Natural Home Remedies To Treat A Sunburn

By Robin Parent

Harvesting aloe vera on my balcony. Bonus points for feeling like a wild herbal master when harvesting and applying it!!!

We’ve all been there - trying to achieve a nice tan, but maybe lying in the sun for too long or trying to stay in the sun just long enough to get our vitamin D* and ending up with a sunburn! Rest assured though there are some great home remedies that can help your skin recover from the redness, pain and itch (aka lobster skin) of a horrible sunburn! 

Three simple, natural and easy to find ingredients that can help soothe, heal and treat your skin after a sunburn are aloe vera, oats and coconut oil! 

You may already know that aloe is great to use on your skin, but did you know that it’s especially good at treating sunburns because of the gooey substance found in the inner fillet of the aloe leaf? This mucilage has healing and soothing properties, and you’ll find it has a cooling sensation when applied directly to your skin. Cut a small piece from the tip of the leaf and squeeze the gel right onto your skin. If you don’t have access to your own aloe plant (an awesome edition to your balcony or home!), you can find pure aloe vera gel at Pomme.

If your sunburn is painful and the aloe isn’t cutting it, there is a second step you can take. Grind some oats in a blender/food processor and take an oat bath! Grind several cups of oats and add them to a bath of warm water - make sure the water isn’t hot, just warm to the touch. Bathing in oats is not only relaxing but soothing to your skin and helps relieve pain. If you don’t want to commit to a bath or only have a small area to treat, you can make a poultice by mixing freshly ground oats with warm water and applying the mixture to your skin and letting it sit on your skin until you feel relief. Whether you bathe in oats or apply it topically, be sure to shower it off when you’re done. 

Another great step to take to treat your sunburn is swapping your moisturizer with coconut oil. A little goes a long way, so make sure to massage it into your skin well until it is no longer oily. The coconut oil will leave your skin feeling smooth as well as relieve any dryness that develops.

Burn or no burn, these home remedies can be applied anytime to relieve and soothe dry skin and keep it feeling great all summer long!

*To get enough vitamin D from the sun, stay in direct sunlight until your skin gets a light flush.

Robin is Pomme Port Coquitlam’s Customer Service Manager and is currently studying holistic nutrition. She loves the idea of growing your own food, using herbal medicine and using our beautiful earth to heal us.