Home Remedies for Sunburn – 4 Natural Solutions
As summer hits the nation, sunburn presents itself as an unwanted side effect of extensive sun exposure. What you may not have heard, however, is the fact that sunburn can actually be fought off by changing your diet to incorporate more ‘living’ fruit and vegetables that are rich in both enzymes and essential nutrients. In addition, a number of natural home remedies for sunburn also exist that can be utilized to help soothe and treat any case of sunburn that has already affected you. From a simple enriched bath to revitalizing foods, many options exist to help alleviate the pain associated with sunburn. Here are 4 home remedies for sunburn.
1. Home remedies for Sunburn – Apply Aloe Vera
The aloe vera plant is widely revered for its skin-enhancing and protecting qualities, and is therefore highly recommended by a number of practicioners for the treatment and alleviation of sunburn and related issues. Taking the sting and redness out of your sunburn, aloe vera naturally accomplishes this through its ability to constrict blood vessels. Amazingly, this plant is widely available throughout the world and can be purchased at your local nursery or market. You can also purchase high quality organic aloe vera juice online for a relatively inexpensive price. Aloe vera juice is also quite delicious when sold in beverage form, and can help to bolster your overall health.
2. Alleviate Sunburn with Tea
A lesser known way of fighting sunburn includes using chilled tea – black tea in particular, as it is known for its ability to help the body recover more quickly from sunburn. After chilling a cup of black tea, gently apply the liquid to the affected area. You may also use cooled chamomile tea, which is also useful for poison ivy and other skin conditions.
3. Super Hydrate
Water is not only instrumental in achieving peak health levels, but proves useful in alleviating sunburn as well. When the sun ‘burns’ your skin, it also dehydrates it. Be sure to drink plenty of water — not ‘fluids’ — in order to hydrate and feel better. Coconut water is also very effective as an alternative, which come with a number of benefits. As a rule of thumb, try drinking your body weight divided in half in ounces of water per day (for example a 200 lb man would drink 100 ounces). Another tip is to hydrate until your urine is mostly clear (which is not very applicable if you are taking a vitamin supplement beforehand however).
4. The Potato Technique
Among the great pain-relieving home remedies for sunburn, the time-tested potato technique involves cutting two washed potatoes into chunks and placing them in a blender. Afterwards, blend until the potatoes reach a liquid form. You can always add water if this is a challenge. Once completed, apply the new concoction to the burned areas and follow it up with a cool shower. You can even apply the mixture to a clean gauze and then directly apply it to the burn. Continuing for a few days, pain relief should be experienced in conjunction with overall improvement.
In addition to these home remedies for sunburn, you can also try natural sunburn treatment through certain foods like carrots, watermelon, and cucumbers.
Thanks for the article! I Often use the aloe vera option – it makes a great house plant and is very easy to propagate. Just split the roots once per year, and you'll soon be giving aloe plants away.
The most dramatic cure for sunburn I ever saw, was applying Coors beer over the burn. It was good as new in hours. I was told that only Coors works for this. I assume it has something to do with enzymes in the beer. I'm not sure if today's Coors is the same as yesterdays. If they've gone to pasteurization, then all bets are off, as the enzymes would be denatured. The sunburn happened to a fair-complected, red-headed friend who would normally have blistered and suffered for days. He was well overnight. 'Worth a try, eh?
Green Tea is very healing for the skin. It can speed healing of burns and heal uv damage. You could make your own green tea bath by putting about 20 tea bags in your bath tub and adding other herbs of your choice , or you could buy a pre packaged one somewhere like greenteabaths.com