Sunburn Relief: Home Remedies
Happy 5th of July, loves! How many of you spent time in the sun yesterday? Most of us, I'm sure. And how many of you spent a little too much time in the sun yesterday? Well, if you're like me (only human), you might not have applied and reapplied a sufficient amount of sunscreen throughout the day and your skin might need a little TLC today. Here are a few easy home remedies for sunburn:
One of the easiest home remedies for sunburn is to cool your skin. Try gently applying a bag of frozen peas or a bag filled with ice cubes to your skin. If you're looking at a larger area to cover like I am (my new bikini doesn't cover much skin!), try soaking a T-shirt or towel in cold water and applying it to your skin. This will help soothe hot and irritated skin.
A relaxing home remedy for sunburn is to take a nice, calming bath. You might think I’m crazy, but many people swear by adding vinegar to lukewarm bath water. Yup, you can add 2 cups of Apple Cider Vinegar or one small bottle of white vinegar to your bath and soak for about 15 minutes. The vinegar will calm and help promote skin healing.
Another bath home remedy for sunburn! Oats are often ingredients in DIY face masks as well as in skin care, so you know oatmeal is great for soothing and calming red and tender skin. Grab 2 cups of oatmeal and add it to your bath and soak for 30 minutes. Make sure the bath water is lukewarm or room temperature so you don’t further irritate your sensitive skin!
Making a compress is another one of the quickest home remedies for sunburn. If you have some full-fat yogurt on hand, apply it to your skin and lay some gauze on top to make a compress. Keep replacing the compress as the yogurt warms up on your skin to calm and cool your sunburned skin. Yogurt contains many healthy enzymes and can improve the texture of your skin as well as help your skin heal.
Obviously, I’m simply referring to powers of baking soda! Baking soda benefits sunburned skin by calming and soothing the sting of sunburns. Try adding ¼ cup of baking soda to cool water in a spray bottle and spray it on your skin. Or add ¼ cup to your bath and have a nice relaxing soak.
Another DIY remedy for sunburn is to make some black tea, cool it down and put it in a spray bottle to spritz on your sensitive skin. Or take it a step further and add three or four tea bags to your bath water to calm and cool your skin. The tannin found in tea is said to help relieve the burning and spraying cold tea onto your skin will help keep skin cool and moist.
One of the single most effective home remedies for sunburn is to apply aloe to your skin. If you have access to an aloe plant, cut a piece off and slice it in the middle and apply the fleshy part to your sunburned skin. No aloe plant in sight? Get a bottle of aloe vera gel and gently apply to skin, don’t forget to stick it in the fridge to cool it for a nice cold treat for your epidermis.
A simple and quick DIY remedy for sunburn is to refrigerate a potato and cut up slices of the raw potato and apply it to your skin to help promote healing. Alternatively, you can also grate a raw potato and place it in between gauze and apply it to your skin. The juice of a raw potato is great for easing the burn and irritation from sunburns.
I hope these home remedies for sunburn help you find a quick fix to ease the pain the next time you’re caught with a bad burn. Sunburns suck but these easy home remedies should help to promote healing and calm your angry skin in the meantime. And remember: It’s possible to get sunburned on top of an existing sunburn so make sure you take good care of your skin!