The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Yogurt (and Lactic Ferments)
Posted by Zark (Emerald City, The Land Of Oz) on 05/17/2016
★★★★★
Sunburn: Sour lactic fermented foods work nice and fast to reduce redness and swelling. Lactic ferments include: Yoghurt, Kombucha, Sauerkraut. Apply directly to sunburn.
I was in quite a bit of pain from sunburn and a lady near to me said she used to get sunburnt all the time when working in the construction industry (one of the most male dominated professions I imagine..). She said their remedy of choice was Greek Yoghurt. She was quite specific in that it should be real Greek Yoghurt and none of that sweet junk if you want this to work. She said it works straight away. I reckon it should be sour so as to maximise lactic acid, so the older batches are presumed to work better.
Working on the principal that it was lactic acid, I applied kombucha to the sunburn, using tissue paper to dab it on (as I didn't have yoghurt in the house). Success! I took photos and could see a reduction in redness within 10 minutes. It is really quite noticeable. The swelling has greatly improved too.
I suggest that sauerkraut juice would also be a nice and easy one to try.
(PS: The she also recommended aspirin for reducing swelling. But I really wanted to focus on cultured foods as that is more in keeping with the spirit of this website.)
Baking Soda
Posted by Nadezhda (Charleston, Sc) on 07/11/2015
★★★★★
It's the best thing I have tried that actually works. I came to this website and tried this baking soda method of getting rid of sunburn. And I should say it worked out perfectly... You mix baking soda with a little bit of water, until it gets smooth. Then you put it with a cotton ball or your clean finger on the area where it's burned. Wait until it gets dried and then with a wet wash cloth pat it off. And just feel great!!! It doesn't take the color off, but it definitely takes the heat and pain off.
Tea
Posted by Simone (British Columbia) on 06/12/2015
★★★★★
Hi since summer is coming I thought some people might like this. It came from my daughter's Bubba. Many years ago I was burnt so bad that even a sheet on my skin was painful. She told me to brew some tea bags and let them steep. I used regular black/orange pekoe. When the tea is luke warm (too cold will make you tense up), have someone lightly squeeze the bag and dab all over. The moisture and tannins in the tea help keep the skin from drying out. The best part was there was no bad peeling and it turned into a tan faster.
Drink extra water to help keep your skin hydrated. You may want to do it a few times over a day or two. I have passed this on to others over the years with great results. Of course prevention is the best remedy.
Aloe Vera
Posted by Kimberly (Fl, Usa) on 06/09/2015
★★★★★
I recently got sunburned (my bad for not using sunscreen) I didn't think I was outside long enough. Well I tried every suggestion on the website - but the most I got was 5 minutes temporary relief. I even bought aloe vera sunburn gel. But when my spouse read about the gel there was not that much aloe vera in it. We had 99.9% Aloe Vera juice in the refrigerator. It was quite a shock going on (was cold being in the refrigerator) but this helped me more than anything. It also took a lot of the redness away. I used it several times through out the day. Hope this suggestion helps someone else if they happen to get sunburned.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Jill (Chicago) on 07/07/2014
★☆☆☆☆
I got a sunburn over the weekend. I always break out when I'm in the sun but it was only about a half hour so I didn't think it would affect me like that. A day later it started itching like crazy. I tried ACV, plain white vinegar, and aloe. None of them helped at all. I had to break down and buy some hydrocortisone. I've been slathering it on. Maybe the natural products I tried aren't meant to treat an allergic reaction to the sun.
Sun Queen's Recipe
Posted by Sun Queen (Colorado, US) on 06/23/2014
★★★★★
Colorado sun can be brutal and burn skin in no time flat. I recently got a severe burn and I made my own "lotion" that worked like a miracle. First, I have to note that I tried an experiment: applying pure bergamot oil to my left leg immediately after coming in out of the sun and then to my right leg about 4 hours later. My left leg never burned, peeled, or hurt, but rather turned brown and skin stayed healthy. My right leg was still red, peeling, and tender after a week. I used the below lotion on both legs every night before bed and every morning after a shower, which kept my left leg healthy and helped my right leg heal.
Sunburn Relief: (All organic, pure ingredients) 1/2 cup Coconut Oil, 1/4 cup Castor oil, 1/4 cup Pure Aloe Vera liquid (not the gel or with any additives), 1/4 cup ACV, 2 Tbsl vitamin E oil, Then 3-20 drops of the following: Bergamot oil, Tea Tree oil, Neem oil, Tamanu oil, Rose oil, Almond oil, Grapeseed oil, Rose Hip Seed oil, Jojoba oil, Rosemary oil, I don't add the ACV if the skin is broken (cracked or peeling) because it stings too much. If your skin is badly burned, be sure to cool it off with ACV or earl gray tea (bergamot) cold compresses before applying the oils, because oil can sometimes magnify the heat.
Aloe and Peppermint
Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee, US) on 06/21/2014
★★★★★
I was experimenting around with making a lotion and stumbled upon something that has been a help to our family for sunburn.
The day I made the lotion (recipe below) first was a day my son had worked outside all day and had a sunburn on his neck. He applied this to his neck and the skin was soft the next day. It also was immediately soothing. Today I was outside for hours in the heat of the day and had some sunburn when I came in. This lotion felt very good, and also was cooling as I was quite hot.
I have used the lotion other times just for fun. I love peppermint.
Peppermint-Aloe After Sun Lotion
1 Tablespoon Sunflower Lecithin
2 Tablespoons Almond Oil
6 Tablespoons Aloe Juice
10 drops peppermint essential oil (I may have used more.)
Put into a container and shake well. For longer term storage, it might be wise to add some Vitamin E. I have had it for a month or two and it is fine, just sitting on the counter.
Enjoy!
~Mama to Many~
EC: Thanks, Mama to Many! I'm sure it will come in handy this summer for many of us.
Apple Cider Vinegar, Coconut Oil
Posted by Lauren B (San Francisco, Ca) on 05/10/2014
★★★★★
Apple Cider Vinegar & Coconut Oil for Sun Burn
This absolutely helped my horrible sunburn! I did the below routine 3x in 24 hours, and didn't even get to start it until 36 hours after sun damage. I noticed a slight reduction in pain/redness but the REAL help was with reduced peeling in the following 5 days. I KNOW from past experience I would have peeled much worse.
-Take 2 paper towels together, fold to the size of affected area
-Lay on a plate of ACV, let them soak it all up
-Place damp/soaked paper towels on sunburn
-Let sit for 20 minutes
-Lather in coconut oil after dry
Green Coconuts
Posted by Steve12 (San Jose, Ca) on 08/05/2013
★★★★★
Being fair skinned I always burned very easily. 12 years ago I started buying green coconuts from the Asian grocers for a dollar apiece. I would take 2 a day by pouring the liquid into a blender and then scrapping the coconut meat into the blender and make a coconut shake. Very delicous. So after a year of this I visited Panama and took suba lessons. I was out in the sun with out sunscreen and I didn't burn and ever since then, even without the coconuts I tan much easier than before.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Zoey (Clarksville, Tn) on 06/05/2013
Lol
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Gert (South) on 04/22/2013
Were you doing this to prevent sunburn? I thought it was for relief after you are sunburned. It works for that pain, as does coconut oil. To prevent sunburn, take astaxanthin ( 1 every day). I've been taking astaxanthin for arthritis and haven't burned for years--I don't do anything else and am in the garden or creek many hours a day.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Jordanna (Tel Aviv, Israel) on 04/21/2013
★☆☆☆☆
I'm a big fan of apple cider vinegar, so when I saw it listed as a cure for sunburn, I wanted to try it. I used it only on the right side of my body, and left the left side untouched so I could see if it did anything. The ACV made no difference.
Oatmeal
Posted by Citygirl27 (Richardson, Tx, Usa) on 11/01/2012
★★★★★
Oatmeal is great for sunburn relief. Add a cup of oats to your bathwater. Just skip the flavored ones. This is how the leading similar product that begins with an A became popular. Surprised this is not in your sunburn remedies.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Dave (Minneapolis, Mn) on 10/25/2012
★★★★★
After reading these posts on Apple Cider Vinegar as a remedy for sunburn, I ran downstairs to apply it to mine. I burned pretty bad after foolishly spending 8 minutes in a tanning bed (having light skin & not tanned or had much sun exposure in months), forgetting to bring with me to the tanning salon my usual jar of Virgin Coconut Oil (which I usually lather on before tanning). I've looked like a lobster since and it's painful to even wear clothes.
I mixed the ACV 1/2 & 1/2 with water, soaked a smooth, thin rag in it, and wrapped it over my sunburn. Instant relief! ... and I've been using aloe vera gel & coconut oil for days (with some success, but not like this).
I do smell like a pickle & generally don't prefer the ACV smell, but having this much relief makes it easy to overlook. I'm grateful that a simple google search for sunburn relief led me here. :)
Coconut Oil
Posted by Laura (Bryan, Tx, Usa) on 09/09/2012
★★★★★
I got a pretty bad sunburn today, and before I even got home it started hurting so I knew the first thing I was going to do when I got home was check this site for some relief. I have both ACV and extra virgin coconut oil, but decided to go with the oil so I wouldn't be so stinky. As soon as I applied the oil to my sunburn I got instant relief!! :) Thank you Earthclinic.
Egg Whites
Posted by Lecia (Copenhagen, Denmark) on 08/14/2012
★★★★★
Egg whites! I apply raw egg whites to my skin and wait until it dries (which takes only a few minutes), or a little longer. Then I rinse it all off (just water, no products). It takes a few hours to work, but the result is almost a miracle, no burn at all!
It also smoothens the skin, and since I only eat the egg yolks, I have been using the whites on my skin often.
Vinegar
Posted by Jana (Clarksville, Tennessee) on 12/18/2011
★★★★★
We have used white vinegar for sunburn for years. Soak paper towels in a bowl with white vinegar. Put the wet paper towels on the sunburn. It will be quite cold to the burn. As the towels dry, reapply the vinegar either by redipping the towel or spray vinegar on... Works every time. The skin may still peel, but the pain /heat is gone. No uncomfortable sleeping.
