Hello again, my dear 
Have you noticed something? Yes! Summer’s here. Finally. Personally, I’m a huge fan of the warm season, the sun, the sea – I love everything about it. Right, so since many of you are going to be hitting the beach pretty soon, I figured what post would be more appropriate than the inevitable sunburn?
Well, not inevitable, but incredibly common. Especially if you’re anything like me and like to bake in the sun from dawn till dusk. And you don’t have any sunscreen, which I often don’t. I know it’s perhaps not the wisest choice, but that’s how it usually happens. And that’s what did happen this past week, as I was basking in the sun (a little too much) – I found myself without any protection and with a skin that was rapidly turning into red. And given that the small seaside town I was in was small and sort of middle of nowhere-y, my options were pretty limited. What can I do to salvage my sunburnt skin and still manage to get something of a tan?
No. Just no. This was a mistake I made, given that petroleum jelly was one of the few things I had with me. See, I figured since vaseline is so incredibly moisturizing, it would probably help with my sunburn. But that’s just NOT true.
I dutifully applied Vaseline on my poor, sunburned skin for about a day and I thought (wrongfully, as it turned out) it was helping. And yet, I wasn’t feeling any better. And I grew convinced I’d really burned my skin worse than I actually had.
I’ll tell you what I did do to help my skin in just a second, but first, let me tell you why you should never apply vaseline on your sunburn.
Vaseline has a locking-in effect, that traps the moisture into your skin. And you’d think that’s great. But this effect also locks in the heat that needs to escape from your skin in order to allow sunburn to fade. Vaseline is also very oily and if you go out into the sun, it has a reflecting-effect that actually attracts more heat. Not what you want to get when you’ve already burned your skin. So definitely, no vaseline.
At least, that's my opinion and experience of it. Some people seem to recommend it, so do as judge best, but be warned.
Perhaps the biggest tip for sunburn is drink plenty of water. And it’s interesting, because we don’t always think about it. Sunburn is extremely dehydrating, it’s a wound and your body needs loads of water to heal properly. So have a lot of water on hand – it helps you feel better, while at the same time actively dealing with the problem.
So, don’t get side-tracked and drink lots of fluids if you’re suffering from sunburn. It’s really important.
The magic trick. I actually knew about this, but since the only store I found open didn’t stock any aloe, I figured I’d skip it. Another big mistake, since aloe vera is just incredible for sun-damaged skin. Not only does it ease the discomfort and cool your hot skin, it also speeds up the healing process tremendously.
As I said, I was worried I’d damaged my skin pretty bad, treated it with vaseline, unwittingly made it worse and then finally, found a drugstore and bought some aloe vera gel. Wisest choice I made all trip. I actually had an event to attend in the evening and spent the afternoon in my hotel room, applying aloe vera gel on my skin, particularly my back and thighs.
And by the time of the event, I was fine. I could stand having clothes on, I could walk, I could enjoy myself. And I couldn’t believe it – I was okay again and obviously super-happy. Seriously, if you’re suffering from sunburn, do yourself a favor and buy some aloe vera gel (or split a plant leaf, if it’s available, and apply that directly).
Its anti-inflammatory, hydrating properties (as well as speeding up the growth of new skin cells) will have you back on your feet in no time.
Even if you have a sunburn, it’s not too late. And the simple fact that you burned your skin won’t prevent you getting burned even worse, you know? So, if you’re suffering from a small sunburn, make sure to protect yourself before it gets any worse.
Since this is a natural series, I’ll quickly mention some much-appreciated natural sunscreen elements, such as: coconut oil (4-6 SPF), shea butter (4-6 SPF), carrot seed oil (35-40 SPF) and red raspberry seed oil (25-50 SPF).
Personally, I’ve only tried coconut oil and didn’t have much luck, so I can’t recommend any of these, but there are loads of interesting natural sunscreen recipes out there, so I encourage you to do your own research, if you’re interested in making your own sunscreen, and good luck!
While doing some research online about this subject, I found loads of tips and tricks for skin protection, such as honey, oatmeal, milk and yogurt (very soothing, but not as helpful as aloe, in my opinion). But since I don’t have any first hand experience with most of them, I’ll just stick to what I know.
Once again, I think this is highly subjective and what worked for my skin (aka aloe) might not work for yours. If you take time to look online, you find all sorts of DIY videos on ‘how to turn sunburn into a tan’ and they give all sorts of weird tips such as apply moisturizer on wet skin, to look in moisture. There are many ideas out there and surely, some work and some don’t, same as always.
Personally, as I said, I had a great experience with aloe and now have a lovely tan instead of red, painful skin.
Another word of caution on the subject, assess the damage. There are three major types of burn out there – mild, moderate and severe. Mild implies pink/red skin, some itchiness and a slight sensitivity.
Moderate is more red and has heat actually radiating from your skin (trust me, you can feel it – it’s like you have a fever or infection), the skin is flaking and sensitive to the sun and touch. And then, there’s the severe burn, where you have blisters popping up on your skin (make sure not to pop those, as that can lead to infection), intense itching and swelling, nausea and dizziness and very painful skin.
If you’re suffering from the latter or if you’re in serious pain, go to a doctor, don’t take my word or that of anyone else on the Internet, as you might end up doing yourself harm, okay? Take care and enjoy the sun, readers!
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