5 Ways to Quickly Treat Sunburn

Hi everybody!

Oh dear, dear me...Where I live, it is that time of the year when summery dresses are out, the boats are go and the sun creeps up to a blazing 45 degrees Celsius by 9 in the morning, and only increases in it's ferocity until there is no better thing to do than to poddle off to the closest beach or a swimming pool.

Just read the title......."MANY DEATHS"...okay? This was
quite a few years ago though haha.

Well, I can tell you that last Tuesday in Sydney, we reached 43 degrees Celsius (that is 109 degrees farenheit), and so this is exactly what I did. These past few days, I've been associating with some serious R&R at my Dad's beach house up the coast and on this blaze of a day, I went to the beach and spent a good ten or so hours there swimming in the crystal clear, yet still slightly chilly and delightful ocean, eating a good ice-cream, and of course, soaking up the bright, hot sun.

This is Bondi Beach several years ago. Wowlycaboo

Sounds like the perfect day? Not quite. You see, it's days like these that one just happens to forget to wear a certain cream that later that day, one would regret not slapping it on after viewing the monstrous bright red of a sun burn on their arms and face - not to mention an increase in brown nose freckles too... Here are some terrible pictures of me feeling sorry for myself.

Weird lomocam made it look weirder than it actually is 

Damn

Today, after several painful days of awkward firetruck red burn marks, skin peeling and a regretfully painful story to tell my father when he saw, I've decided to put together a post on 5 Ways to Quickly Treat Sunburn for all those who, like me, have again decided not to "waste" several minutes of our lives that could save us from that burning feeling, and potentially skin cancers too. So...without further ado:

1. Ice on skin: Pretty basic and quite easy - not a scientific experiment involving slugs, snails and puppy dog's tails, but it does ease the pain to a bearable standard and it does get rid of some of the red and the heat as well. Simple, easy and effective.

2. Aloe Vera: Yes, we've all heard it before but I may as well say it again. Aloe Vera prevents the peeling of the skin after the sunburn as well as cooling the burn at the same time. Unless you have your own plant (which I do recommend as the plants are easily nurtured and are quite useful when it comes to certain times like these), buying it can get quite pricey considering that you're basically buying goo from a plant, and be wary that sometimes they do put other things like water and alcohol to dilute the goo.

3. Black Tea...: What? Tea? Really Luceindia? Yes, tea does work wonders. A hell of a lot cheaper than Aloe, and a tad (how to put it.......) classier and nicer than spreading plant goop all over your body. Science fact here; I believe it's the antioxidants in the tea leaves that pretty much extracts the heat and the redness of the burn, making it unjust to blister. Just make a casual cuppa (I used two tea bags for this) just without the milk. Pop a few ice-cubes in there to cool it down to a tepid temperature and with a cloth or a paper bowl, just dip it into the tea and hold it on the burnt area from anywhere between thirty minutes and an hour. (TIP: peppermint and spearmint are more effective than your average English Breakfast that I used, but if you don't have any of the minty ones, any flavour will do)

4. Baking Soda: I also swear by this one - I've used to quite a few times and it gets rid of the redness. Add a splash of baking soda into a cup of cool water and like the tea, dip a paper cloth or towel into it and dab it onto the affected area. It's a good idea to let it dry naturally afterwards as well.

5. Luke-warm Shower: Seems odd? I know at this time you realllllly just want a cold shower to take the pain away, but the warmth of the water actually aids to take out the heat on your skin. I also heard somewhere that the warm water will increase the circulation of your blood and will make the healing process go by quicker. I have yet to try this, but will let you know how it goes through my twitter (@luceindia) or something.

Hope these five tips helped you a bit and if you, like me, are sitting here aching with the burn and soaking your face in a bowl of cold tea for half an hour and then baking soda for the other half, know you are totally not alone and that even the most cautious person gets sunburnt! (Note to self: next time, wear sunscreen)

Xx