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13 tips to save your sunburnt skin

13 tips to save your sunburnt skin

Have you just spent a day at the beach, you find yourself completely burned when you get home… And it hurts! Fortunately, there are a number of tips you can use to find relief. These 14 tips can help you save your sunburnt skin, trust us.

1. Take a cold shower

When your skin is on fire, the last thing you want to do is take a hot shower. Showering with hot water causes your skin to lose essential oils, which can make it even drier and more sensitive. By washing with cold water, you immediately cool your skin. Does this still feel too intense on your burned skin? Then choose to take a bath with water at room temperature.

2. Do not use soap

The reason your skin feels so tight when it's burned is because the moisture has been drained from your skin. This makes your skin dry. That is why it is important not to use soap on the burnt areas; soap has a drying effect on your skin.

3. Choose a moisturizing cream

The most important thing is that your skin absorbs moisture again so that it can recover. The best way to do that is to apply a moisturizer to damp skin. The cream can both combat inflammation and take care of broken skin.

4. Cool with aloe vera

Research indicates that aloe vera can accelerate the healing of first- and second-degree sunburned skin. It also has a cooling effect on the skin. Make sure to apply the aloe vera to damp skin. For the ultimate effect, it is best to apply the plant's gel a few times a day.

5. Try an ointment with hydrocortisone

If you're looking for instant itchiness relief, a 1% hydrocortisone ointment is your best friend. The ointment will reduce swelling and pain and keep you from scratching the itchy spots. Sounds good, right?

6. Take a bath with some bleach

If you have just worked on your tan, you are going to whiten yourself again. Although it sounds illogical, a little bleach can help against sunburned skin. You only need 60 milliliters of bleach in a full bath for this bath. This ensures that your bath contains a small amount of acid, which helps fight infection. So it not only helps to cool the burnt spots, but also ensures that they do not ignite. Win-win!

7. Apply an ointment compress

If your skin is badly burned, it can sometimes blister or peel. Do not sit or toddler on it. It is also important not to puncture the blisters. Leaving the blisters in place allows the skin underneath to heal properly. This also reduces the risk of inflammation. An ointment compress is filled with petroleum jelly which is normally used on sores and reduces burns and irritation. Definitely worth it, so!

8. Take a painkiller

If your burn is causing you a lot of discomfort and pain, consider taking a pain reliever, such as ibuprofen. This is an anti-inflammatory that you can get at the drugstore or supermarket. Preferably take this with a meal to prevent stomach irritations.

9. Invest in a nice sun hat

In addition to treating burnt skin, it is just as important to prevent it from getting worse. Many people think after seeing a red glow on the skin that there is nothing more that can be done about it and therefore embrace their burned skin to still get that beachy look (Today a tomato, tomorrow a chocolate). But nothing is less smart. It is best to get out of the sun as soon as possible and let your skin rest. With very burned skin, it is even better not to sit in the sun at all for the time being. Since most holidaymakers are not keen on this, the best (and perhaps even the most fun) option is to invest in a good sun hat. Choose one made of canvas to protect the skin against the sun.

10. Use an ice pack

This is a nice short term solution. An ice pack cools your skin immediately. This is because the nerves that indicate pain in your brain also measure temperature. Due to the colder temperature of the icepack, the pain also decreases.

11. Drink enough water

When you're sunburnt, you can become dehydrated because the moisture in your body is drawn to the surface of your skin, leaving the rest of your body dehydrated. You can also do this by sitting in the sun for a day without getting burned. So drink plenty of water, both while tanning and in the days after, to make sure you don't get sunstroke.

12. Avoid skin-irritating products

Do not apply products containing lidocaine and benzocaine to your burned skin. Some people do not respond well to these products, causing their skin to become inflamed and feel even more uncomfortable. Also avoid lotions with anti-aging ingredients

13. Make a cocktail of cooling products

Do you have one burnt spot because you forgot to apply it or you just couldn't reach it? A cold compress with a cooling ointment on it can help. Hold a washcloth with a mix of cold milk and ice water against the spot until the area no longer feels burnt.