7 Ways to Treat a Sunburn ...

I love summer time; the warmer weather, blue skies, swimming in the lake, going fishing, and taking part in other activities that are best done when the sun is shining brightly. Being fair-skinned, I have to slather on the sunblock, wear long sleeves, and even a sunhat when I’m going to spend a lot of time outside. There are always those days when the sun is constantly appearing and disappearing in the clouds. It’s days like this that I often throw caution to the wind and end up getting sunburned. If you’ve found yourself faced with a similar situation, then you will find these 7 ways to treat a sunburn very useful.

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Sprinkle Ground Oatmeal into the Bath Water

The ground up oatmeal will help draw the heat out of the sunburned skin. The water needs to be lukewarm to be more effective, even though the cooler water feels better on scorched flesh. Moist oatmeal applied to the skin also helps to lock in essential oils already present in the dermal layers. Skin that has been burned by the sun often becomes dry, which causes more irritation.

Pour Whole Milk over the Tender Skin

The lactic acid and fat contained in whole milk have excellent soothing qualities. Using skim milk won’t work, since it’s the higher fat content that makes whole milk work best of all. If you are able to fill an entire bathtub with whole milk, then submerge the affected areas in the milk bath. 20 minutes is about how much time is needed for the milk to do its job. You’ll want to make sure you rinse thoroughly after the bath so the milk doesn’t begin to spoil on your skin.

Smear Raw Honey on the Sunburned Skin

Raw honey is not only good for the body when taken internally, but it also seems to help with external ailments too; such as sunburn. Honey works as a natural antibiotic and it’s able to trap moisture in the skin. An enzyme found in honey repairs damaged skin, which makes it an excellent choice for soothing sunburn.

Apply Wet Calendula Tea Bags to Severely Burned Areas

As long as the bags of calendula are damp, they should help ease the pain felt from the sunburn. Besides using fresh tea bags, there is also a tincture of calendula available. Take a lukewarm bath with around 20 drops of calendula tincture added to it.

Take a Bath in Baking Soda Water

Baking soda has been used for many, many years to sooth burns and stings. You can either make a baking soda paste by adding some water to the powder or dump a cup of baking soda into your bath water and soak as long as you can.

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Pour Cider Vinegar over the Burned Area

Pouring apple cider vinegar over the sunburned skin will help to soothe it almost immediately. You can also take a clean cloth and soak it in the apple cider vinegar. This vinegar-soaked material can then be applied directly to the affected area for as long as needed.

Rub Aloe Vera on the Sunburn

Aloe vera is definitely a Wonder Plant. This is an excellent choice of product to use on sunburned skin. Fresh aloe is sold in stores right alongside the sunblock. You can also use the leaves from an actual aloe plant, if you don’t mind destroying your plant a little bit. When using fresh leaves you’ll need to cut the leaves in half lengthwise and press the fleshy side of the leaf onto the skin. The flesh could also be scraped out from inside the leaf and smeared all over the burned skin.

Being prepared for the summer sun is a great idea. If you have these 7 ways to treat a sunburn memorized or written down somewhere, then you won’t have to worry about how you are going to ease the pain the sunburned individual is feeling. What methods of treating sunburned skin do you usually find the most beneficial?

Top Photo Credit: huaone

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I wanted to share my sunburn experience. I was kayaking on a sunny 73 degree day in Hawaii - beautiful! I didn't think I'd be out as long as I was so I got burned. I also underestimated the reflection of the water as I bought my kayak last September and kayaked short trips on partly cloudy days. I was recommend to use the Made from Earth Pure Aloe Vera Skin Treatment whenever i have been in the sun. It made the burn feel so much better without the gross, sticky feeling that you get from plain aloe which comes like a gel. If i have a painful sunburn, i will put this on multiple times in one day and it seems to make it go away much quicker, and more likely to turn into a tan. I also use it when i haven't been on the sun. I think it's a great lotion for normal use and if my skin gets dry, its a great moisturizer.

I was in Sardinia, Italy this summer and got a terrible and painful sunburn after a day on the beach. A family friend taught me a neat idea: Rub plain yogurt on the burn (which in itself feels nice and cool and helps with the pain) and wait till it dries up (about 15-20 min). Rinse it off and repeat. Eventually the yogurt doesn't dry up like before and that's when you know your skin is well hydrated.

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