I’m usually known as that person who’s paranoid about sun exposure. I never leave the house without using a high SPF moisturizer on my face and neck and every Sunday that’s spent poolside during summer involves the use of SPF 30 and higher. That’s why I don’t understand what tempted me to skip my usual SPF-slathering ritual last weekend, as I ended up with a horrible sunburn on half of my body. Front half, to be precise, as I was laying on my back. Yes, it does look ridiculous.
It might have been the over-excitement of the 4th of July holiday and a 3-day weekend, but I simply forgot to use sunscreen while spending an entire day in the pool. The sun wasn’t extremely bright, it was windy and I was actually cold at times (that sort of deceiving sun exposure is the worst!). Thankfully, my face was covered with an SPF50 moisturizer so it’s still as pale as a ghost, and more importantly, sunburn-free.
The sunburn left me with a slight temperature, I was hot and cold at the same time and had horrible chills and shivers (sunburn can often cause flu-like symptoms). I made sure to drink lots of water, I think I must have drank about 3 liters that night, took some Advil to relieve the pain and inflammation-that alone made me feel a lot better. As far as my skin was concerned, I was in a lot pain. Although I don’t get sunburn often, my favorite remedy is fresh aloe vera leaf sap. Applied directly to skin it immediately soothes it and brings a lot of relief. There are also a few products that I found really helpful.
Coconut oil– you guys know how much I love it, not just for cooking, but also for both skin and haircare. As soon I applied the coconut oil into my skin, it felt calm and moisturized. It’s very light, comforting and smells amazing! I usually also like Hawaiian Tropic products, most of the time they’re great and gentle on the skin. The Silk Hydration After Sun lotion is infused with mango, Shea butters and aloe leaf juice and has a very pleasant coconut & papaya fragrance. The formula is very light and it really feels like silk when it’s applied to the skin. The Cool Aloe Vera Gel, also by Hawaiian Tropic is enriched with Vitamins A & E and has helped me with the most annoying aspect of sunburn: dry, itchy skin. Mario Badescu’s Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater also helped me relieve the discomfort. It contains no alcohol and is packed with herbal and rose extracts, few spritz of this magic potion and my skin immediately felt better. I’m on my second bottle of this spray and love it just as much as I did when I first started using it, if not more.
To relieve the symptoms of sunburn try to stay away from thick creams and lotions and opt for lighter formulas, preferably containing ingredients such as Vitamin E and Aloe Vera. Of course, just like with anything else, the best remedy for sunburn is to prevent in the first place, so learn from my mistakes and apply your sunscreen! Even on those cloudy and windy days! ;) .