How to Repair the Damage from a Sunburn
Did you fall asleep on the beach? Get stuck in the rosé line at an outdoor summer festival? Forget your hat? It happens. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you end up with a sunburn. The pain, peeling, and redness may only last a few days, but the cellular damage remains and accumulates over time, showing up later as wrinkles and dark spots. If you find yourself with a sunburn this summer, here’s what to do to relieve the pain, speed healing, and mitigate the long-term effects.
COOL COMPRESSES AND IBUPROFEN
A damp, cool towel for 10 to 15 minutes a few times a day will turn down the heat in your skin. You can also take ibuprofen to reduce inflammation and ease the discomfort.
SOOTHE AND HEAL
Reduce the stinging and start the repair process with natural healing ingredients.
Aloe is a top choice for its exceptional calming and regenerative properties. An abundance of antioxidants, polyphenols, and healing minerals in aloe reduce inflammation and stimulate cell renewal. Aloe also helps to prevent dark spots from forming thanks to a compound called aloesin, which inhibits the enzyme responsible for melanin production.
Derived from the comfrey plant, allantoin is another natural soother with abundant healing properties. It’s a potent anti-inflammatory agent, antioxidant, and highly efficient hydrator that enhances repair and promotes healthy skin.
Petroleum-based products aren’t recommended to soothe a sunburn because their occlusive nature seals pores and traps heat in your skin. If your skin is particularly painful, you can apply an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream.
Recommended:
Totaloe Calming and Hydrating Gel
Whole-leaf aloe and other therapeutic ingredients including algae, niacinamide, and green tea extract in a cooling gel formula.
Allantoin Soothing & Hydrating Lotion
The feather-light, non-greasy cream formula blends allantoin with whole-leaf aloe, oat protein, and grape seed oil for ultra-calming, ultra-hydrating renewal.
Tip: Refrigerate your products for added cooling relief.
HYDRATE
A sunburn draws water out of the skin, leaving it dehydrated and more vulnerable to damage. Replacing those fluids can help kickstart your skin’s repair process, so drink plenty of water.
COVER UP
Take extra care to protect skin from sun exposure while a sunburn is healing. Choose wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses, and protective clothing. Darker colors and tightly woven fabrics provide better protection than light colors and sheer fabrics. For outdoor activities, look for specially designed UV blocking clothing. Take extra care to protect sunburned skin while it heals.
IF YOUR SKIN BLISTERS
Don’t pop or pick at the blisters. That makes both the pain and the damage worse and also exposes you to the risk of infection. Allow the blisters to heal and keep using the compresses and Totaloe to aid the process.
PROTECT AND REPAIR
Treating skin with antioxidants and melanin inhibitors disrupts the cycle of UV-induced damage and improves the long-term health of the skin. Green tea extract, vitamins A, C and E, caffeine, grape seed oil, and algae are all potent antioxidants. Melanin inhibitors include mandelic acid, kojic acid, niacinamide, aloe, and hydroquinone.
Recommended:
Green Tea Antioxidant Cleanser
The polyphenols in green tea have powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and photoprotective properties that stimulate rapid repair of UVB damaged cells. Topical application of green tea extract following UV exposure has been shown to significantly repair UV-induced damage in cells. This reparative gel formula is cooling and gentle enough to use while skin is still sensitive from a burn.
A natural melanin-inhibitor with anti-bacterial and gently exfoliating properties, mandelic acid protects skin against hyperpigmentation and helps reduce signs of aging, plus it has benefits for acne-prone skin. Use this multi-tasking serum to help repair and prevent future damage. Because it stimulates cell turnover, you should wait until your skin is no longer sensitive from sunburn before applying.
Vitamin C is a natural brightener essential to the synthesis of collagen. Vitamin E nourishes and protects cells. Together these antioxidant superheroes have a synergy that magnifies their individual properties. Make this essential serum part of your morning routine for a potent dose of photoprotection, repair, and brightening.
PREVENT
Sunscreen is a daily requirement, even when you are not planning on spending much time outdoors. Remember that you are getting sun even when driving. Your car’s windows don’t block UV rays.
During outdoor activity, reapply sunscreen every hour or immediately following swimming or exercise that causes sweating.
Stay out of the sun between the hours of 10 AM and 4 PM when the sun is strongest.
Recommended:
Lightweight, non-greasy, and non-comedogenic sun protection and moisture in one. Use under your makeup, on its own, or mix with a little mineral powder to make a foundation.
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