The Best Skincare Ingredients for Sunburns

With summer in full swing, so is the threat of sunburns. Red, angry looking and painful burns are the absolute worst for your skin! They damage the integrity of the DNA in each of your skin cells, which then paves the way for premature aging signs like advanced fine lines, leathery texture and sagging. But just because you can potentially get a sunburn doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go outside in the sun. You just have to be smart about it! But for those times when, despite your best efforts or perhaps because you forgot to cover up, you or a loved one still end up with a bright red burn, there are some simple, effective and natural solutions you can use in your time of need.

First (and you may already know about this one) is organic aloe vera. It works on burns because of its cooling and soothing properties that instantly get to work on nasty sunburns. Aloe vera is rich in long chain polysaccharides and vitamin E that help to soothe and rebuild the skin- both very helpful things in the instance of a sunburn. You can safely apply aloe directly to a burn at any time, reapplying as needed. And if you have an aloe plant at home, you can cut a piece from any of the leaves and rub the gel-filled inside onto the burn. Also, keep in mind that when buying aloe vera gel, you want it to be as pure as possible. This means no added colors or unnecessary additional preservatives.

Lavender essential oil is another great natural sunburn remedy to have on hand. You can either use a couple drops neat, right on the burn or dilute it in a carrier oil like coconut or jojoba oil. You could even add it to your aloe! Lavender essential oil’s ability to heal burns was actually discovered as an accident by a French scientist who burned himself in a laboratory accident. Desperate, he applied some lavender to his burn and was amazed at how quickly the pain went and away and how fast the burn healed- and with no scar to boot! Because lavender essential oil is used in private label skincare to help the skin regenerate and heal, it’s a tried and true remedy for skin the needs a little extra love.

While there are other skincare ingredients you can use for sunburns, both aloe and lavender essential oil are great places to start. They are typically affordable, easy to find and appropriate to use on both adults and children alike.