I’ve gotten sunburn quite a few times in my lifetime. In my opinion, burns from a tanning bed hurt much worse than from the sun. Here are some tried and true sunburn remedies that I’ve found to be very helpful, which can be used on any type of sunburn – whether it’s from the tanning bed or the sun.
First of all, I want to remind everybody that once you’re burnt from a tanning bed, you won’t be able to tan until the sunburn has healed. With that being said, take your tanning one step at a time and don’t rush into it. Start off tanning for a few minutes, and add a minute or two each day until your skin has built a base tan.
This is one of the most popular remedies for sunburn out there. You can either buy a lotion or gel with aloe, or use the actual plant. I find it’s easier just to buy a lotion. Solarcaine is a great gel to use for sunburn, although it will make you smell like a menthol cough drop. Solarcaine Cool Aloe is a great product to use as well, since it makes your skin feel cool as soon as you apply it.
Ice & Cool Showers
Applying ice to sunburn will stop the burning process in your skin, and provide you with temporary relief. Also, you can take a cool shower or bath to soothe your skin. If you don’t want to freeze your butt off in a cool shower, try lying down with cool washcloths on the burnt skin. Once you feel the cool cloths getting warm, change them and repeat. Do this for however long you want. If you do choose to take a shower, be sure to pat your skin dry and don’t let soap hit your burnt skin, especially shampoo. Soaps will irritate your skin even more.
Cucumber Slices
Cucumbers are cool and soothing, that’s why a lot of women put them on their eyes to reduce puffiness. They have the same effect on sunburn too. If you don’t want to lie down with a bunch of cucumber slices on your skin, you can also try pureeing the cucumber into a paste. Add ice to make sure the cucumbers stay cool. Apply the paste on your skin, let sit for about a half hour, and then rinse it off in the shower.
Cold Tea
This remedy works with brewed tea, which has been chilled. I don’t do this with iced tea. I like to use green tea, because it doesn’t really stain anything, but you can probably use any tea that you want. Once the tea has been chilled, pour it into a spray bottle, and spray the tea onto the burnt areas of your skin. You can also soak a washcloth in the tea, and put the cloths on your skin.
Vinegar
You may think that vinegar is a strange remedy, but it really does provide relief. You can use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar for this. Pour about 2 cups of vinegar into a bath tub full of lukewarm water. Do not take a hot bath! Sit in the water for about 20-30 minutes. Another option is to make a solution of half vinegar half water in a spray bottle, then spray your skin with the solution. Let it dry on your skin. Although you will smell like vinegar for a while, it’s definitely worth it. I’d rather smell like vinegar than to suffer with the burning and itching of my sunburn.
Desitin Diaper Cream
Desitin is meant to give diaper-wearing children relief of diaper rash. It will also work at taking the pain out of your sunburn. Desitin contains 40% zinc oxide, which is great for your skin. I used the Original kind, not the Creamy kind. The Original seems to be thicker and stay on the skin a little better. I also see that Desitin makes a “clear” kind, which may also be helpful without all that thick, white mess. Once you apply the cream to your sunburn, wear an old t-shirt to prevent the cream from getting all over the place. It is messy, but it does work. I’m assuming that the generic brands of Desitin may also work, and maybe even Balmex or other diaper rash ointments too.
I do not recommend using Vaseline, oil, or anything containing petroleum jelly. For me, instead of taking the burn out, it actually held the burn in and made it hurt worse. Same goes for any type of greasy cream or lotion. Why do you think grease fires are so bad? Fire is already hot, and if you add grease to that fire and it makes it even worse. That’s what your sunburn will feel like if you add greasy or oily stuff to it. Sunburn will heal faster if it’s just exposed to the air.
With any sunburn, you will most likely get peeling. Don’t pick the skin; just let it fall off by itself. This is the skin’s way of healing from the burn. While you have sunburn, remember to drink a lot of water to prevent dehydration, and get plenty of rest. Avoid sun exposure until your burn is healed. Next time you’re exposed to the UV rays of the sun, make sure you use a high SPF sunscreen. In a tanning bed, although you shouldn’t use a sunscreen, an SPF 4 sunscreen may help a little until your skin develops a base tan.
Depending on the type of sunburn you have, you may need to see a doctor. If you have bright red skin with blisters accompanied by a fever, chills and nausea, you might have severe sunburn and maybe even sun poisoning. In this case, see your doctor immediately for further treatment. If your sunburn isn’t that extreme, any of the above remedies can help you find relief fast.
