5 Home Remedies To Treat Skin Sunburn

Sunburns sometimes happen, even to the most diligent of sunscreen wearers. Fortunately, there are a variety of different ways to nurse a burn at home, using ingredients you may already have in your kitchen or on your bathroom shelves. Sunlight is made up of many different types of radiation, including infrared radiation (what makes sunlight feel hot), visible light (this allows us to see sunlight), and ultraviolet radiation. It’s this last form of radiation that causes a sunburn. It can disrupt important molecules and wreak havoc on your body’s immune system; when UV radiation hits your skin, pigments called melanin absorb it to shield your DNA from harm.

Sometimes the sun gets the best of us, but if you’re dealing with a painful, red sunburn and want to get some sweet relief, there are 5 great home remedies for sunburn relief to pick from and most of them you probably already have in your home.

* Aloe Vera

Perhaps one of the most common ways to treat a sunburn, aloe vera gel can do more than provide the skin with cooling relief. The gel also has anti-inflammatory properties that can help soothe sunburned skin, according to Dr. Debra Jaliman, a board-certified dermatologist, assistant professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and author of Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist. Keep a bottle of aloe vera in your beach bag this summer or, even better: use the gel from the actual plant—and apply when needed.

* Hyaluronic Acid

If you experience a sunburn on your face to help the skin heal faster. As a hydrating substance produced naturally by the body, hyaluronic acid can help moisturize and plump sun-parched skin without causing further irritation.

* White Vinegar

To help relieve some of the pain and inflammation from the burn and prevent potential infection, applying white vinegar to the affected areas. Because white vinegar is composed of acetic acid, it can help relieve the pain and inflammation, and act as an antiseptic.

* Baking Soda

Another important thing to keep in mind when treating a sunburn at home is your skin’s natural pH level. To help balance the pH of burned skin, Dr. Jaliman suggests making a cold compress composed of baking soda and water and applying to sunburned skin for 15 minutes.

* Green Tea

In addition to baking soda compresses, Dr. Jaliman also suggests giving green tea compresses a try, as they contain polyphenols, “which are anti-inflammatory.” To do so, simply steep green tea leaves and soak a clean washcloth in the steeped tea. Allow the compress to cool in the fridge before applying to sunburned skin for 15 minutes.