Many of my friends and family love to be in the sun as much as I do. Some think applying sunscreen isn’t necessary, forget to pack their bottle of sunscreen when going on a trip, and/or forget to reapply it after being long hours in the sun. Waking up the next day sunburned, in pain, and red as a lobster is not fun and can ruin your summer plans. Always apply sunscreen at least 20 minutes before you head outdoors so it can be absorbed by your skin and reapply sunscreen throughout your day if you plan on spending hours outside. Each sunscreen brand has their own recommended application times to follow; following them will help prevent your skin from serious sunburns. See the directions for Sunburn Relief DIY Aloe Vera Gel Cubes below.
Why do I peel after a sunburn? When your skin is exposed to the sun for prolonged periods of time, ultraviolet rays emitted from the sum have a damaging effect to the top layer of the skin- actually killing the skin cells residing on the upper most layer of the skin while also drying your skin (in some cases even causing blistering of the skin). As a natural reaction, your skin starts to quickly repair itself and build new cells to replace the ones killed off by harmful ultraviolet rays. During the rebuilding process, the dead skin sitting on top of your skin act as a guard in that it protects the deeper layers of your skin while the new top layers are being rebuilt. Once the rebuilding process has finished and the new layer of skin is ready to be exposed, the dead skin begins to peel off of your body. The skin peeling is an important and natural part of the healing process.
3 Important Tips
Best remedy for peeling skin? Unfortunately, there is no quick remedy or cure for sunburn. Your skin needs time to naturally heal, repair, and rejuvenate itself. In fact, it may take several days to actually see the severity of damage from the sun. While it may be an unpleasant and even painful process, there are some things you can do to treat the sunburn to provide relief to your skin.
Keep Cool: We all know how discomforting and irritating sunburn can be. For temporary relief, keep your skin cool by applying cool, damp cloths to regions giving you the most discomfort, and take a cool baths to soothe the skin. Since your skin is in a sensitive state, stay away from using bath salts, scrubs, and body brushes.
Moisturize and Hydrate: Severely dry and itchy skin is so uncomfortable. Nourish and bring relief to your skin by using an after sun moisturizer (or aloe vera gel) and keep skin hydrated by drinking lots of water. Doing both of these things will help with the healing process.
Sunburn Relief DIY Aloe Vera Gel Cubes
What you need:
Aloe Vera Gel (green)
Ice Cube Tray (Makes 12 cubes)
Freezer
Instructions:
Fill the ice cube tray with aloe gel and freeze for about 3 hours. (You might want to make a few batches if you If you plan on being out in the sun all day.) Leave the cubes in the tray till ready to use or remove cubes or store in a plastic freezer bag and put them in your ice chest. When you apply to your skin, the icy remedy pulls more heat from your sunburned skin bringing instant relief.
