Summer is here. It’s time for summer break, vacations and SUNBURN. At some point in our lives, we’ve all experienced the effects of sunburn. The good thing is that there are a lot of sunburn remedies to help you out. Sunburn affects every skin color and type. I know my melanated friends tend to believe that we don’t get suburned because we are dark skinned but that’s not it. Maybe it’s because when you look up what sunburn is the information you get is more aligned with caucasian people or those with a lighter complexion.
Now let’s talk about how you can sooth sunburn pains be it on your skin or on your kids. That feeling of regret can be the motivation you need to prepare well when you go out in the sun next time. Here are 4 quick natural home remedies to help ease the pain of sunburn, and help the skin’s healing process:
Cold Milk Compresses
Soaking a soft wash cloth in cold whole milk, and dabbing burned skin carefully can provide relief. Continue this for about 30 minutes, and rinse with cool water afterwards. Whole milk has fat and lactic acids that are useful in providing a soothing relief on sunburned skin. To get the best results use whole milk.
Cool sugarless tea
Tea has tannin in it which in this case is what is known as the active ingredient. The tannin in the tea soothes and provides relieve to the discomfort of sunburned skin. Make a pot of tea, let it cool, then splash the burned areas with a washcloth. Spraying the tea directly on the skin is another way to do it. Use the tea bags you used to make the tea to put on areas around the eyes. When your eyes feel hot and tired, placing the teabags on them provides relief. This tea remedy is also useful to those with ‘St. John’s Wort’, the cooling tanning properties, can reduce the heating on the skin, and provide some soothing relief to the sun damaged nerve endings.
Aloe Vera
Aloe Vera is a known common treatment for sunburn. It not only provides you with soothing relief, but also helps in healing the sunburn on your skin. Simply put it on the affected skin areas. It is recommended to use the gel extracted directly from the plant, but an over the counter aloe vera cream will do the trick if you don’t have the natural one. If you are using the cream, ensure that it contains a higher percentage concentration of aloe vera as the main ingredient.
Water
Water is one of the easiest sunburn remedies available. When you have been in the sun for a long time , water and essential body salts can be lost. You get dehydrated. Ensure that you drink a lot of fluids when you are in the sun reduce the effects of dehydration. Spraying the affected area with cool water can help relieve the pain of sunburns. Alternatively take a cold shower.
We must try to avoid sunburns at all costs. Sunburn not only results in damaged skin, but it is increases the risk of getting cancer of the skin. Wear protective clothing and don’t forget to put on sunscreen when going out. It is always better to prevent and protect yourself from sunburn than to seek for treatment afterwards. Take care of your skin.
