How to Get Rid of a Sunburn Fast

Having a sunburn is never enjoyable. It looks bad, gives you dry skin, and causes constant pain. Luckily, if you misjudged your time in the sun and got a burn, there are a couple things you can do to minimize the time you need to deal with it, so you can get back to looking and feeling great. Here is what you can do in order from when you first discover your burn.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bath/shower Cotton clothing Moisturising Lotion Water

1. 

   Understand what a sunburn is. A sunburn is literally a burn on your skin, which is caused from excessive exposure to UV radiation. Your sunburn will go lessen as your body works to recover, but will only completely go away when the burnt layers of skin shed off of you.

2. 

   Stay out of the sun. The areas around your sunburn may be on the verge of burning, so try to limit your exposure when recovering from a sunburn, as you could worsen the problem.

3. 

   Take a cool shower or bath to ease the immediate pain. This will work while your skin is cool, but as soon as you get out of the bath/shower and your skin warms up again, it will hurt.

4. 

   Apply skin moisteners or special after-sun lotions containing aloe to the burnt area. These lotions will moisten the skin and promote more rapid healing. This is perhaps the most important step, and should be performed daily and after bathing.

5. 

   Drink lots of water and eat a healthy diet. Your body is working hard to relieve your sunburn, which is why it feels warm to the touch. Make sure you are properly hydrated and fed to help your body do your job. Nothing special is required beyond 8 glasses of water a day and some nutritional meals. The main concern is that while on vacation or other places where sunburns occur, people are out in the sun and won't drink enough water, or will eat junk food all day and not eat anything nutritious for their body.

6. 

   Wear lose-fitting and light clothing, so that you do not irritate your skin further. This will ease the pain and keep your mind of your sunburn. Light cotton shirts and cloth pants are perfect.

Tips & Warnings

• Some people use exfoliates to lightly peel away the burnt skin, but beware and use this at your own risk, as it could significantly increase your pain if used improperly.
• Do not use soap in the shower or bath, as it rids your body of natural oils which are essential to healing your sunburn.

[jamiesgirl4548]

on 6/20/2009 put lots of ice ontop of the burn,or a cold clothe