Sunburns? Beat the Heat with These Natural Remedies

Does too much fun in the sun have you seeing red?

While sunburns may seem like just a normal part of a summer well-lived, sunburns cause real skin damage and can have lasting effects on the health of the whole body. Thankfully, there are many ways to protect your skin after a burn and protect your skin from damage in the future.

From supplements to sleep, here we’ll cover the basics of sunburn relief therapy and how natural healthcare options can help you actively repair, moisturize, and heal your skin while boosting your overall health.

Why Worry About Sunburns?

A sunburn occurs when our skin is exposed to too much ultraviolet (UV rays) radiation. This damages the skin’s outermost layers and results in either a tan or a sunburn. While a sunburn involves more pain and swelling than a tan, they are both signs of skin damage.

Unfortunately, the common sunburn leads to more than just red, peeling skin. Swelling, pain, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, irritability, and poor sleep are all common side effects of a sunburn. In severe sunburn cases, blisters and infection can develop and may require medical attention.

The effects of sunburn don’t disappear when the skin has healed. Each burn contributes to long-lasting health issues like photoaging and skin cancer. It’s important to remember that sun damage can occur even through clouds and glass. The negative effects of sun exposure build over time, even when there has been no obvious burn or second-degree blistering.

How to Heal Your Sunburned Skin Naturally

Whether you’ve got a decent tan, a hint of pink, or a full-on red and blistering sunburn, now is a crucial time to give your skin the extra care it needs to heal. Follow these simple steps and home remedies to help you recover from sunburns and excessive tanning and give your skin cells the best chance of recovery.

1. Start the healing process with healthy habits. 

Start your natural sunburn treatment by taking on a few simple lifestyle habits to encourage the healing process and help your skin repair from sun damage.

Sunburn Skin Care
After a burn, it’s important to pay extra attention to your skincare routines. Personal care products that contain chemicals, dyes, or abrasive elements (like exfoliators) can further damage the skin in its sensitive state. Instead, opt for natural, healing salves or gels to nourish the affected area. Aloe vera gel is a time-tested remedy that offers both relief and regeneration to burned skin.

Painful sunburns can make pain relievers like over-the-counter NSAIDs (ibuprofen) or using hydrocortisone creams particularly appealing. These can give short-term relief but try to avoid using them if possible. Instead, take frequent cool baths or showers, or apply a wet towel as a cold compress to the burned area. Afterward, apply a natural moisturizer or aloe cream to keep the skin calm.

Healthy Skin Habits
If possible, continue to exercise moderately while your burn is healing. Daily movement is a great way to encourage healthy blood flow and skin repair. Rest during this time is also important. Dedicated rest and extra sleep after a burn give your body more downtime to heal.

Staying hydrated after a sunburn greatly helps the healing process. Repairing the skin requires a lot of water, and your body will pull water from other sources if there isn’t enough available. Drinking extra water during this time helps keep you from getting dehydrated while you heal. For an added soothing effect, drink cool chamomile tea to reduce inflammation and calm the mind.

2. Eat for heat relief.

After a sunburn, it’s crucial to give your body the nutrients it needs to repair the tissue damage, nourish the skin, clear harmful inflammation, and support the immune system.

Sunburned skin is red, hot, and inflamed. While inflammation can initially help to start the healing process, prolonged inflammation leads to pain and skin breakdown.

To heal the skin after a sunburn, it is best to avoid any foods or beverages that encourage the inflammatory response as part of your sunburn treatment plan. This includes items like fried foods, processed foods, sugar, soda, alcohol, spicy foods, and refined grains. Swap oils high in inflammatory linoleic acids (like corn, soybean, safflower, and sunflower oils) with oils high in omega-3 fatty acids (like olive or avocado oil).

Focus instead on foods that have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties to encourage a well-rounded healing response. Many fresh fruits and vegetables contain skin-healthy compounds like carotenoids and lycopene, as well as extra water content. Certain herbs and spices are also highly anti-inflammatory and support the body while repairing the damaged skin. Foods naturally high in healthy fats (like fatty fish and nuts) are especially beneficial after a burn to nourish the skin and further reduce inflammation.

3. Use supplements to rejuvenate and protect your skin.

Damage from sun exposure is not just skin deep – the effects of a burn can impact the health of the whole body. Check out how these well-known nutrients work to heal the skin from sun exposure while restoring the body’s balance inside and out.

3 Supplements that heal, nourish, and restore the skin:

Reduce Inflammation with OMEGA-3

Omega-3 fatty acids are powerful compounds that help to reduce inflammation and pain while repairing damaged skin. Aceva’s Omega 3 Plus offers a healthy dose of skin-repairing omega 3 capsules (take 1-2 capsules daily). Or if you prefer to take a liquid form, our Omega 3 Longevity formula blends these omega 3s with the powerful skin and hair antioxidant, astaxanthin (take 1-2 teaspoons).

Repair with VITAMIN D

Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, can also help our bodies heal from too much sun exposure. In addition to reducing pain and inflammation, Vitamin D activates the genes involved skin repair. For the best results, take our Active D (1-5 drops) or Active D Plus (1-2 capsules) within one hour of the burn.

Stay resilient with VITAMIN C

Vitamin C is known for enhancing the immune system, but also plays an important role in skin health as an essential vitamin for collagen production. Collagen helps to keep the skin resilient and helps renew the skin after traumas like sunburn. For these reasons, Vitamin C is a key component of our sunburn relief protocol. Support your skin with our Active C Powder (1 tsp) or Active C Caps (1-2 capsules)

2 Supplements that help maintain total health after sunburn and beyond:

Get your greens with Absolute Greens
Aceva’s Absolute Greens makes getting your daily fruit and vegetables quick and simple. The 5+ fruits and vegetables packed in our greens powder offer a wholesome range of vitamins, enzymes, flavonoids, antioxidants, and other healthy nutrients to help your skin heal from the inside out.

Maintain holistic support with Daily Balance
If you don’t already take our 4-in-1 multivitamin for general wellness, Daily Balance can help your skin heal with the repairing effects of Vitamin E, carotenoids, and B Vitamins while your body gets all the extra daily support it needs.

Protect Your Precious Skin and Prevent Burns

While we are extremely grateful for all the ways that nature can help us heal from sunburn, the best medicine is always prevention and following best practices for sun protection. Invest in a high-quality sunscreen location with at least 30 SPF, wear protective clothing outside, monitor how long you spend in the sun’s rays, and rehydrate by drinking water while you're out. Better yet, start on a path to holistic wellness inside and out with Aceva’s range of natural supplements to support skin health through sunburns and beyond.