The Best Way to Treat a Sunburn Fast - The DIY Way

I want to preface this by saying that sunlight is absolutely critical for the proper functioning of the mitochondria and, therefore, our health. You NEED to expose your skin to the sun regularly in order to function optimally and be well-regulated – physically and emotionally.

I no longer subscribe to the disproportionate (and frankly, dangerous) sun-phobia being parroted for the past few decades. The scientific evidence is, at this point, absolutely overwhelming – the lack of healthy sun exposure is killing us and making us weaker.

Having said that, there is ‘healthy sun exposure‘ – read: gradual, measured, proportionate sun exposure that’s adapted to your skin type and location. And ‘reckless sun exposure’ – read: hiding from the sun all year and then getting blasted with a few days of summer-peak sunlight, but “it’s OK, ’cause I’ll put on SPF50”.

Reckless sun exposure, even when you’re applying sunscreen correctly, can lead to some pretty bad sunburns. It can happen to everyone, but you definitely want to make sure you’re giving your skin the best possible tools to speed up recovery and healthy skin regeneration. The best way to treat a sunburn fast is to be proactive about it from day one!

Below you’ll find the best natural ingredients to treat a sunburn and how to use them. They’re divided into two groups, for easier navigation.

First are the skin soothing and anti-inflammatory ingredients, best used during the first couple of days, when the skin is red and painful.

Second are the hydrating and regenerative ingredients to speed up healing and minimize peeling.

At the end you’ll find 3 different DIY sunburn relief recipes to treat symptoms like dryness, itching, and peeling.

Table of Contents

Treat a Sunburn Fast – General Recommendations

Before we get into the actual meat of things, there are a few basic, general recommendations that will help you to heal a sunburn fast.

Drink plenty of water, teas, or natural juices to stay hydrated. Eat hydrating, water-rich foods, like watermelon, melon, cucumber, grapes, tomatoes, peaches, soups (cold or hot), etc. You need to keep your internal hydration levels high, in order to speed up the natural healing process of the skin.
If the skin is painful to the touch, use cold compresses (water, diluted vinegar, herbal infusions, etc.) to bring down inflammation and soothe the skin.
Sunburns are very dehydrating to the skin. Not to mention the fact that once the skin starts healing it will feel tight and eventually peel off. Try not to use soaps or foam-based cleansers for a few days. These raise the pH of the skin and strip it of natural barrier oils (the acid mantle), which delays healing.
Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. The skin that’s been sunburned will be dehydrated, fragile, then tight and uncomfortable. Making sure to moisturize the skin regularly will soften the outer layers, help maintain moisture levels high and keep the skin more supple. This will make it heal faster.

Treat a Sunburn Fast – First Days

The most important thing to remember in those first few days of a sunburn is to wear loose fitting, non-abrasive, soft clothing, and to NOT expose that skin further to the sun, while it’s healing.

Prioritize those ingredients with soothing, cooling, and anti-inflammatory effect. In these first days you want to calm the skin and start optimizing it for faster healing, by restoring the skin’s natural acid mantle.

Below are some of the most effective anti-inflammatory and cooling natural ingredients. You can use them individually or combine them in different ways:

Make compresses to apply the liquid ingredients
Slather on the ingredients made into a paste, as a skincare mask

Milk or yogurt

Both are anti-inflammatory and very soothing to the skin. They also contain lactic acid, which is an AHA.

AHAs help to encourage collagen and hyaluronic acid in the skin, which will increase natural hydration. They also promote cell turnover and decrease pigmentation, like redness and spots.

You can use them in different ways:

Soak a muslin cloth in a bowl of cool milk, wring out the excess and apply to the affected area. Reapply as the cloth dries.
If applying to the face, you can just dab some milk on the affected areas with some cotton wool.
To use yogurt, just apply liberally to the affected areas like a skincare mask. You can leave it on until it dries, rinse carefully with cool water, and reapply.

Remember to apply moisturizer liberally to the skin after these treatments.

Cucumber

Cucumber is also very soothing and anti-inflammatory to the skin. It’s also incredibly hydrating, which will also help heal the sunburned skin faster.

To use, mash or whizz a whole cucumber, strain the juice and apply to the affected areas. You can keep that juice all day in the fridge and just keep reapplying.
Reapply as it dries, as many times as it feels comfortable. After that, rinse the skin with cool water and moisturize.
If the sunburn is on your face, you can also slice the cucumber into very thin slices, apply to the sunburned areas and leave on for 20-30 minutes.

Either way, remember to follow the treatments with plenty of moisturizer.

Aloe vera

Aloe vera has been used for millennia to treat burns and wounds. It’s a proven anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and it stimulates tissue regeneration. (*)

It’s also a humectant, so it will attract moisture to the skin, which is a plus in a sunburn. It’s a known absorption enhancer, helping other ingredients you pair with it to reach deeper layers of the skin.

To use, just cut open a leaf, or section of it, cut into the flesh inside and rub that on the skin. In order to seal in that hydration, it’s a good idea to apply a moisturizer or carrier oil on top.

Lavender and chamomile

Thera are many soothing and anti-inflammatory herbs, but lavender and chamomile are among the most common and readily available. They’re great herbs to treat a sunburn fast.

Both are very calming and they also have an antibacterial and antimicrobial effect, so they’ll help protect the fragile skin damaged by the sunburn while it’s healing.

Lavender is also very well known as a regenerative herb, so it will help the skin to repair itself. And chamomile is analgesic, so it will help ease the pain.

The best way to use them in these first couple of days of sunburn is to just make them into teas, put them in the fridge so that they’re nice and cool, and apply that straight to the skin. Either on their own or mixed with some vinegar (details below).

Diluted vinegar

Diluted vinegar is an excellent ingredient to balance the skin’s pH and therefore promote skin healing. It’s an excellent all-round natural beauty ingredient to have around and very useful also if you’re trying to treat a sunburn fast.

It is also soothing and anti-inflammatory, so it will bring down the redness.

Vinegar compresses are also an effective treatment for localized pain and to diffuse the heat.
You can use any kind of vinegar, except maybe cleaning vinegar, which is much stronger stuff. Just dilute the vinegar in some water (1 part vinegar to 5-7 parts water) and apply as a compress.

You can also apply it on your skin, right before you put on moisturizer. This is in fact my go-to facial toner for everyday use.

Related content: 4 Basic & Simple DIY Toners For The Face

Treat a Sunburn Fast – The Follow-up Days

After those first few days, where your skin is red and painful to the touch, the skin will progressively start to resurface new skin and shed the damaged skin.

This comes under the form of dryness and peeling. In this stage you want to concentrate more on relieving any dryness and itchiness, as well as making sure your skin stays well moisturized to minimize the peeling.

The recipes and ingredients below will help do all of that.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is incredibly soothing and moisturizing. It’s a common ingredient used in all kinds of skin rashes and dry skin conditions, like eczema and psoriasis.

If you have a bathtub, the easiest way to use oatmeal is to add it to your bath water and soak in it for at least 20 minutes.

Grind some oats, or buy oat flour, and place a handful or two on a piece of muslin cloth. Then gather up the sides of the muslin cloth and tie together with a string. Throw that into your bath water and use it as a sponge, squeezing it to release the milky substance onto the skin and into the bath water.
Otherwise, you can just take a handful of oat flour and put it into a pot with some water. Heat it up for a few minutes until it turns milky. Let that cool down and apply to the affected areas. Leave it on for at least 20 minutes and rinse off with cool water.

Honey

Honey is another humectant (like cucumber and aloe vera) – it attracts water and moisture. It’s also very soothing and moisturizing to the skin, and therefore perfect for helping you treat a sunburn fast.

Like aloe vera, it’s been used to treat burns in general, as well as other wounds, since Antiquity and even science has confirmed its healing power.

It helps to keep a proper pH balance that’s conducive to healing and it’s antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial.

Apply it to the skin as a mask and leave it on for at least 20 minutes. Rinse off with cool water and follow with moisturizer.

Baking soda

Baking soda is well known, time-honored ingredient to relieve itching and irritation.

Either add a cup or two to your bath water and soak in it for at least 20 minutes.
Or add 1 TB of baking soda to 1 cup of water. Put it in a spray bottle and apply to the affected area. You can also soak a muslin cloth in this liquid and apply that to the skin for relief.

Glycerin

Glycerin is one of the most powerful humectants out there – much stronger than the trendy hyaluronic acid!

This means it draws water to itself, helping to plump the skin and treat dryness. It needs to be diluted – when applied pure it actually has a drying effect on the skin (not to mention it’s really sticky!).

So, to use it simple dilute 1 TB of glycerin in 2oz of water and apply to the sunburned areas.

3 DIY RECIPES TO HELP TREAT A SUNBURN FAST

1 – Dry & Peeling Skin

Handful of lavender and/or chamomile
1TB (15 ml) glycerin
1TB (15 ml) vinegar
1/2 cup (approx. 120 ml) water

Steep a handful of lavender and/or chamomile in 1/2 cup of boiling water (covered). Allow to cool and strain.
Add 1 TB of pure glycerin and 1TB of vinegar (any kind, except cleaning vinegar) – stir well. Pour into a glass spray bottle, shake very well and apply to the skin.

2 – Itchy Skin

Handful of lavender and/or Chamomile
1 cup (approx. 240 ml) of water
2 TB (30 ml) of baking soda

Steep a handful of lavender and/or chamomile in a cup of boiling water (covered).
Allow to cool, strain and add 2 TB of baking soda.
Put it into a glass spray bottle and apply to the skin. Let that dry and apply moisturizer.

3 – Regenerative Moisturizer

1 oz (30 ml) of cold-pressed olive oil
6-12 drops of lavender essential oil (1%-2% concentration)
Aloe vera gel

Fill a dark glass bottle of your desired size with pure cold-pressed olive oil.
For each 30 ml / 1oz of olive oil, add 6 to 12 drops of lavender essential oil (1% to 2% dilution). 1% dilution is more suitable for facial skin and 2% is more suitable for the rest of your body.
In the palm of your hand put a dollop of pure aloe vera gel and enough of the olive oil mix to make into a paste. Apply that to the sunburned skin.
Alternatively, you could slice open an aloe vera leaf, or section of it depending on the amount of skin, cut into the flesh of the leaf with a knife, to release more ‘goo’ and rub it directly on the skin.
Follow with the olive oil mix, while your skin is still wet from the aloe vera, and massage into the skin until it absorbs completely.

I hope this information helps you choose the best ingredients to focus on for the best results, depending on the severity or state of your sunburn. To treat a sunburn fast you really want to get in there as soon as possible.

Let me know in the comments if anything isn’t clear, or how it worked for you.

The Best Way to Treat a Sunburn Fast – The DIY Way

Treat a Sunburn Fast – General Recommendations