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Sunburns are the worst, aren’t they? It’s such a dreadful wait to be back in your old skin again after all heck broke loose and had a party on your skin!
You might have a few questions about sunburns and how to treat them, so I have answered some basic sunburn questions below.
13 Sunburn Questions:
- What is the best way to avoid sunburns?
- How do you treat a sunburn?
- Are there any natural remedies for sunburns?
- How do you get rid of a sunburn?
- Is it good to put vinegar on a sun burn?
- Is it good to put aloe vera on a sun burn?
- Is it good to put vitamin e on a sun burn?
- Can you get a sunburn when it is cloudy out?
- Can you get a sunburn through glass?
- What is the best way to heal a sunburn?
- How long does it take for a sunburn to heal?
- How do I shower with a sun burn?
- My skin is peeling, what should I do?
What is the best way to avoid sunburns?
- To avoid a condition means avoiding the cause, in the case of trying to avoid a sunburn, you should avoid sun exposure or control your exposure better. Some sun exposure is good for you, though, in helping your body to make vitamin D. Avoiding the sun altogether is probably unrealistic, so your best bet is to protect yourself in the sun with sunscreen.
[Back to Top] How do you treat a sunburn?
- If you have a sunburn with blisters, you should seek medical attention; however, sunburns without blisters are easily treatable at home with aloe vera, lotion, cool baths, cool compresses, keeping yourself hydrated, and of course abstaining from the sun until your sunburn is healed up!
[Back to Top] Are there any natural remedies for sunburns?
- Yes! Aloe vera is a natural remedy and one of the very best things you can put on a sunburn! Coconut oil, vinegar, topical vitamin E and even milk have been reported to help with sunburns. Other than that, cool baths and cool compresses seem to soothe pretty well. A lot of the remedies for sun burns, are more or less ways to cope with it until it heals naturally. Vitamin E and Aloe Vera definitely helps in the healing process.
[Back to Top] How do you get rid of a sunburn?
- Although you won’t be able to get rid of it right away, the sooner you begin treating a sunburn, the better. Immediately soak in a cool bath to ease the heat, apply lotion and/or aloe vera, and keep yourself very hydrated.
[Back to Top] Is it good to put vinegar on a sun burn?
- Personally, I’ve never given it a try but some people do say it helps them when they add it to their cool bath, or dilute it 50/50 with water in a spray bottle and mist it on. You will smell like a pickle, but it might feel good!
[Back to Top] Is it good to put aloe vera on a sun burn?
- Yes! Aloe vera is one of the very best things to put on a sunburn, it’s natural, cheap, and you might even have some growing in your yard somewhere! Aloe vera is a cooling, antibacterial, healing gel derived from the plant, and though you can buy it in a bottle at the store, it’s always best fresh from the plant if you have access.
[Back to Top] Is it good to put vitamin e on a sun burn?
- Yes, breaking open a capsule of vitamin E and rubbing it on your sunburn can help to lessen the amount of sun damage. It’s best to rub it on as soon as you noticed the burn, but even rubbing it on a bit later can help. Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant which helps fight free radicals. Free radicals are present when sun damage happens to skin.
[Back to Top] Can you get a sunburn when it is cloudy out?
- Yes! It may seem strange but quite a few UV rays still make it to the ground even with those clouds seemingly blocking them. There was a study done on a phenomenon called the “broken cloud effect” which measure even more intense ground level UV rays when it was partly cloudy out, as opposed to full sun.
[Back to Top] Can you get a sunburn through glass?
- Generally, no. Windows block out UVB rays which are the ones that redden your skin, but the more harmful UVA rays can penetrate windows easily still causing deeper skin damage. A good example of this is “drivers arm;” the left arm of many truck drivers tends to have more freckles and/or a darker color due to sun exposure from the driver side window.
[Back to Top] What is the best way to heal a sunburn?
- The best way to heal a sunburn is to begin treating it right away to try to lessen the severity of it, and you can start by taking a cool bath if you are at home, or rubbing on some aloe vera, vitamin E, or lotion. A sunburn has to go through its healing process which you may not be able to speed up, but by treating it the right way, it won’t be as horrible.
[Back to Top] How long does it take for a sunburn to heal?
- It depends on the severity, a first degree sunburn will usually stop hurting after about 48 hours, and will peel within a week. Second degree sunburns can take two weeks or longer to heal, since they involve blisters. Third degree sunburns will take quite a long time to heal and your doctor will probably be able to give you a good estimate based on examining you.
[Back to Top] How do I shower with a sun burn?
- You can take a cool shower, but do not scrub your sunburn or use soap or anything on it other than something like aloe vera. If the pressure of the shower is too intense to handle on your painful sunburn, your other option is bathing in a cool bath, instead.
[Back to Top] My skin is peeling, what should I do?
- Peeling is a part of the natural healing process of a sunburn, and if the pain from the sunburn is completely gone, you can use a light exfoliation to help the peeling along. Otherwise, keep your sunburn moisturized to help keep the itchiness down a bit.
[Back to Top]
As always, prevention is key. Make sure you are protecting your skin with appropriate sunscreen when outside, even if it is cloudy outside. There’s nothing worse than a surprise sunburn!
