Here’s How You Can Soothe Sunburned Skin at Home
With summer quickly approaching, I thought I would share with you a hack that my family has been doing since I was but a wee babe.
This is a hack that we ALL need at one time or another during the year — I’m talking about a home remedy for relief of SUNBURNS!
It is the inevitable evil of enjoying time outside during the hot summer months, be it at the beach, at the lake, or even pulling weeds in your front yard. If you don’t cover yourself from head to toe, you’re going to get stricken with at least a partial sunburn.
I’ve got you! This hack isn’t going to immediately stop the burn, but it will sooth your sensitive skin. Leave it on all night, and you will notice your burn is better in the morning.
Here is your sunburn relief hack
Take 3 to 4 Black Tea bags — we just use Lipton. Steep the tea bags in a pot of water. You want to OVER steep the water, so the tea turns the water a dark, dark brown.
Let the bags stay in the water until the water is room temperature. DO NOT put hot water on your sunburn. You will be in a WORLD of hurt. WAIT until the water has cooled off to room temperature.
Then you take a cotton ball, or a SOFT cloth, and dip it in the tea water. You want to PAT IT onto the burned skin. Do not rub. It will hurt more!! You don’t want to risk breaking your fragile, burned skin.
The Black Tea contains something called Tannic Acid. This helps soothe skin and speeds the healing of the sunburn.
Now, this is NOT medical advice — although I AM a nurse. This isn’t a magic cure that takes your burn completely away. It is simply something to aid that burn.
It is also important to note that if you have a BAD burn, skip this hack, and go straight to the emergency room. Sun poisoning is a real thing, and you need to be treated.
You also want to make sure you stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water. You might even want to consider drinking a sports drink.
Drinks like Gatorade are packed with electrolytes that your body needs when it gets dehydrated. I saw it on the Gatorade commercial, so it must be true, right?
If you are worried about getting too much sun, you might want to check out this little product. It is a Sun Monitor Bracelet, and it tells you when you have been in the sun too long!
