Protecting Your Fair Skin
When I was young, I told everyone I wanted to be a “witch doctor”. To me that meant growing a garden of herbs and using alchemy to mix home remedies for most ailments. I imagined myself with a little shop with lavender decorating the front walkway. When I grew up, I realized that would make me an herbalist, and I even considered going to school for it. But really, it’s more of a skill you learn by researching yourself and by trial and error.
Where I’m going with this, though, is that I have a sunburn. And this post is here to offer some quick folk remedies for helping to heal it from your photographer-wannabe-herb-doctor-blogger. Yesterday I wore one of one of my favorite tops, SPF 50 Sunscreen, and still managed to burn. Normally I don’t go without SPF 80. But whether you wore sunscreen or you didn’t, if you’ve found yourself with a sunburn, you can take quick action at home to help your skin heal.
Healing With Tea & Oatmeal
WHAT. Yes, that’s right. You can help your sunburn (a great deal) by using tea. Any tea will work usually, but black teas more so than others. Your looking for the teas that have the highest tannin content. Typically this means using green tea, but I used black, because I’m too stubborn to “waste good tea” on a burn. Not that I’m suggesting black tea isn’t as good as green tea, because I totally am, and I’m just throwing this disclaimer in here so tea connoisseur don’t flog me. You should probably use green tea though if you want the most healing out of your home remedy. The key here is to act fast. So right when you get home after noticing your burn, it’s time to take action.
Brew a fair amount, which is about three bags worth, though I doubt anyone would be “wasting” loose leaf on this sometimes it’s all you have in your cupboard! After brewing, throw in some ice cubes and let it sit until it becomes warm and then gently apply the tea using a cloth you don’t mind getting stained. If you are using bags, apply the bag directly to your skin for a stronger effect.
While you’re waiting for your tea to cool, run a warm oatmeal bath using an old nylon filled with either organic rolled oats or colloidal oatmeal (the oatmeal in packets) resting in the tub while it fills. Let it sit for the few minutes it takes for you to apply the tea to your burn and then hop in tub and sit for about a half an hour.
Over the next few days be sure to drink lots of water to keep your skin hydrated. I noticed a major difference, and I hope you do too. No peeling!
Hi. My name is Sara, I’m twenty-four years old, my favorite color is orange, and I have an overwhelming desire to preserve my life with photos and words.
42 Comments
Hi Sara,
The text along with the photos made this post really good. I am fair skinned and have been burned in the past several times. I just got the tops of my feet sunburned, I forgot to protect them.
I too had heard of the oatmeal bath and to hydrate myself, but I hadn’t heart of the lavender. I can’t wait to give your remedy a try.
Thanks for the lavendin versus real lavender tip as well.
Today’s Globe & Mail reported on the new sunscreen report from the environmental working group.. here’s the sunscreens rated best in the report:
http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/best-beach-sport-sunscreens/
ooooh ouch, that looks painful, eek!
A word of caution about buying lavender products, though: many products currently being sold as containing lavender are actually lavandin–a hybrid of lavender that smells stronger and last longer, but can actually WORSEN burns. Companies get away without actually labeling these products differently because it is a hybrid; though sometimes labels will say they use a ‘variety’ of lavender, this is not always the case. If you’re not growing your own lavender, always make sure you check for the proper scientific name (lavandula angustifolia) on the ingredients label before using store-bought lavender products on burns.
+1
BTW, you said you were using Banana boat and it promised to be "photo stable"? Check this list of "worst sunscreen for babies" out:
http://www.modernmom.com/article-5836-worst-sunscreen-for-babies...
I trick I heard from a friend is "after you are outside for a bit, and feel like you need a sip of water, reapply sunscreen"
Eww,. What happened? It looks hurt!
Oh my gosh! Ouch! I’m thankful for being half Filipino in the summer – I haven’t had a big sunburn since I was little! But if I ever have one again, I’ll try this!
I wish I had a green thumb, and I’d try to grow an aloe plant! When we were in Florida a nice old woman let us use aloe leaves from her plant. I rubbed the aloe all over my feet and on the tip of my nose – amazing!
Look really painful.
Check the expiry date on the sunscreen it really does become useless with time.
Reapplying is really important as well. Working in Renaissance faires and being in the sun for days, I found that sun screen is only good for 1/2 a day in the sun before you need to reapply.
oh yeah.. sunscreen must be reapplied every 4 hours, and more frequent if you sweat or if you went for a swim.. I remember when I was building my patio in July, I put it on every 2 hours. At least that one day I didn’t get sunburn.. other days I was lazy and ….
Oh, your shoulders look like mine from Saturday (the solid white strap and all!) although I’m not AS red since my skin isn’t as fair. I’ll post a photo later. It only really hurts when I take a shower if I have the water too hot, but I’ll have to try some of these remedies!
Yikes that looks painful but your course of treatment seems like a spa treatment!!
YOWch. *attends craving for lobster…* ;D
oooh… that hurts!
Natural yoghurt also helps…
I found Something that I read the other day very interesting. If you start taking beta carotene as a suppliment ( is an organic compound and classified as a terpenoid. It is a strongly-coloured red-orange pigment abundant in plants and fruits.) in good time before the "bikini season", you can avoid heavy skin burns! Ofcourse you also need spf…
Just a tip
Ouch, nature’s body painting, eh? :/
I guess we always learn things the hard way, (un)fortunately….
That is with an SPF 50? Yikes! That really looks nasty. I have fair skin too, but I usually do okay ith an SPF 30.
Thanks for the tips on remedies. I usually use aloe vera, but this is definately worth a try.
I think it’s because I applied the sunscreen at six am and was out until six pm without applying a second time. Sweat and moving around probably required another application, so it was my bad for not thinking to add more.
Ouch! Glad it’s feeling better today!
<3<3<3
Ouch!
Dear GOD, this just flashed me back to Thailand, last year, when I couldn’t move for an entire day because I decided it’d be brilliant to spend a whole afternoon under the Thai sun with no protection. Glad your home remedies are taking the edge off!
I’ve had a lot of luck with Aveeno products as someone who both breaks out and burns quite easily. They have an oil-free, waterproof SPF 70 that kept my Scotch-Irish-English-Welsh skin from so much as tanning in southern California last summer, as well as most summers in North Carolina. I’ve been using their oatmeal bath treatment since I was a baby, a 100% oatmeal powder that dissolves in bathwater.
Also! As for the lavender you spoke of in your daydreaming, lavender is an excellent remedy for both burns (as I tend to do while cooking and baking) and sunburn. If you grow it fresh or have it dried, you could boil it in with the tea as you suggested; or if you have lavender essential oil you can dab it directly on the burn.
A word of caution about buying lavender products, though: many products currently being sold as containing lavender are actually lavandin–a hybrid of lavender that smells stronger and last longer, but can actually WORSEN burns. Companies get away without actually labeling these products differently because it is a hybrid; though sometimes labels will say they use a ‘variety’ of lavender, this is not always the case. If you’re not growing your own lavender, always make sure you check for the proper scientific name (lavandula angustifolia) on the ingredients label before using store-bought lavender products on burns.
Oh, your comments on here seem to have dropped the last letter of everyone’s names down to the next line.. o.O (i.e. the ‘y’ on Stacey and the ‘a’ on Sara.) Just thought you might like to know.
I love Aveeno! I haven’t tried their sunscreen though, so I’ll check that out next time I’m at the store. Also, the bath powder sounds excellent for at least a weekly indulgence instead of using oats in an old nylon!
And as for the lavender in daydreaming, the reason I have it outside the front of the store is because lavender is amazing for almost EVERYTHING. (Depression, insomnia, menstrual cramps, etc.) I would have included it in the home remedies but most people probably wouldn’t have it sitting at home.
And the name on the comments is doing that because it’s using Font Burner, I’m aware, I just haven’t fixed it yet. (It’s low on the priority list.) But thanks for letting me know!
OMG! wow, that sure must hurt! i know this is really bad, but i don’t wear sunscreen, and i’ve been lucky enough not to have any problems yet. hope it gets better soon
this is such a great remedy for sunburns, i hope i don’t even need it, but if i do, i’ll be coming back here for sure.
Oh gosh, even just a little sunscreen is a good idea! I can’t believe you’ve never had any issues with sunburns! It must be wonderful not to be hesitant of the sun!
OH. MY. GOODNESS. I can feel the pain right now. And my friends always wonder why my skin in so pale… because I’m afraid of the sun doing that to my skin. It ends up hurting so bad for like, a week, for me. I hope it’s not as painful for you as it looks.
hah. a witch doctor. thats so cute. i love herb stuff and researching and learning. learning is awesome! and this is some awesome knowledge about burns!
Me toooo. I have a wall chart in my kitchen about some great herbs and how to use them for different ailments, but it’s quite old and doesn’t stay up anymore. I was considering making a new one, perhaps I’ll mail one to you as well!
Oh..
Is your sunscreen photostable? I use Avene and La Roche Posay and these companies make good photostable sunscreens.
Ouch, that looks painful!
I knew about oatmeal baths, but the tea is new. Thanks for the tip; I’ll be sure to pass it along to my friends who burn easily.
The pain is pretty much gone today, actually, and for that I’m extremely grateful. It used to take so much more for me to burn, it’s frustrating. Tom didn’t apply any sunscreen, is half Irish with pale skin, and not even a slight burn!
and i thought i had sunburn!
ouch!
i always use aloe vera and colloid silver (miraculous stuf that!)
ow
feel better
oooh nooooo >.< aloe vera all over. a bath with chamomile tea in it should help too.
oh my gosh love