Summer is the season for fun in the sun. While Oregon is known for its rainy weather, once summer is here, it is dominated by heat waves and cloudless days. People are drawn to the lovely weather, but some of us feel like we have to stay inside to avoid the burn that can come with it. No one wants a farmer tan or to rock the lobster look—and peeling and stinging skin isn’t fun either. In this article, we will give you some tips to help you enjoy your days outside and avoid the painful aftermath. If you have a sunburn already, we’ll also provide guidance on how to salvage your skin.
Sunscreen
We have all grown up with our parental figures saying, “don’t forget your sunscreen!” to the point where it might feel like a chore applying it before leaving the house. Now that we’re off on our own and fully responsible for ourselves, it’s up to us to heed that warning. Sunscreen is one of the best ways to prevent from getting burned. To ensure safety from the sun, check the expiration date on your sunscreen bottle—if it’s been in the back of your closet for three years, it’s probably no longer useful. Another thing you can do is try to buy SPF based off your skin type. A somewhat universal strength is 30 SPF, however, if you have very pale skin, higher SPF like 50 will protect you better; if you’re naturally very tan, lower SPF like 15 or 20 will still be able to help prevent you from burning. To make sure that your sunscreen does its job, apply your sunscreen 15 minutes before going out in the sun, and make sure to reapply it every two hours.
Sun Evasion
Seeking out shade and avoiding the sun during its peak hours are other ways to avoid the sun’s wrath. According to the website psico.com—a company specializing in providing products for sensitive skin care—the sun’s peak hours are between 10am and 2pm. Along with this, if you sit in the shade, that’s a great way to get outdoors without overheating or getting fried by the sun’s rays. Hats are also a great form of protection. Some of the most susceptible areas to sunburn are your face, ears and back of your neck. Big sun hats do a great job of shielding you while also serving as a fashionable accessory.
Softening the Sting
Sunburns can be very painful and are never pleasant to deal with. To make the experience of getting a sunburn as painless as possible, make sure to apply loads of aloe. Aloe vera is fairly common as a tool of relief for sunburn pain, but there are also some other creative solutions you can use to make the healing period as painless as possible. Usually when you get a sunburn it feels like heat radiates from your skin, something you can do to calm this sensation is taking ibuprofen or aspirin (anti-inflammatories) or taking a cool shower or bath. The ibuprofen helps reduce the swelling and the cold water helps lower your body temperature. It’s also very important to be drinking a lot of water while you have a sunburn, because water in your body is concentrated towards the part of your body that are sunburnt, and it’s easy to get dehydrated.
Preventing the Peeling
Some people only use aloe vera when treating their sunburns and end up with peeling skin. While aloe vera is a healing treatment for sunburns, it isn’t a one and done type of situation. Check out after-sun lotions from brands like Sun Bum or Banana Boat for soothing creams and salves that will suck the heat out of your skin and add moisture. Other things you can do to prevent the peeling are pat drying yourself after a shower or bath, leaving your skin a little damp, and sticking to lotioning yourself religiously. The best way to make sure you are keeping your skin well-lotioned is to lotion first thing in the morning, every time after you shower and every night before bed. Another classic hydrating pantry staple you can use for your skin is coconut oil. It is known to work wonders in the ways of moisturizing and is the best tool for evading serious skin peeling.
