It’s not fair how a fun day in the sun can end with a painful battle against sunburn. Sure, you applied layers upon layer of sunscreen, but for some reason it didn’t quite do the trick and now you’re left with red, achy shoulders. No one enjoys suffering from the pain of sunburn, so those who find themselves burned often reach for any treatment to relieve the pain, whether it be temporary or long term. Even though there are many ways to soothe the pain associated with sunburn, not every way is the best way to get relief.
Here are some of the best ways to treat sunburn.
Cool compress
Placing a cool or cold towel on your sunburn will help soothe the pain and itching. This can relieve pain in areas like your shoulder and neck.
Take a cool bath or shower
Depending on where you are sunburned, placing a cool towel on your body just won’t do the trick. If you want to get relief for your whole body, hop into a cool bath or shower and let the water work its magic.
Aloe Vera
A majority of the time when people find that they have sunburn, they apply aloe vera gel or a lotion that contains aloe vera. This works great at soothing the pain and giving you relief. Many products contain what is known as lidocaine, which helps to relieve the pain of sunburn due to it being an anesthetic.
Ibuprofen
A cold compress and aloe vera gel may not always do the trick, so another option is an over-the-counter pain reliever. Ibuprofen can be used to temporarily relieve the pain associated with sunburn until the skin has started to heal.
Apply food
Applying foods like oatmeal and yogurt can help relieve the pain of sunburn. These two foods are known to have a soothing effect on skin, whether you’re trying to cure acne or put an end to the pain of sunburn.
Moisturize
When your skin is sunburned, it has been damaged. Lotion works to repair and hydrate the skin, helping it to heal. An added bonus to using lotion is that you can keep the bottle in the fridge, so when it is time to apply, the coldness supplies you with extra relief.
Avoid soap
Like with any type of injury, avoiding soap is suggested because it does not help your skin. When you have sunburn, the same thing goes, you don’t want to apply soap to those areas. Your skin is damaged, so applying to it can irritate the skin and dry it out even more. When the skin has healed enough, then you can start using soap once again.
Hydrate
Your skin needs to stay hydrated if you expect it to heal from the sunburn. It is important that you drink a certain amount of water every day regardless of you having sunburn, but it is especially important when trying to heal your skin from sun damage.
