In the past few weeks I have already gone over some of the things we can do to avoid getting a sunburn such as covering up or using a safe sunscreen. In addition to those things we also need to be spending some time in the sun unprotected each day… about 10-20 minutes, so that our bodies can absorb Vitamin D. This will help protect us from burning when we spend more time in the sun. A healthy diet will also help prevent burns. Our diet should be rich in healthy fats and foods with Vitamin C, D, E, Carotenoids, and Lycopene. These are sun safety foods.
But what do we do when we end up getting burned anyway? It happens.
Well, there are some natural ways to reduce skin damage and help soothe your irritated skin. You can buy a couple products that claim to soothe sunburned skin but the two front runners.. Burt’s Bees After Sun Soother and Kiss My Face Sun Soother both scored a moderate hazard on EWG’s safety database (5,3). Depending on how rarely you need to use products like these that may be acceptable.. or not. You can also make your own using a couple natural remedies and since the ingredients are so useful to have on hand anyway… why not?
* Take a cool shower, air dry a bit and then rub coconut oil on the burned areas to seal in moisture.
* Hydrate with lots of water and fresh juices and use cool compresses.
* Mix a couple drops of Lavender essential oil with plain yogurt and rub on the affected area.
* Apply cool cucumber slices.
* Apply cooled chamomile tea compresses.
* Spray skin with vinegar and tea tree oil.
* Mix together Aloe Vera, coconut oil, and Vitamin E oil and rub on skin.
* Mix Aloe Vera with about 10 drops of peppermint oil and use a spray bottle to apply to skin.
Aloe Vera is a super powerful healing ingredient, and coconut oil and vitamin E will help moisturize, soothe, and heal. Peppermint and Chamomile help soothe as well. It is best to use products on your skin that you could also eat if you wanted to, organic too.
What do you do to soothe sunburned skin?
