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.
OTC
Posted by Emily (Jackson, Tennessee) on 06/09/2006
★★★★★
Mix equal parts of hydrocortisone cream and hemorrhoid cream and rub onto sunburned skin before bed. Although the smell is awful, by the next morning, the soreness and redness will be gone. It is amazing how this will work for the worst of sunburns!
Fresh Whey
Posted by Jeanne G. (colorado) on 11/19/2023
★★★★★
I have seen a nasty sunburned skin look good in morning, after using pure fresh whey, after making home cheese, and letting it drip, that liquid applied as a compress on clean white cloth.
It was left of for 1/2 hour. The fresh whey used to be European beauty secret before we became suntan worshipers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Zoey (Clarksville, Tn) on 06/05/2013
Lol
Potato
Posted by Alice (Auckland, New Zealand) on 01/01/2010
★★★★★
Potato helped my sunburn
I had forgotten to put on sunscreen when I went to the beach today. I got back to discover my legs were as red as a lobster, and felt like they were burning.
I remembered reading potatoes does wonders with a fever, so I sliced some raw potato and put them on my thighs. The potatoes were cool and soothing, and gave me longer relief. Aloe vera wasn't this effective. The potato slices are sitting on my thighs while I type this up. Give it a go, it helps the burning feeling!
Lukewarm Bath
Posted by Snowdonx (What City, Australia) on 12/21/2009
★★★★★
Severe Sunburn Handling
Basically I had really severe sunburn, apparently when the pores on the skin start to close this can cause severe itching which had me running around the house like a nutcase because i couldn't sit still. Called ambos and hospital and nurse and theres nothing they could advise other than shower. So I started to think outside the box, water is generally soothing and when you sit in a bath i remembered the skin wrinkles this wrinkling basically increases the surface area of the skin and my theory was that it would in turn help the pores of the skin remain open.
So I spent a fair bit of time in the bath each day where it was painful some times up to 4 hrs in the bath the water was at just under luke warm temperature. Mind you I had used a 600ml bottle of the synthetic aloe vera which is no where near the same as the unsynthetic which disgusted me because I hate it when they start making synthesised versions of natural products.
Anyway to cut a long story short the bathing worked a great deal, I ended up sleeping in the bath a couple of times.
This was a painful lesson. If you are working out in the sunlight or aren't getting a regular exposure to sunlight then you will burn easily and may have a severe reaction. The funny thing is i was at the beach with a group of friends and this other guy who works outdoors got the same amount of burning was in the sun longer and basically had no ill effects.
As for the severe itching i encountered i don't know how successful that will be in the bath because it had calmed down a fair bit after the ambulance came and spiked up a couple of times but when i was in the bath everything felt much better. Also this severe sunburn seemed to leave some kind of permanent damage to the pores or skin in general.
Vinegar
Posted by John (Pearisburg, Virginia) on 10/02/2009
★★★★★
Vinegar cures Sunburns quickly!
I remember when I was about 6 or 7 year old, always going to the swimming pool. At times I would come home with a bad sunburn on my shoulders and back, so my mom would have me lay on my stomach while she would take a small bowl filled with vinegar. Then she would soak a small rag in the vinegar and rub and message the vinegar into the sunburned area, within 5 to 10 minutes later the painful sting of the sunburn was gone. It's also very effective if you have gotten sun poison Too, In just the same technique but takes a little longer to cure.
EC: Any particular type of vinegar, i.e., apple cider vinegar or white vinegar?
Sour Cream
Posted by Maria (Los Angeles, Ca) on 08/30/2009
★★★★★
For a bad sunburn, I have always used plain sour cream by applying it generously over the affected area. It needs to remain on skin for 1-2 hours and then be washed off with just water. This does an excellent job of soothing away the redness and burning sensation. For a really bad burn, you can reapply every hour or so throughout the day. Truly the best thing I have found to work for me.
Tomato
Posted by Karin (Vina del Mar, Chile) on 03/28/2009
★★★★★
Sunburn relief with Tomato:
When I was a kid we didn't have sunblock like now and I used to get very nasty sunburns. I remember my Mom used to sliced some tomatoes and cover the affected area with them while I was lying down. She made me drink plenty of water with an aspirin. Sometimes, when she had an aloe vera leaf available,she would cover my read skin with that natural gel. Fortunately, I have not suffered any sunburn since I discovered SPF -maybe because so many painful memories makes me not forget to put it on...
Tea
Posted by Esther (Lewisberry, PA) on 09/22/2008
★★★★★
Sunburn comment: Easier and more efficient is to just boil 1/2 cup water and steep a tea bag in it for 5 minutes or so. Add 2-3 ice cubes and using a cotton ball or even the tea bag (until it breaks) apply directly to the sunburn and allow it to dry on the skin.
Castor Oil
Posted by Whisperingsage (N Ca) on 07/15/2017 45 posts
That wasn't third degree, that was second degree. Third degree is charred and black.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Naomi (Dallas, Texas) on 06/15/2011
spray tans are cheaper and better for your skin in the long run
