7 Home Remedies to Relieve a Sunburn
People who like to say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure are smug jerks, especially when it comes to sunburns. While they were eating spoonfuls of tomato paste, canned flamingo, and fish oil, nibbling on grape seeds, using portable vitamin D test kits, and smearing green tea all over their bodies, sure, they didn’t get burned, but were they really living? Because you sure were. You were out there in the sun, just basking in it, arms outstretched to accept its vibrant rays like it was a commercial for a venereal disease medication. You may have gotten a little baked, a little too much color, but it was well worth it… right?
Well, now you’ve gotta deal with this sunburn business. It’s red, it hurts, it’s veritably unhealthy, and you’re about to start peeling. What do you do? How can you soothe the flaming epidermis? How can you halt, or perhaps even reverse the damage before it gets out of hand?
Recent research has apparently found the culprit responsible for a sunburn’s pain: an inflammatory molecule called CXCL5. CXCL5 is a chemokine, a protein that recruits inflammatory immune cells to damaged tissue. In sunburned tissue, researchers found that CXCL5 was present in large quantities. Later, they found that as sunburned rats healed, an antibody began specifically targeting and reducing CXCL5 levels. This reduced pain. As of now, there exists no known home remedy (or pharmaceutical remedy) for triggering CXCL5 antibodies – if that’s even something we want to mess around with, since pain exists for a reason – but there are many home remedies for dealing with the pain.
Yes, home remedies for sunburns are plentiful, but few have anything to back them up but hearsay and anecdote. Anecdote can be incredibly useful (I’ve included some of the more interesting ones below), but let’s also take a look to see which remedies, if any, have supporting evidence.
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera is the classic remedy. You get a bad sunburn and almost anyone’s initial response is “Apply some aloe.” Is this advice warranted? Well, the actual aloe vera plant has over two millennia of history as a medicine across many traditional cultures spanning multiple regions, including China, India, Latin America, Japan, Russia, and Africa. Modern research has confirmed its effects on blood lipids, glucose tolerance, wound healing (has been shown to slow and speed up healing rates in different studies), and first- and second-degree burn recovery, but, strangely enough, not on sunburn. It neither prevents nor heals sunburns. That said, it does appear to soothe the pain associated with sunburns, so go ahead and apply away.
Kukui Nut Oil
The kukui tree was introduced to the Hawaiian islands roughly 1,500 years ago by early Polynesian explorers. It was henceforth and hitherto employed by the islands’ inhabitants in both medical and nonmedical arenas, in particular the oil from the kukui nut. Kukui nut oil was used as fuel, as a laxative, as a topical joint pain and arthritis reliever, and, most famously, as a reliever of skin conditions – including sunburn. The oil’s efficacy has never been “proven,” but I think 1,500 years of steady use (PDF) by a sunbaked population with extensive sunburn experience elevates kukui nut oil bey0nd mere anecdote.
Topical Vitamin E
Another popular remedy is to break open capsules of vitamin E and rub it into the affected area of the skin. Does it work? Perhaps so. One study on hairless mice exposed to UVB found that applying a common vitamin E supplement (tocopherol acetate) to the skin immediately after exposure lessened the sun damage. Even applying the vitamin E eight hours after exposure helped, but the effect was reduced the longer they waited.
Topical Black Tea
Last week, I mentioned how the polyphenols in tea leaves can improve your skin’s resistance to UV radiation when they’re ingested, but it appears that topical tea application can soothe and perhaps speed up the healing of sunburns. For a detailed tutorial on how to do it, check out this great article on Instructables (complete with detailed pictures). I’ve also heard good things about sharing a cool bath with several tea bags, and I’ve got a friend who saves all her used tea bags for topical application during the summer months. She’ll soak them for ten seconds in cool water, and then just slap them on to the burn.
Milk
You don’t have to be a lacto-paleo to embrace the topical benefits of dairy, according to one dermatologist. She recommends applying cool (“not cold”) milk to your sunburns, using gauze or clean cloth, and claims that “the milk will create a protein film that helps ease the discomfort.” I would imagine grass-fed, raw milk from Jersey cows with A2 casein would work best (I never saw a sunburnt Masai!), but it probably isn’t required.
Vinegar
One part vinegar to one part water, mixed together in a spray bottle and applied directly to the sunburn is supposed to be an effective sunburn relief treatment. A few glugs added to a cool bath is another common one. Unfortunately, I could find no supporting research for this one, but it appeared on enough “sunburn home remedy” lists that I figured there may be something to it. Anyone try it out themselves?
Coconut Oil
Coconut oil can seemingly do it all. Numerous readers use it as sunblock, and just as many use it to soothe already established burns. I recall Bear Grylls smearing smashed coconut all over his face and arms to prevent and soothe sunburn during an episode of Man v. Wild, so perhaps there’s something to it.
I wish there were more definitive answers for this one, but I fear that smug “an ounce of prevention” jerk may be right this time.
What are your tried and true home remedies for a bad sunburn? I’m consistently impressed with the advice and insights you guys dole out in the comment section and in emails, so let’s hear what you’ve got. What works? What doesn’t? Let me know, and thanks for reading!
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
I have always used Aloe Vera!!! Put it on to sooth the pain and it seems like the next morning the sunburn is already reduced in redness and pain!! I swear by it!
Now I spend more time getting my sun rays in, eating right and spending time in the shade to prevent said sunburn!! Pasty white girl here….sunburns come easy and they suck!!
I did a controlled test with Aloe vs cocoa butter cream vs nothing in an equally burned spot on my skin. I reapplied the aloe fresh off the plant and the cream twice a day. There was no difference in pain, or healing time with any of the three areas.
I don’t think there is anything that will do the trick and I think Hawaiians probably have a little more built-in protection than my Irish French German ancestry in any case.
Ive heard that aloe juice straight from the plant can be a little too caustic for our skin. Have you had any problems with it vs processed aloe extract?
caustic? you know that you can eat aloe right?
I always use vinegar. I grew up in Florida and with the nickname “fish-belly” I got burned a lot when I was younger. I actually pour it directly onto the skin and let it dry. I’ve found that it soothes the burn and it tends not to blister.
When I was a kid the first thing my mom did when I burned (which was fairly frequent) was wash it with vinegar and, once that dried apply aloe vera. Seemed to work well enough. I don’t burn as much as I used to and now they tend to be so minor that I just bear with it.
What about healing from within? The foods we eat play a big part in pain management and inflammation. Granted, if your skin is white and you lay out in the sun for hours (which I just did at Lake Powell) you’re going to burn, at least somewhat, no matter what you eat, but the misery of it can be mitigated by diet. I got pretty red last week, even peeled, but it never hurt much at all.
Agreed!!!
I tanned for years in a tanning bed (I know – big no no) on a daily basis, 20 minutes a day. I used pure coconut oil instead of that chemical junk they sell you. The result was beautiful skin. I am 39 and noone ever guesses my age. Typically people think I’m in my early thirties and often my twenties. Also, my natural skin is very fair and it takes a while to get my skin worked up to a tan.
Do you put the oil on before or after tanning/going out in the sun?
I can attest to vinegar working! Many moons ago, it was a 105 F and I decided to go to the beach and apply sunscreen that wasn’t waterproof. I was young and stupid. I received a nice second degree burn from Mother Nature for my ignorance. I couldn’t sleep at all – the pain was pretty intense. My aunt told me about the vinegar and it helped me get through the hurdle of pain. I was shocked. My nose suffered more in the long run.
I’ve used the vinegar method for years. I don’t bother to dilute it, though, unless I’m low in vinegar. The relief is amazing, as long as you don’t mind smelling like a chip truck. ^_~
Aloe vera fresh from the plant is a close second, but I find it tends to go sticky and get tight and dry feeling after a while, which irritates the already sore skin. A fresh application (or a damp washcloth) easily fixes that, but it’s something to consider.
I’ve used a cream called ‘Calendula Plus’ from The Vitamin Shoppe for my sunburns. It stops the pain right away, at least on burns that are not too severe. I am also one of those “an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure” type person, but I rarely use sunscreen. I’ll wear a hat, or drap a scraf around my neck so my chest doesn’t burn. I am in my upper 30s and have been told I have beautiful skin. Makes me feel good!
This post came at the right time for me..I just got sunburnt this past Sunday…fooled by the cloudy skies and rain. I was so mad because I had been building up a light tan for the past month or so, so I thought I could handle some more time out in the sun a few hours past noon, but when I got home I was red! I was only outside for about an hour or so, but that was enough to make me look like a lobster.
I took a lukewarm/cool shower and pat-dried my skin to keep it hydrated when I got home, then applied aloe vera-based lotion on the burnt areas. I also drank about 5 cups of white tea and went mountain biking before the shower…don’t know if it will help, but it made me feel better that I had some antioxidants in me and I had sweated a little…just a mental thing to make me feel like this would counter the sun damage.
I took 2 ibprophen last night to help reduce the inflammation because I was still a little sore yesterday.
Today the redness is much less, and I actually look kind of tan. This is the fastest I have lost my red color after a burn…don’t know if it is because of living primally, but I like to think so.
I’m going to start eating more tomato sauce though after reading your earlier post. I like cooked tomatoes way better than raw ones
I haven’t had an actual sunburn in years, but my skin seems to feel the ill-effects of sun exposure without actually looking red or burned. It’s never occurred to me to try a natural remedy since I don’t seem technically sunburned–but if it hurts, obviously I’ve done some damage!
Next time this happens, I’m all over the coconut oil remedy.
I’ve found a little bit of witch hazel extract on those areas that are lightly overexposed helps mitigate a burn. If I go outside for a little while and forget to put on sunscreen, my skin feels a little warm and a burn is likely to form but the witch hazel seems to keep a burn from developing.
Mark, you would watch Man vs Wild.
Love the aloe vera. We find that while it doesn’t help heal, it definitely helps cool and soothe it away.
I’ll have to try the vinegar – that’s a new one for me.
And milk just seems like you’re gonna end up smelling a little bit funky at the end of the day…
An antihistamine like Diphenhydramine (Benadryl)can help with the itching and pain while ibuprofen can help with the pain and itching.
I swear by vitamin E oil for a speedy recovery from a sunburn. I have used it since I was a pup.
I don’t burn badly…I think part of it is genetic since I’m half Spanish and part of it is dietary.
I’ve noticed that when I’m eating plenty of fatty meats and lots of coconut oil my skin is a lot more resilient and even when I do burn it goes away in a day or two.
Similar to the milk suggestion, I’ve heard that ice cream, slightly mushy, can help a bad burn.
There is an essential oil called helichrysum italicum, which I purchased online years ago. It is supposed to help cure burns. I bought it for my mom, who was going through radiation treatment at the time, and we found that a couple of drops, mixed with avocado oil, was very soothing when dabbed on her irritated, red skin with a cotton ball. I’ve used it for sunburns and regular burns since, and I find it helpful. It smells like overripe apples, but I don’t mind. The scent dissipates.
Vinegar works for me. After using a spray sunscreen and not bothering to rub it in (I didn’t realize that was needed with the sprays, but apparently it is!), I was so sunburned I was swollen…my ankles were so huge that my socks were cutting of circulation to my feet.
After wobbling around with lotion and aloe “gel” offering little to no relief, I filled a spray bottle with white vinegar (I skipped the water) and sprayed it all over. The effects were immediate: it was as if the vinegar pulled the sting right out of my skin! Even after drying, I felt relief. I didn’t mind the smell. Vinegar is, oddly enough, one of my favorite smells, lol…
I use high quality Lavender essential oil topically to help heal all types of burns, including sunburn.
Last time I got too much sun, I took a cool shower then put on a mixture of (melted) coconut oil & aloe. repeated applications. Straight aloe gel always dries weird. this mix seemed to work good for me. but I also had a very mild burn.
I have used topical Vit C serums with great success on areas that I could “feel” were going to become very red in a few hours. The key is to apply it right away and not wait. DermaE’s Ester-C serum is what I use.
I have never tried the coconut oil topically. I eat some every day, though. I will have to try it topically someday.
rosewater and vinegar mix works wonders! i’m a pale pale pale redhead and i’ve tried pretty much all of these…tea baths, aloe and yogurt are also good ones.
I was the sunburn queen growing up (as my sister likes to call me still) being that I’m a lot of Irish and grew up at the beach. I’ve learned a few tricks over the years. Avoid showering as long as possible. Apparently the natural oils of your skin help heal the burn (or so I’ve heard). Then when you do shower, make it as warm as tolerable. And even though it’s not a home remedy, I swear by Banana Boat’s After Sun lotion. It’s loaded with aloe and vitamin E. I slather that on until I’m white and just wait for it to soak in before I get dressed. Doesn’t always soothe the pain right away but helps remove the burn while maintaining some color and preventing peeling down the road.
I’m thinking I may have to try this coconut oil trick though. My CrossFit trainer uses coconut oil to moisturize her skin and she looks amazing at 34 years old.
My grandmother always used to lay thinly sliced tomatoes over sunburn, which really worked well – I guess it’s the same process as vinegar!
LIke milk, I always found that greek yogurt is amazing for sunburn. I slather it on my sunburn and let it sit for about 15 minutes then rinse gently with cool water. Bring the sting and redness down a ton.
I use Alba kukui body oil as a general after-shower body oil and as a massage oil. It smells nice and always leaves my skin looking great. I definitely recommend it for regular use and I shall have to try it on these pesky burns I got last weekend
I try to avoid putting to much on my skin. Feeling slimy, regardless of the substance, has always been unsettling to me; however, I find that ensuring I rehydrate and stay hydrated heels my sunburns quicker and helps take away a lot of the pain. I try to knowingly increase hydratio
You know how you continue to turn redder even after you get out of the sun? Vinegar stops that dead. We carry a small bottle in the glove compartment of our car for applying whenever we get too much sun. Smells like we are dying Easter eggs but stops the burn so it is worth it. We follow that with Noxema to keep the skin soft and healing. That combination worked for a friend of ours when her vitamin E capsule failed to help. Her skin continued to burn after she applied the vitamin E but stopped burning as soon as she applied the vinegar.
Best and most uncomfortable method of keeping a sunburn from getting worse I learned from a RN friend of mine. She said not to use lotion or aloe b/c they trap in the heat and to sit in the tub with ice cold for as long as you can stand it. I was skeptical, but was able to grit my teeth and dipped myself twice and it worked great. I stayed red, but there was no pain following this.
Makes sense – cooling your skin as fast as possible stops your skin from continuing to cook. Works with soft-boiled eggs, too!