How to Soothe a Bad Sunburn Instantly
How to Soothe a Bad Sunburn Instantly
Applying sunscreen before you go outside is the best way to prevent a nasty sunburn. But mistakes happen: Falling asleep beachside—or even just missing a spot with your SPF—can increase your risk of sunburn, and potentially leave your skin fried.
That's uncomfortable and it's bad for you in the long term. Any kind of sunburn causes damage to the DNA in your skin cells, which can lead to mutations that cause skin cancer, says Kavitha Reddy, M.D., director of dermatologic surgery at Boston Medical Center. Even worse, the most deadly form of skin cancer is rising in younger men (find out all the details here.)
So proper use of sunscreen is key. But if you messed up, how can you ease up the ache? Here's how to soothe sunburned skin and achieve sunburn relief. Hopefully, you'll only need this advice once. Use this list of the best sunscreens for men to prevent the problem next time.
Additional reporting by Julianne Jones.
1) Take cover
If you’re outside and you notice your skin feels hot or painful—like it’s burning—or see it start to turn pink or red, that’s your cue to get inside.
Staying outside in the sun after this point will only make your burn worse, since you’ll expose yourself to the sun’s UV rays for a longer time, according to Dr. Reddy.
But if you’re stuck outside, at least make your way to the shade. And then apply—or reapply—some sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30.
“Applying sunscreen is important, since there’s usually some continued UV ray exposure even after you find shade,” says Dr. Reddy.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, it takes 15 minutes for sunscreen to absorb into you skin and begin working. If you plan on having additional sun exposure, stay in the shade for at least the recommended amount of time. Take this chance to grab a drink of water to ensure you stay hydrated. If you find yourself overheating even after drinking water, wet part of your towel with cold water. Then place the cold compress on your head or lightly on the burn.
2) Hop in the shower or bath
There's a myth that a hot shower can help ease sunburn pain. Definitely don't do that! The opposite is true: When you get indoors, take a cool shower or bath to start easing the burning sensation.
“Cool water decreases excess blood flow to the skin, which will help reduce inflammation and redness,” Dr. Reddy says.
If the burn is only on a small part of your body, like your face or your shoulders, a cool compress will work, too. Just avoid putting ice directly on your burn, since it can irritate your skin, and can even cause frostbite damage.
And if you can control your shower pressure, keep it low: Strong, high-pressure showers are not only irritating to skin but can also potentially burst open blisters—putting you at a greater risk for infection, says Filamer Kabigting, M.D., an assistant professor of dermatology at Columbia University Medical Center.
Stick to cool showers on the lowest pressure possible, or even a soak in a cool tub, until your skin has healed. Running cool baths allows you to submerge the burn as much as you want without worrying about strong pressure from the shower head.
Try adding a few tablespoons of baking soda to your bath. The cooking ingredient can provide serious sunburn relief. Just make sure not to stay in the tub more than 20 minutes—stay in longer, and it may dry out your skin...which will irritate it even more.
3) Slather up your skin
When you get out of the shower, dry off by patting your sensitive skin gently with a towel.
Then, while your skin is still damp, apply a moisturizer that contains soothing ingredients like soy or aloe vera. Try Dermalogica After Sun Repair, suggests Dr. Reddy.
Moisturizing is key: Sunburns dry out your skin by damaging its outermost layer and making it more susceptible to water loss, he adds.
Products like these, however, rehydrate your skin, which make the tightness and itching feel better.
For really painful spots, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends applying an OTC hydrocortisone cream, which reduces itching, redness, and swelling.
Be sure to steer clear of any lotions or creams with ingredients like benzocaine (or other ingredients that end in “-caine”), though. They can irritate your burned skin or cause an allergic reaction.
4) Hit up your medicine cabinet
Next, pop an NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) pain reliever like aspirin or ibuprofen.
Both work by fighting inflammation, Dr. Reddy says, which can help you feel more comfortable as well as take down some of the redness and swelling.
5) Play the long game
Over the next few days, continue keeping your skin hydrated by applying moisturizer regularly. Sunburn relief will come, it just may take a few days of care and shade to do so.
Make sure to drink plenty of water, too, which will hydrate your skin from the inside, Dr. Reddy says. You can keep taking aspirin or ibuprofen as directed until the pain eases up.
6) Don't scratch or irritate skin
While your burn is healing—which should take about a week (get the details on how long it takes to heal here)—try not to do anything that would irritate it more. Don't pick at peeling skin or pop blisters, however tempting it may be. “If you are suffering from a burn and the skin is starting to peel, don’t exfoliate. Avoid harsh scrubs, coarse washcloths or loofahs over the area,” Sonia Batra, MD, a dermatologist and co-host of the television show The Doctors previously told Men’s Health.
“Also, as hard as it might be, try not to scratch the burned skin—it can have the same damaging effect," she says, cautioning that doing so can allow bacteria into the body and cause an infection.
As far as fabrics go, cotton is your best bet for ultra-sensitive, sunburned skin, says Dr. Kabigting—the softer, the better. And of course, stay out of the sun. Burned skin is damaged, which makes it more susceptible to further sunburn, Dr. Reddy says.
If your burn doesn’t seem to get better after a week, or if you have severe pain or blistering, a fever or chills, or nausea or vomiting, you should seek emergency care, Dr. Reddy says. All are signs of a severe burn, which may require treatment like skin dressings, wound care, and additional anti-inflammatories.
The damage is done, but these strategies will help you feel better.