What should I do if my skin is burned

The summer is coming! Hoppaaa, legs bare and carry on with that exotic shade! But what if in all your enthusiasm you forgot to apply SPF or accidentally fell asleep (or both) and your skin is suddenly fiery red and feels painfully burned? Yes, I speak from experience... been there, done that! So here are some tips for some cooling and relief!

Help! I'm burned!

You had a wonderful day in the sun, chilling by the pool or on the beach! A gentle breeze...enjoy! Then you will not soon realize that the sun was still burning hard on your skin and at the end of the day you still feel a painfully sensitive red-colored tan that you didn't quite have in mind! So what now?

COOL AND HYDRATE! It is important that you first let your skin cool down. So take a fresh shower or place a cloth soaked in cold water over your burned skin. In the meantime, place a wet cloth (or a few) in the freezer so that you can put it back on your skin later to cool down.

Oh, and also make sure to hydrate yourself from the inside out, so down a few glasses of water and keep drinking plenty!

TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN! Once you've cooled off in the shower, pat your skin gently and not completely dry. DO NOT RUB! While your skin is still slightly damp, rub in with a good moisturizer to lock in the moisture. Burning the skin dries out and draws moisture to the surface.
A moisturizer with Aloe Vera has a cooling and soothing effect and ensures that the redness decreases... you can use it :-)! You can also let it cool in the fridge before applying it to your skin.

If you really have blisters, lubricate them well with Vaseline.

Leave all your other skincare products behind until your skin has calmed down a bit, your burned skin is a bit more sensitive now. This can take up to a week.

STAY OUT OF THE SUN! As long as your skin is still recovering from that nice day, resulting in skin like a tomato, it is better to stay out of the sun as much as possible. Of course you can't avoid this completely. Make sure your skin is covered as much as possible with loose, airy clothing, something on your head and don't forget to put an SPF on your face (at least factor 30)!

MILK ON YOUR SKIN! What? Milk? Yes, you read that right. Milk contains vitamins A and D which help repair damaged skin. Soak a washcloth in milk and dab it on your skin (better in the shower, otherwise it's such a mess).

NO MAKEUP FOR A TIME! I get that you want to camouflage the redness a bit, but it's really better to stick with cooling and soothing moisturizers. you can do it!

ASPIRIN! Aspirin or ibuprofen can help with the healing process of your burnt skin. If you want to do this, it is important that you do this especially the first hours after the sunburn. Only then does it have an anti-inflammatory effect and relieve the pain.

Conclusion

"OMG! I'll never forget to put SPF on myself again!" That's right! Let's not let that happen again! So NEVER EVER AGAIN forget to put your sunscreen in your bag, reapply it every two hours, out of the sun if you feel it getting a little too hot on your skin, wear something on your head and keep drinking! And I'm mainly talking about water, no cocktails! Not too much anyway ;-).

Enjoy your summer without getting burned!