn remedies, take a peek at Sunburn: 5 Things You’re Doing to Sabotage Healing. These kinds of products sold by brands promise pain relief but the potential harm could outweigh “positive” benefits. You can also put your aloe vera in the fridge for the extra cooling sensation.
3. Stear cleer of any natural/organic oils for moisture aid
While natural and organic are GREAT and what I personally use in a lot of my household products, using them for sunburn relief will only hold you back in your recovery.
They provide great moisture for a deep skin mask from time to time, however applying dense oils actually creates a barrier to your pores. It prohibits them from releasing any heat from your sunburn and locks out oxygen for rejuvenation.
4. Use fragrance free intensive repair lotions
I LOVE this lotion from Nivea. It’s rich but it’s not dense on my skin. I can feel it settling into my skin over time to provide moisture without drying out my skin even more. The heat from my sunburn can still escape and I get soothing at the same time. Fragrance ingredients tend to sting when they hit raw or irritated skin.
5. Take Ibuprofen or Advil
These two NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) help to relieve not only pain, but inflammation. They have always worked to reduce the amount of visible redness on my skin because it reduces the amount of blood flow brought to the surface due to inflammation.
Inflammation is actually your body trying to repair damage. In this situation, damage from the sun’s UV rays.
Vasodilation (expanding of blood vessels) occurs to get more oxygen into the blood stream, hints the redness and swelling (aka blood vessels). Small science lesson for ya (yes, I have a science degree).
Keeping these rotated in your body every 4-6 hours will help relieve a lot of symptoms you feel with sunburn.
6. Freeze wet washcloths
THIS SUCKS. I’m going to be honest, lol. However, when your skin is so hot to the touch that you feel like you have a fever, you’ll do just about anything.
I put wet wash cloths in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes for a mild freezer temperature relief.
To really get the best alleviation, keep them in the freezer for about an hour. Then, lay them across your sunburnt body part.
They will heat up FAST, I promise you this. So you may need to repeat the process or freeze multiple cloths at once.
7. Wear bare minimum clothing while at home
As a woman, a lot of us take off our bras as soon as we get home for comfort.
Well, the same concept applies in every day clothes when you are burnt. Additional and even unnecessary clothes create heat barriers that prevent your sunburn from “releasing steam” in a sense.
I have a super cute and comfortable sleep set that I changed into every day. They’re similar to these (because I have multiple)
so I swapped them out. The idea is to be in loose and the least amount of clothing as possible to give your skin a break from your daily activity clothes and being trapped under covers at night.
Comment your thoughts!