Soaking up the sunshine is always absolute bliss but then you go home and you feel that all too recognisable tingle, you ignore it and blame it on being sun drunk/sunkissed, but then you wake up the next morning, feeling hotter than a freshly baked tomato and you look in the mirror only to realise you look like one too. You’re sunburnt. It hurts and you hate everything right now.
Sunburn is something that happens to most people and it sucks. Besides being a painful eyesore, it’s also very dangerous. Experts say that it only takes five or more major sunburns to increase your risk by 80% of getting melanoma.
How can you avoid it? Good question, because no one likes the feeling and no one likes the adverse effects it has. The first tip seems obvious but we’ll state it anyways, avoid long hours spent in the sun. However, South Africa has beautiful weather and that tip might be hard to incorporate into our outdoorsy lifestyles. So the better option is to protect yourself. What you want to do is cover yourself, in either clothes and hats or in sunscreen if you’re showing off some skin. You ever see those movies where people in the desert are all wrapped in scarves? You might think, why on earth are they wearing so much? Well it comes down to the fact that being covered up helps protect the skin from harsh sun rays.
However, if being dressed up from head to toe on the beach isn’t your thing, just be sure to coat your entire body in sunscreen, missing a spot could result in a painful burn and an even more painfully embarrassing burn mark. The key to successful sunscreen application is to do it regularly, ie once is never enough. So make sure you take your bottle of SPF along with you when you’re hiking or lazing on the beach and remember to reapply at regular intervals.
We all make mistakes, so say you forgot one of the above steps and inevitably got sunburnt, here is what you can do to beat the burn.
1. Aftersun is your friend – This special liquid of magical healing cools down the burnt areas and helps to avoid painful peeling. Top tip: keep it in your fridge to keep the formula nice and cool, your hot body will thank us later.
2. Dipping into a cool bath or shower will help cool down the skin as well. However, stay away from fragranced soaps which could aggravate the burn.
3. Aloe Vera is where it’s at – That little succulent plant houses amazing qualities. It’s a natural anti-inflammatory and it will expertly soothe and moisturise sunburnt skin.
4. Hydrate! – Because the skin is inflamed, it draws water away from your body so it’s super important to stay hydrated!
5. If you’re experiencing pain, a simple over the counter painkiller will help.
6. Avoid tight clothing – You need to be kind to your skin while it heals, so opt for your comfiest gear.
So, now that you know how to avoid the dreaded burn and also how to take care of it, if or when it happens, you can head out there and enjoy a bit of fun in the sun.
