March 28, 2024

Sunburn remedies are something that we always need to look for the day after we treat our skin badly in the sun.

I just found a great list of folk remedies for when you actually do accidentally sunburn yourself. I do not know where it comes from but I thought I would pass it on with a few comments along with these sunburn treatments.

I have tested some of these sunburn remedies but not all. Also remember that if you have any kind of a skin rash or irritation many of these will help as well.

The Best Sunburn Remedies Are Always Avoidable

First of all I want to mention that if we are very careful in the sun then a list of sunburn treatment is never needed (plus some info from webmd). However this does sometimes happen and for that the following list of sunburn remedies is great.

Aloe Vera sunburn remedy
This is probably the most popular of sunburn remedies. Take as many leaves as necessary from an aloe plant; refrigerate; peel off top layer of leaves; apply the side of the leaf with flesh exposed directly to the sunburn.

Aloe is very effective in relieving pain and inflammation Other remedies use aloe vera juice: for mild to medium sunburn, keep the affected area moist with aloe vera juice.

Repeat frequently. This will reduce the pain and the amount of peeling.

Combine aloe juice with the amount of vitamin E. Dab on the sunburn. Vitamin E is a good moisturizer and sunburn remedies. Aloe vera ointment works well, too, as it contains oil and will not evaporate.

For a severe sunburn, keep the area moist at all times with aloe vera juice. Since aloe vera is an astringent, you may want to use aloe vera ointment or some sort of oil, such as olive or baby.

Shower as a sunburn remedy
Take a warm shower to draw out the heat of your sunburn. The warm water will increase circulation to the area while hydrating it, thereby speeding the healing process. Be sure to moisturize afterward as the water will dry your skin.

Baking soda compress sunburn treatment
Dissolve some baking soda in water and make a compress using a clean cloth. Another remedy is to add 1/2 cup of baking soda to a tepid bath and soak.

Instead of drying the affected area with a towel, let it air dry.

Baking soda is cooling and will help the skin retain moisture.

Apple cider vinegar
Apply apple cider vinegar to the sunburn with a cottonball, or make a cooling compress for a large area to relieve the pain. Keep the skin moistened. This remedy will prevent blistering and peeling.

Aspirin or willow bark
Aspirin kills the pain and reduces inflammation and redness of a sunburn and is one of the best sunburn remedies. It short-circuits the whole sunburn process. It must be taken within 24 hours of getting sunburned. Aspirin is preferable to ibuprofen or acetaminophen because it is less stressful on the liver and kidneys.

Herbal Baths
Add 20 drops of each of lavender and chamomile essential oils to a tubful of cool water and soak for 10 minutes. Bergamot, Add bergamot oil to cool bathwater.

Calendula Bath
Put 20 drops of calendula tincture in four ounces of water and bathe the skin until the pain goes away. Calendula is also available in gels and salves. Calendula will help soften and heal burned skin. It is anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial, and can be used long after the burn to heal the skin.

sunburn prevention1

Lavender Oil
I just received an email from someone that has used lavender oil topically to relieve the problems that they had with sunburn and claims that it works everytime

Cucumber rub
Rub sunburned area with fresh cucumber slices. They are very cool and will soothe the area.

And the cucumber rub will make your skin taste good too!

Epsom salts compress sunburn remedy
Dissolve epsom salts in water and make a compress using a clean cloth.

Ice compress
Apply ice or cold water to the burned area. This will stop the burning process and cool the skin.

Lemon water
Mix the juice of three lemons into two cups of cold water and sponge on the sunburn. The lemon will cool the burn, act as a disinfectant, and will promote healing of the skin.

Milk compress
Make a compress of whole milk (or buttermilk) and apply to the burned area for 20 minutes; repeat every two to four hours. Wash the milk off so you won’t smell sour! A similar remedy suggests using a cup of skim milk and four cups of water, adding a few ice cubes, and applying as a compress as recommended above. The fat content of the milk is soothing for burns.

Oatmeal bath
Put some oatmeal in tepid bath water, soak for a few minutes, then air dry yourself. Oatmeal baths are actually very good for the treatment of many skin problems as well as one of the more powerful sunburn remedies.

Peppermint
Apply peppermint oil to the sunburned skin. You can also make a mild peppermint infusion and use it as a wash to cool the sunburn.

Yarrow
Native Americans used an infusion of ground yarrow as a wash.

Potato
Grate a potato and apply it to the burned area. The starch will cool and soothe the burn.

St. Johns Wort
Make an ointment or salve with the essential oil of St. Johns wort for burns that have not broken the skin. It is anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antibacterial.

Caution: St. John’s wort makes the skin more photosensitive, so stay out of the sun if you have used this remedy or if you are taking another form as an antidepressant. The caution is courtesy of a reader named Wendi.

Tea sunburn remedy
Make some tea, cool, and apply to the burn. While any tea may be beneficial, mint tea, such as peppermint or spearmint are especially good. The teas have tannins that help the healing process.

Urtica urens
Put 20 drops of urtica urens tincture in four ounces of water and bathe the skin. This remedy is good for itchy, prickly skin.

Witch hazel
Make a decoction of witch hazel and apply with a compress.

Yogurt
Apply plain yogurt with live cultures, let it stand for a few minutes, then rinse off under cool water.

What not to use as sunburn remedies

No matter what you do some people swear by putting butter on a burn but this is in fact a very bad idea as it can lead to an infection if you have any kind of a cut.

Also some people say that Preparation H is good for soothing a sunburn but one of my readers says that in fact this is very bad and can cause you skin to dry out and peel instead.

So if today you got a sunburn, or if you are looking for some sunburn remedies next weekend now you know what to try and how to get rid of that nasty sunburn. Bookmark and come back next time you have a sunburn and are looking for some help with some sunburn remedies.

34 thoughts on “22 Great Natural Sunburn Remedies To Stop The Pain

  1. oh yeah and this site is dumb- do you see the part where it saids fat loss 4 Idiots sometimes people how have a site and have stuff like that there sometimes an Idiot

  2. I went on the river today with my papa, and my sister.I was on an inner tube, with my feet over the side.I had sunblock on my face and arms, but not my legs.I had never gotten sunburn on my legs, so i didn’t put sunblock there, bad mistake! so now i’m looking on the internet for remedies.Some help, other…..er…not so much.

  3. We have had so much rain this year, that when the sun would peak out, we would be in the pool as much as time allowed us. Needless to lay this year, we have gotten sunburn despite using sunblock. My mother along time ago use to use a Aloe Vera plant she had. She would just break off a stem and apply the liquid out of it to our skin.. Instant relief.. let me tell you..After I moved out, she gave me a Aloe plant for a house warming gift, and have had it ever since..

  4. i was severly sunburned 5 days ago….my legs and his the worst….my his would be considered 2nd degree. all theses remedies have not seemed to help and can still barely walk! The lower half of my legs feels liek im being stabbed when i stand up after a short rest and i cant walk for a few minutes. brings me to tears and im really ready for some relief. I dont know what else to do!! everybosy seems so easily soothed!

  5. I just wanted to say that my husband and I got badly burned and we did the shower and Aloe. It worked wonders. I noticed my legs where already getting better right after I stepped out of the shower. Here is a warning before going in 1.hurts supper bad, stay in a while and the pain starts to go away at that point you know that you have been in just the right about of time. 2. pat dry do not rub, rubbing cause unwanted pain. 3. burn will look like it is getting worse in the shower, when you get out it will look better.

  6. I am sunburned really bad. My legs are the worse. I have taken hot showers and i have used aveeno oatmeal bath(which my son uses for eczema) to soak in before I came to this website. It has worked and helped me out. I could barely walk and had to have my mom to dress me. Your remedies are a help and i appreciate you putting them on here to help people. THANKS.

  7. The most wonderful thing that I have tried for a really bad sunburn, with water blisters, was mustard. My mom put the mustard on my back (sunburn there) and I laid on my stomach until it dried. I could feel the heat being pulled out of my back. When all the burning is gone, wash carefully with warm water to get the mustard off. Yes, there will be staining and if your clothes cover it, who cares.

  8. I got a bad sunburn few days ago and tried the milk remendy and worked great! took out the redness and helped greatly with the pain.

  9. P.S. I was being sarcastic about reading somewhere to take a hot shower. This site is great, thank you so much

  10. I have a really bad sunburn on my legs, and I read somewhere that if you take a hot shower it opens your pores to release the toxins. So I tried it this morning and of course I put on neosporin and zinc oxide after, and my legs feel almost back to normal. I also tried the baking soda in a tepid bath, so these remedies really work. I could barely walk this morning and by noon RELIEF. Thank you so much for the help.

  11. What is wrong with some of you? The man is trying to share information.. who cares about dodgy translation and what he pays attention to when he picks topics… Please note this was written 3 years ago.. If you dont want information and all you want to do is just pick pick pick then go to another site and get a life!

  12. This topic is quite trendy in the net at the moment. What do you pay the most attention to while choosing what to write about?

  13. hey.. i have really bad sunburn on my legs and they are quite swollen…do you know any quick remedies to take down the swelling.. also i am supposed to be exercising tomorrow morning and know that normally the sunburn would bubble and become little water blisters. is it bad to exercise with swollen skin? any help would be appreciated

  14. I just found your site and like quite a few things about it.
    Since I was planning to forward it to a friend in Holland I went to your translator to send the info in Dutch. I regret to tell you that the translation is incredibly poor, downright b a d. It is riddled with misspellings, terrible grammar and sentence construction.
    Computer translation software is just not accurate. I worked as an editor for a translation service for about 7 months and most of the stuff was close to being a nightmare.
    Maybe you appreciate knowing this, maybe not.
    All good wishes to you,
    Bonnie

  15. We went on the sunbeds for the first time for 12 minutes and have really bad sunburn

    hahahahhahahahahaha.
    x

  16. I work in a medical field, and I thought that I should let you know that, although this is a common myth, putting preperationH on a sunburn is incredibly bad!!! PreperationH has a chemical that dries out the skin and actually causes the burn to worsen in time, and peel severly.
    -–
    COMMENT:
    Thanks fir the tip Hillary! I have edited out the Preparation H part of this article
    -–

    1. I have used Preperation H and Noxema mixed together for years and have enjoyed it’s relief for sunburn. I have NEVER had any adverse effects.

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