When you sunbathe, the last thing you want is to get sunburned. Prolonged exposure to sunlight dehydrates the skin, peeling the surface layers, reddening it and making it scaly. However, going from sunburn to tan is easy - just soothe, heal and hydrate your skin. By trying different home methods and over-the-counter products, you will be able to remedy the damage without too many problems: thus you will have a healthy and radiant complexion.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Refresh the Skin
Step 1. After a burn, refresh the skin
The easiest way to soothe a sunburn is really obvious: apply something cool to the skin. Not only will it give you relief, it will also reduce redness, swelling and pain. This can be done in many ways.
- Take a cold shower or bath.
- Use a cold compress, such as ice or a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel.
- Massage your skin with an ice cube. Pause between applications to avoid damaging it.
Step 2. Apply cucumber slices, a vegetable that refreshes and moisturizes irritated skin
Just take a cold one and cut it into thin slices, then place them on the affected area. The wider the cucumber, the better. If you have a small one, you can use a potato, which contains a lot of water and moisturizes the skin.
If you have trouble getting cucumber slices to stick, try moistening the skin with a little oil or cream - it will act as if it were glue
Step 3. Apply aloe vera gel
It is one of the few natural products that has widely recognized properties for soothing burns. Massage aloe vera gel or a gentle lotion containing this ingredient into the affected area as soon as you notice redness or a painful sensation. Repeat several times a day to control discomfort and irritation.
If you have an aloe vera plant, you can make a cut in the center of the leaves and squeeze them on the burned area, for a 100% natural soothing effect
Part 2 of 3: Treat and Heal the Skin
Step 1. Apply steroid ointment
Steroids are substances that, when they come into contact with the skin, can fight pain and swelling, so they are perfect for burns. There are many over-the-counter steroid ointments. Hydrocortisone is one of the most used. To apply it, massage a small amount into the burned skin. Repeat every 3 to 4 hours according to your needs.
Remember that topical steroids are different from drugs that some athletes unfortunately abuse (in this case, they are anabolic steroids). The over-the-counter ones are absolutely safe to use (except in some cases, for example they are not recommended for very young children)
Step 2. Take a tea bath
Some say that the tannic acid in black tea can soothe burned skin and prevent it from peeling. To make it, boil a pot of water. Steep 5 or 6 tea bags for about 5-10 minutes. Allow the tea to cool to room temperature (to reduce the wait, put it in the fridge). Once it has cooled, apply it to the burned area with a cloth or spray it with a spray bottle and leave it on for half an hour. Alternatively, apply a wet tea bag to your skin.
Almost everyone recommends black tea, such as Earl Gray, for this method
Step 3. Take an oatmeal bath
It may sound strange to you, but oats can be very effective for treating burns and promoting healing. It has therapeutic properties such as normalizing the pH of the skin, but also soothing it in case of itching and irritation.
- Run cold water into the bathtub and add 2 or 3 cups of classic (unsweetened) oatmeal. Soak for 20 minutes, then rinse off or proceed with another treatment.
- You can also add 150 grams of baking soda for a greater moisturizing effect.
Step 4. Spray a solution of vinegar and water on the skin
This method may seem unusual to you too, but the vinegar restores the skin's pH, so it helps soothe and heal the skin after a burn. To start, take a cold shower, then fill a spray bottle with vinegar and gently spray it on sunburned skin. Leave it on for about an hour, then rinse it off or take another cold shower.
- The smell can be unpleasant when laying, but the skin will be less likely to peel.
- Almost any type of vinegar should work, but according to some sources, apple vinegar is the best. Avoid balsamic. Added sugars and dyes may irritate the skin.
Part 3 of 3: Moisturize the skin
Step 1. Apply a moisturizer
To restore vitality to dry, burned skin, apply a gentle, hypoallergenic moisturizer to the affected areas. Most classic moisturizing lotions should work. You can also try using a few drops of a neutral oil, such as baby, olive, or coconut oil.
Try using a product with no added fragrances or flavors. These chemicals can sometimes further irritate inflamed skin
Step 2. Drink water
Burned skin is particularly dry and inflamed, so moisturizing your body well can help protect it. Moisturize it inside and out to prevent the skin from peeling and flaking excessively. The Mayo Clinic recommends about 9-13 glasses of water per day.
Water can also be effective in fighting headaches, sometimes caused by a burn
Step 3. Apply whole milk to the skin
Fat in dairy products can help moisturize burned skin by fighting pain and preventing peeling. Whole milk is usually the cheapest and most practical product to use. Try soaking a washcloth and placing it on the sunburn for 20 minute intervals, as if it were a cold compress. Alternatively, pour it into a bathtub that you have filled with fresh water and soak.
- Do not use skim or semi-skimmed milk. Without fat, milk loses many moisturizing properties.
- Classic whole Greek yogurt also has the same effect when used as a lotion. Don't use sugary yogurts - they're sticky and can irritate the skin.
Step 4. Apply a potato based paste
Potato starch contains a lot of water, so applying it to the skin is helpful in recovering the moisture lost due to the burn. Grate a potato to make a starchy mixture, then massage it into your skin and leave it on. After 20 minutes, wash it off with cold water.
You can also prepare it with a food processor. In this case, first cut the potato into small pieces. Some robots are unable to shred a whole potato in one go
Step 5. Massage coconut oil
Many natural oils moisturize and soothe dry skin, just like the lotions you find on the market, but coconut oil has an edge. In addition to moisturizing and brightening burned skin, it also gently exfoliates it, eliminates dead cells and promotes healing.
Coconut oil can be found in well-stocked supermarkets and health food stores. When the temperature is below 15-20 ° C, you will find it in solid form: you can melt it with the heat of your hands
Advice
- Avoid the sun until the sunburn is completely gone. If you really have to expose yourself, apply a high SPF sunscreen.
- If it's a bad burn, peeling can be inevitable. Either way, the methods in this article can help minimize pain and irritation during the healing process.
