Sunburn Tips and Tricks

My Sunburn Tips and Tricks

It's been almost two weeks since I got my severe second degree sunburn (and a bout of sun poisoning) and I am almost all healed up. I just have some peeling on my arms and my shoulders are extremely dry/cracked. I only took photos of the redness on the first and second day because it was way too gross to take photos of my blisters and burnt skin peeling. And by peeling, I meant that my shoulders had brown skin peeling off because the second layer of skin was burnt also (at least that's what I think happened)

So here's a photo of the first and second days and then I will get into how I treated it.

First day on the left; Second day on the right

First day on the left; Second day on the right

So as you can see, my burn was extremely bad to already be that red on the first day. The first week after the burn I pretty much stayed holed up in my apartment sleeping, watching Netflix, and standing in cold showers. I didn't blog/vlog at all and didn't really interact with anyone. I did have to take my dad to the airport on Tuesday (3 days after I got burned) and that sucked. I put on a baggy sweatshirt so the sun wouldn't get to my red skin, but the rubbing from the sweatshirt was almost unbearable. 

For the first 2 or 3 days I used Aloe Vera that I had gotten from the Family Dollar Store that's down the road from my apartment. I really didn't like it because it was so difficult to put on my back by myself and the fact that it would get everywhere. It did help start the healing process for my sunburn though.

I also noticed that I didn't have much of an appetite and I had a fever. So I started drinking A LOT of water. And I do mean, a lot! My skin was so dehydrated and the water I was putting into my body helped a ton.

I then talked to my sister about it because I noticed I had blisters and they were opening by themselves and she told me to get a spray bottle and use the lavender essential oil diluted into water. This was a lifesaver for me. I was able to get it on my back easily and it worked so well. Lavender essential oil is a really good oil to use for burns and skin irritations. It has other uses which you can find here. I also put a couple of drops of my Peppermint essential oil because it is also said to help with bacteria and healing.

On the third/fourth day, I began moisturizing with my Curél Fragrance Free body lotion. I have sensitive skin so I can't have fragrances in my lotions. Also, I don't think it would be good to have a scented lotion when moisturizing a sunburn.

To re-cap, here's what you need to do if you find yourself with a sunburn.

1. Take cold showers (don't use body wash/soap for the first couple of days, this will irritate your sunburn further)
2. Apply Aloe Vera. Use the plant if you have it. If not, go to the store and get one that says 100% Aloe Vera.
3. If you have essential oils, put 3-4 drops of lavender oil into a spray bottle (with water) and spray on your sunburn every 15-30 minutes. As your sunburn heals, you can spray your body 3-5 times a day. It's really up to you. :)
4. Drink lots of water. This will help keep you body hydrated and help your skin heal faster. 
5. Don't forget to moisturize! This is a key part in the healing process.
6. And last, but not least, never forget your sunscreen again.

Hope y'all enjoyed these tips. Let me know in the comments below what your worst sunburn was and if you have any other tips/tricks.

Thanks for reading.

xoxo

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