Summer Sunburn Relief!
|
|
|
Two sources of relief from sunburn are an infused tea and a fruit paste.
Make an Herbal Wash–water infused with herbs–to bathe your skin in refreshing and cooling water and reduce that scorched feeling. Or make a paste of mashed ripened fruit or avocado and apply it to sunburnt skin. Oat flakes work as a paste, too, and can be comforting when skin is dry and red.
Click this link for the full article on Late Summer Sunburn.
Recipe for Herbal Wash
Quantities are very approximate. Make more if you’re sunburned over your entire body, less if your sunburn covers your arms only, for example.
1 large handful herbal flowers (such as calendula, lavender, chamomile, elderflower, arnica flowers)
1 quart boiling water in a saucepan (stainless steel or ceramic)
Method:
Turn the heat off and remove the pan from the stove. Add the flowers and cover the pan. Allow to steep at least 15 minutes, or as long as it takes for the tea-infusion to come to room temperature.
Application:
Pour the tea-infusion into a bowl and add a small cloth, soaking it for a minute. Wring out the cloth gently and briefly so that it is still dripping wet.
Fold the wet cloth and place it on your skin or for a larger area, open the cloth and lay it flat on the skin.
Leave this in place for 5-10 minutes and repeat if liked. Blot your skin dry with a soft towel.
Strain and bottle. Store any unused portion in the fridge. Use up within 3 days.
Recipe for Oatmeal or Fruit and Water Paste
These are simple mashed pastes that you’ll apply to sunburned skin. More elaborate mixtures can be created for when your skin is back to normal. See my post here for a Face Mask.
Quantities are very approximate. Make more if you’re sunburned over your entire body, less if your sunburn covers your arms only, for example.
1 large handful oat flakes, or ½ ripened avocado, banana or ½ cup ripened papaya
1 cup cool water in a measuring cup or large mason jar
For Oat Paste
Method: Place oat flakes in a coffee or spice grinder to powder the flakes. They can be lumpy, no problem. The idea is to make the oats soft so they’ll be comforting to your sunburned skin.
You’ll mix in enough water to the flakes to make a loose paste.
Place the newly-ground oat flakes in a large bowl. Pour cool or room temperature water over the oat flakes and stir to combine. If you pour in too much water, immediately pour some out. You want the oat-water mix to be thick, and not dry, but not runny either. (See the photo). Now your Oat Paste is ready to use.
For Fruit Paste
Method: Mash the avocado or fruit in a small bowl. Add a tablespoon of water at a time, mixing and mashing to get a smooth-ish paste. Adding water slowly will ensure that you get a loose paste, one that will soothe rather than be heavy on your skin.
Instructions to Use Paste:
Choose a good place—either the kitchen or bathroom—where you can apply the paste and be messy without causing too much clean-up later! With a large spoon, serve yourself a big dollop into the palm of one hand and take from this “helping” to apply bits of paste to your sunburned skin. Pat it close to the skin and cover the sunburned area with the paste.
If anything you apply starts to sting, wash it off for now. Stinging sometimes means there’s an enzymatic reaction, and is generally healthy. But you don’t need extra pain with a sunburn. If this happens, go back and apply cool water or an herbal wash only.
Allow the paste to remain in place for 5-7 minutes, or as long as it is comfortable. Then rinse off with clear, cool water. Pat your skin dry.
After Herbal Wash or Paste
Take it easy for 30 minutes, resting and breathing but nothing else. During this repair time you won’t be irritating the sunburn by moving around, changing clothes, doing any activity whatsoever.
If you have an essential oil handy such as lavender or frankincense, you could inhale its aroma to help relax.
After your 30 minutes when you feel relaxed, carefully apply aloe gel or an herbal oil to the sunburned area. First rub or shear the product between two palms and then press your palms onto the sunburned skin. Use light pressure only to release the gel or oil onto your skin.
Next day, re-apply the gel or oil and this time rub it in if you can do so without pain. If there’s still pain, just press on the gel or oil as above. Repeat as many times in the day as you need to keep your skin moisturized.
What will happen next?
Over 2-3 days or more, your sunburned, reddened skin will slowly acquire tan, shedding the outermost layer. In a process that may take up to 2 weeks or longer, as the skin discards this layer anyway, no matter how much oil you apply to your skin after you get sunburned.
It’s part of the body’s repair mechanism to slough off or shed the burned layer of skin, making way for the new outer layer. So, you’re good when this happens, and everything is going well! Your new outer layer will be tanned to some degree, and may retain color for many months, even if you don’t encourage more suntanning.
