A lot of people spend hours in the sun getting themselves tanned especially on the beach. However, there is a very fine line between getting tanned and getting sun burnt.
A sun burn can prove to be particularly nasty leaving the skin peeling, inflamed, painful and tender. Not only this, but excessive sun exposure can also lead to skin cancer. Sun burns are self-limiting i.e. they heal on their own. With some home remedies, however, you can easily get rid of the sun burn.
Home Remedies For Sunburns
Baking Soda Bath
The first thing that you must do is take a cold water bath as soon as you get in from the sun. Put a few capfuls of baking soda to your tub or your bath water. Soak in this bath water for about 20 minutes and step out. Let your body air dry under a fan or an air conditioner. The cool air and the baking soda will reduce the pain and soothe the sun burn. Do not use a towel as it can irritate the skin by causing friction.
Oatmeal Bath
As an alternative to baking soda, you can also savour the comfort of an oatmeal bath. Add a big glassful of oatmeal to your bath and enjoy the soothing effects of oatmeal.
Like the baking soda, make sure you let your skin dry on its own. Don’t try to scrub or scrape off the oatmeal from your skin.
Aloe Vera
One of the best remedies for a nasty sun burn is to apply some cooling aloe vera gel to the sun burn. Make sure the aloe Vera gel is of a reputed brand and if you can, try to extract the gel from the plant. Aloe Vera cools the skin and helps the sun burn to heal.
Ice
Redness and pain from a sun burn can be alleviated using ice or a cold compress. Just put some ice into a cloth piece and press it down on the sun burnt area.
This will give temporary relief from the swelling as well as the pain. You must keeping icing the area for the first 24 hours.
Drink Enough Water
If you have been out in the sun for too long, chances are that you are likely to also feel dehydrated. Make sure that you sip on water throughout the day. This will help to rejuvenate the skin. Since the skin becomes dry and shriveled after a sun burn, it is a good idea to rehydrate the skin with enough water. This will also promote faster healing.
Moisturize
Once your sun burn has started to heal use a homemade moisturizer to soften the skin and bring back the suppleness. For this, take some gram flour and to it add some cream or curd and make a thick paste.
Massage your skin with this paste. This will promote faster and quicker skin healing and also reduce the dryness that is commonly associated with a sun burn. Avoid sun exposure while recovering from a sun burn as this is likely to leave your skin feeling worse.
Caution: Please use Home Remedies after Proper Research and Guidance. You accept that you are following any advice at your own risk and will properly research or consult healthcare professional.