It happens!
We can be so careful — protecting our skin and eating foods that build our resistance — but sometimes our fun in the sun leads to overexposure and we end up with a painful sunburn.
Yes prevention is the most effective cure for sunburn — but when it inevitably happens, use any number of these safe and effective homemade remedies to soothe and heal the burn:
Aloe Vera. When it comes to sunburns, most people reach for the Aloe Vera. It’s the most common natural remedy for burned skin and not to mention…a super easy to maintain house plant.
Lavender essential oil. This is my favorite remedy for burns. Lavender essential oils not only relieves sunburn, but they may also prevent peeling. Find high quality-grade lavender essential oils by clicking here…
Yogurt. Spread yogurt on your burned skin to help cool and heal. Your best bet is to use full-fat, plain, unsweetened yogurt. Let the yogurt stay on the skin until it warms then rinse off.
Vinegar. Load apple cider vinegar into a spray bottle, store in the fridge, then spray it on your burn. Is there anything vinegar can’t do 
Tea. Make a pot of strong tea and then use a piece of cloth soaked in the tea by applying it to the sunburn area. You could also make a tea bath and soak in the tub. It’s actually the tannins in tea that help to soothe the burn and heal the skin.
Potato peels. An age old remedy for sunburns mentioned in tons of old writings is potato peels. They provide much needed moisture and they also have anti-bacterial properties that help in healing…who knew?
Cucumber. Try applying thin slices of cold cucumbers directly, or you could puree a peeled cucumber and rub it on to the affected skin.
Vitamin E. Apply vitamin E oil and plenty of moisturizer for several days after the initial sunburn. This is where I find vitamin E oil…
Burn Relief Spray. Combine 2 ounces aloe vera gel, 2 ounces cold water, ½ teaspoon vitamin E oil, 15 drops of each tea tree oil and lavender essential oils. Load into a small spray bottle and shake well prior to application. This spray can be applied to the entire burned area as often as needed. Store in the refrigerator for approximately 5-7 days.
What is your tried and true remedy for sunburn relief?
For every type of burn you should first cool down the area placing the burnt area under cold water and then apply any treatment. My preferred is fresh eggwhite. The collagen will heal the damaged skin.
Yes! Specifically, don’t apply any kind of oil until the area is cool, as the oil will trap the heat in and make the burn worse.
Thanks for this advice, Joao and Allison!
I have been having luck with Tea Tree Oil soap for sun burns.
I’ve been treating my recent burn with a mixture of coconut oil, fresh aloe, and apple cider vinegar. Seems to be working quite well and is made from things I had on hand.
wow, what a great post!! Thanks!
I’m going camping/canoeing this weekend, of course there’s the possibility of getting burned… so I was glad to see this article in my email inbox.
Thanks for the tips. I’m drinking lots of green tea this week to work at prevention!
Astaxanthin, 2 to 10 mg before exposer is the best preventative I’ve ever tried. Also it will help repair sun damaged skin. Thanks for all the comments I love learning from others’ experiences.
You read my mind! Just last night I said I needed to find something better to use for sunburns as I was slathering yucky commercial aloe vera gel on our shoulders after a fun day outside.Thank you!
My family always used cooked oatmeal, after it has cooled of course. It is also great for poison oak and ivy.
I remember my mother using apple cider vinegar for sunburns.
Great post – the burn relief spray sounds awesome!
I love using lavender oil for any type of burn. Make sure it’s medical grade. Lavender (Lavandula Angustifolia). Pricier, but more effective for healing.
I always use Aloe Vera, but I like having options…and I had no idea about the yogurt. Awesome!
I use Milk of Magnesia on my worst sunburns. As I keep the bottle in a cool dark cupboard it is doubly soothing to my skin after overexposure.
I like the aloe and vinegar. I just wrote a post last night that I was saying that these also work for bug bits. Wonderful post. I will be sharing your blog post on my blog today. I think that they work well together.
Uh-Maz-ing!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for being devoted to providing innovative and usable information…gracious living at its best…frugal AND fab!
Coconut oil or Manuka honey! Both are great for healing your skin!
Cool compresses of equal parts milk and water on affected areas. Drink plenty of fluids. Sunburns and other burns cause dehydration. Aspirin to relieve inflammation.
You left out Extra Virgin Olive Oil, (filtered won’t do.)
I use my #70 or #100 sunscreen, but I still get burnt! So I’ve found that the best thing is vinegar for me. I also try to put some kind of lotion (right now I have a homemade coconut oil lotion) on it. But I spray it lots of times with vinegar before I put the lotion on.
When I was a teenager way back when, my mom knit me a bikini. It was an inch and a half smaller than the one I usually wore and consequently an all day outing at Doheny ended with a very nasty sunburn but only where the inch and a half skin was exposed. I couldn’t where a bra (luckily it was summertime and no school) My mom slathered me with a product called Kip it had eucalyptus oil in it and it worked like a charm. I smelled like the eucalyptus trees outside but who cares as long as I got relief! I have found that vinegar kept in a spray bottle the fridge also works wonders.
I find that 100% unrefined shea butter moisturizes deeply and keeps you from peeling! Also, it is a good sunscreen if you need light protection – naturally SPF 10.
Just wanted to let you know that I featured this post in my “Weekend Pics – 6/8/12″ post. Very good article offering excellent advice! Thank you!
rebeccashearthandhome-proverbs31heart.blogspot.com/2012/06/weekend-picks-6812.html
The best sunburn remedy I ever tried was something my mom found in a pharmacy in Tokyo, when I was suffering from the worst sunburn of my life after climbing Mt. Fuji. We tried everything and this was the only thing that worked. It was aloe with something camphory-smelling in it, but the package was labeled in Japanese, which none of use could read. I sure wish I knew exactly what the secret ingredient was.
My mom always used washcloths soaked in vinegar for all my bad sunburns and it worked…I do know that. I was always amazed at how quickly the vinegar smell dissipated but being a teen and pre-teen, still felt I went out smelling like a big pickle…LOL
Mary
güneş yanığına ilk olarak soğuk su sonra nemlendirici sürülür.. acı biraz hafifler
I always use my homemade lavender oil, but never knew that’s why it worked.
I have a large lavender bush in my front garden and I make batches of infused oil with EVOO and cut dried lavender. I also use my homemade toner as a spray; it contains mint and parsley infusion, witchhazel, cider vinegar, and vegetable glycerin. I keep it in the fridge in the summer and feels so good when I’m hot and sticky from outside!
I keep aloe vera juice in my fridge, in a spray bottle. whenever its hot and we have been outside, we spray it on when we come home. it feels great, and it prevents peeling. It’s also easy, all I have to do is pour my pure aloe juice in an old spray bottle. We also use it to spray scratches and scrapes that arent bad enough to need a bandaid, and it seems to make them heal faster.
I have found the best to put on a bad sunburn is straight tea. Brew 4-6 teabags then cool before applying with cotton balls. The tannic acid is the magic ingredient…Apply several times before bedtime and when you wake up the discomfort will be gone.
Good to know how to deal with the aheal a sunburn.. My skin is delicate and gets sun burned quickly….and you can more know about this solutions so plz visit to me.
Egg Whites! While vacationing in Costa Rica my daughter burned badly despite the spf 8- sunscreen. When a Costrican lady saw her( and gasp,) she immediately came back with beaten egg white. She spread it on my daughters shoulders and we left it on about 1/2 hour. We repeated it the next morning. My daughter had no pain after this treatment and never blistered. It was truly amazing.
Seriously? No one mentions ginger root? Well Iv used ginger root for sunburns and it works great . It really reduces the redness and pain… take it from a red head I know sunburns lol.