Sunburn





This is a large collection of home remedies I’ve compiled to help with sunburn relief, there are over 50 soothing treatments to review.
At the bottom of this post you’ll find some information about signs to watch for when determining if medical attention is needed as well as blister care and signs of infection.
Vinegar: Can use white household vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Spritz vinegar all over or soak small towels in vinegar
Bathe in a cool bath with 2 – 3 cups of vinegar
Rose Petal Vinegar (skip the cloves in the recipe when using for this)
Lavender Vinegar
Tea: The tannic acid from tea is soothing for burns
Steep a large pot of very strong tea using 4 – 6 tea bags. Refrigerate until it’s cold then soak small towels in the tea and apply. Can also spray the cold tea on skin. The tea could stain the towels, you may not want to use your best.
Save used tea bags and apply (make sure to have bags at room temperature first).
Bathe in a cool bath with several tea bags in the water.
Dairy:
Soak small towels in milk.
Soak in a bath with cool water and a gallon of milk.
Plain Yogurt.
Aloe Vera:
Aloe Vera Gel, either purchased or taken fresh from an aloe leaf.
Lotions that include Aloe Vera.
Oatmeal:
Fill a bath with cool water and add 2 cups oatmeal. Soak in bath for about 30 minutes.
Mix oatmeal with raw egg whites.
Baking Soda:
Fill bath with cool water and add 1 – 2 cups baking soda, dissolve. Soak in tub for 30 minutes.
Fill a spray bottle with cool water and dissolve 1/4 cup baking soda. Spritz on skin.
Essential Oils: Caution when using on children. Keep out of eyes and mouth.
Fill a spray bottle with cool water and add a few drops of choice, or add 10 to 12 drops essential oils to a bath full of cool water and soak. Lavender Oil or Chamomile Oil.
Cornstarch:
Make a paste of cornstarch and water, apply and allow to dry.
Fill a spray bottle with cool water and add some cornstarch, mix to dissolve before spritzing.
Fill a bath with cool water and add 1 cup cornstarch, dissolve. Soak in tub for 30 minutes.
Soak in tub or shower with cool water. Pat dry. Lightly dust skin with cornstarch.
1/2 cup cornstarch + 1/2 cup baking soda added to bath of cool water, dissolve. Soak for 30 minutes.
Cucumbers:
Slices can be added directly to skin or mashed first.
Grate cucumbers and mix with milk.
Potatoes:
Grate potatoes and apply–include as much of the potato juice as possible.
Egg Whites:
Raw egg whites.
Mix 2 egg whites, 1 TBS honey, 1 TBS witch hazel.
Witch Hazel:
Spritz directly on skin.
Honey:
Smooth honey over area or slather honey on a strip of gauze first.
Mix honey with lime or lemon juice (80/20).
Mix honey 50/50 with milk, stir well.
Tomatoes:
1/4 cup tomato juice or tomato paste mixed with 1 1/2 cups buttermilk.
Sliced or mashed tomatoes.
Mash tomatoes and mix with an equal amount of buttermilk.
Add 2 cups tomato juice to bath of cool water, soak.
More Pantry Fixins:
Smear mustard over area.
Soak cloth in pickle juice or spritz pickle juice directly on burn.
Pureed strawberries.
For Comfort/Ease Pain

Water & Ice:
Spritz chilled water.
Soak in a cool bath or take a cool shower.
Wrap ice packs, ice cubes or bags of frozen vegetables in a towel and then apply.
Drink lots of water to keep hydrated and help the healing process.
Mix 1/4 cup lemon or lime juice in a spray bottle filled with cool water. Shake and spritz body as needed.
More:
Cocoa Butter
Shaving Cream
Vitamin E Cream or Oil (open capsules & apply oil)
Diaper Rash Ointment
More Bath Soaks:
2 cups oatmeal, 2 cups milk, 1/4 cup honey
Epsom salt bath
1 cup Epsom salts, 1 cup Baking soda
Cooling Spray Infusions

Lettuce: Quarter the head of lettuce and boil (moderate) in a pot of water for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, cover pot and allow to steep. Strain water and chill. Spritz lettuce water directly on area. Can also chill cooked leaves and apply directly.
Cabbage: Same procedure as Lettuce.
Mint: Handful of fresh mint and proceed as above.
Plantain: Handful of fresh mint and proceed as above
Strawberry Leaves: Save strawberry leaves and trimmings until you have a generous handful. Boil in 2 cups of water and proceed as above.
Commercial Products

Noxema
Maalox (Milk of Magnesia)
Gold Bond Medicated Lotion
Lanacane Anti-Bacterial First Aid Spray Anesthetic
Pepto-Bismol
Preparation H
Calamine Lotion
Medical Issues

Blisters: If blisters are present, don’t open or burst them. This will help avoid infection as well as speed the healing process, a blister is the body’s way of protecting and healing the damaged skin. Keep the blisters uncovered if possible.
The vinegar & honey remedies as well as antibacterial products are preferable when blisters are involved since they are antibacterial, helps prevent infection.
Some Signs of Infection: Swelling, painful, fever, swollen glands
For Pain: Aspirin or ibuprofen or acetaminophen as directed.
See A Doctor:
Sunburn is severe
Purple patches, discolored blotches, or a rash appears
Eyelids are burned or sore eyes
Nauseous or vomiting
Fever
Faint or dizzy
Excessive pain
Chills
Large amount of blisters
Headaches
Swelling
These are simply suggestions and a collection of home remedies and treatments I’ve organized from my notes and not professional medical advice. Please seek a doctor’s opinion when unsure or to confirm appropriate care.

Sunburn-soothing tips
10 sunburn-soothing tips
Try one of these home sunburn remedies to care for your stinging skin

It’s hard to resist soaking up the first few rays of summer sunshine, but sometimes lounging in the sun can come with a price. If you forget to put on sunblock, you can end up with a nasty sunburn. The outer layers of your skin become inflamed by overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, and the affected area gets hot and tender. Fortunately, there are some tried and true home sunburn remedies that can soothe your stinging skin. Try these ten suggestions to cool off, but remember: repeated sunburns cause your skin to age more rapidly, and increase the risk of cancer, so slather on that sunscreen the next time you venture into the sun.

1. Soak it up. For immediate relief, soak the sunburned areas in cold water (but not ice water) or with cold compresses for 15 minutes. The cold reduces swelling and wicks away heat from your skin.

2. Take a dip. If you’re burned all over, take a soak in a cool bath to which you’ve added oatmeal. You can either buy a colloidal oatmeal product, such as Aveeno, or simply grind up a cup of oatmeal in a food processor and add it to your bath.

3. Give yourself a green tea compress. Brew up a pot of green tea and let it cool. Soak a clean cloth in the tea, and use it as a compress for sunburned areas. The tea contains ingredients that help protect the skin from ultraviolet radiation damage and reduce inflammation.

4. Freshen up with mint. Use the cooling, aromatic qualities of peppermint to quell the scorch of a sunburn. Either make peppermint tea or mix two drops of peppermint oil with a cup of lukewarm water. Chill the concoction and gently bathe the sunburned area.

5. Bring veggies to the rescue. For extra-painful spots of sunburn, rub the area gently with sliced cucumber or potato. They contain compounds that cool the burn and help reduce swelling.

6. Try some vinegar. Vinegar contains acetic acid—one of the components of medications such as Aspirin. It can help ease sunburn pain, itching, and inflammation. Soak a few sheets of paper towels in white vinegar, and apply them to the sunburned areas. Leave them on until the towels are dry. Repeat as needed.

7. Take a vinegary bath. If the sunburn itches, take a cool bath, but add two cups of vinegar to the bathwater before you get in.

8. Coat yourself. Mix baking soda and vinegar to make a thick paste, and slather it over the sunburned areas. Apply the salve before bedtime, and leave it on overnight.

9. Make your bed sunburn-safe. Sprinkle your sheets with cornstarch to minimize painful chafing. (Use this technique only for bad sunburns, since you’ll have to wash the sheets afterward.)

10. Go for aloe. Apply a light coating of pure aloe vera to the sunburned skin, using either a fresh piece from the plant or in the gel form you can buy at the drugstore. If you buy the gel, make sure it’s 100% pure aloe vera.


Tips on How to Use Proper Sunscreen for Aging
The search for becoming young-looking is no longer a new one. Each year, millions of dollars are used up on anti-aging treatments. However, one of the most basic things you can accomplish to hold back the unavoidable signs of aging is to shield your skin from the harmful rays of the sun. Even though the sun aids your body in producing vitamin D, its harmful ultraviolet rays can speed up the process of aging by way of bringing about wrinkles, dry skin and skin discoloration. Utilizing sunscreen thoroughly will not only avoid untimely aging, but will as well shield you from obtaining skin cancer.Tip #1: Choose a wide-ranging sunscreen, which contains ability to soak up ultraviolet-A (UVA) and ultraviolet-B (UVB) energy. Even various sunscreens soak up UVB energy that causes damage, lots of them do not absorb the UVA energy that produces aging. A wide-ranging sunscreen will soak up both of these rays.
Tip #2: Verify that the sunscreen possesses a sun protection factor (SPF) of about 15 or more. If you want to learn which SPF you should select, get the SPF and multiply it by the amount of minutes it usually takes for your skin to burn. For instance, if your skin burns in just about 10 minutes, sunscreen with SPF 15 will maintain your skin from burning for approximately 150 minutes.
Tip #3: Put on your sunscreen at least 30 minutes prior to sun exposure. You must allow the sunscreen to be soaked up into your skin for it to start functioning.
Tip #4: Make sure to apply sunscreen every two hours or following tremendous sweating. Do not be mistaken that the sunscreen will not fade because the natural oils of your skin will shift around sunscreen and provide asymmetrical coverage. Everything that comes into contact with your skin like the hands, tissues, sweat and water can eliminate sunscreen. Applying sunscreen every two hours can guarantee you a smooth steady coverage.
Tip #5: Put on sunscreen as a segment of your every day schedule. Make sure to always put sunscreen even during cloudy days because ultraviolet energy can go through even condense clouds and result skin injury without even burning your skin. Make it a habit to put on sunscreen so that your skin will be shielded continuously.
Tip #6: Shield your entire body with sunscreen. The back of your hands, neck, arms, and chest grow old as well as rapidly as your face for the reason that the skin in these parts of the body is thinner and are usually exposed to the sun. Massage sunscreen on every part of your body approximately 30 minutes prior to exposure.
Tip #7: Utilize sufficient amount of sunscreen. If you will not put sufficient quantity of sunscreen, you will not obtain the most possible defense. Utilize around one teaspoon of sunscreen on your face, a quarter-sized quantity for every arm and hand, and so with your chest.
Tip #8: Rinse off the sunscreen at the end of the day, or before resting at night. A dirt free, moisturized face as well as body will aid put off the appearance of wrinkles.
You must not fret about aging. There are a lot of things that you can do about it.  Always remember that one of the best ways to slow down aging is to put on sunscreen.