Sunburn Treatment: A DIY Soothing Sunburn Lotion

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Home Remedies for Sunburn Treatment

Home Remedies for Sunburn

The beginning of summer always means one thing for me: sunburn.

No matter how diligently I apply sunscreen, I always end up with at least one solid start-of-summer sunburn. I blame my fair skin and my love of gardening for that one.

Needless to say, my poor aloe vera plants get used quite a bit during May, June, and July. This year, I wanted to find a way to preserve them, so I decided I would try to make a soothing, sunburn treatment lotion with some store bought aloe vera and other natural ingredients.

Ingredients for Natural Sunburn Relief

Reading this post on 10 Uses for Aloe Vera really helped me find a good quality, natural aloe vera product that was free of preservatives and harsh chemicals.

Once I found a good quality aloe product to use, I wanted to choose oils that would nourish and repair my skin without irritating it more. I went with red palm oil, coconut oil, and shea butter.

Red Palm Oil is often overlooked when it comes to making DIY products because it can be a little more pricey than coconut or olive oils. However, it is definitely worth spending a little extra to get its numerous skin healing benefits. It’s extremely high in Vitamin E, medium chain triglycerides, carotene, healthy fats, and antioxidants. All of these things help red palm oil penetrate the dense layers of skin, healing from the base up.

Coconut Oil is also great for skin in many of the same ways as red palm oil. It helps skin maintain moisture balance and promotes skin cell regeneration.

Shea Butter is super luxurious and moisturizing, and has been used in home remedies for sunburn, skin peeling, and burns due to excessive heat. It reduces inflammation and contains extra vitamins and nutrients to promote overall skin health. Plus, it also penetrates skin to help moisturize effectively.

Also included in this recipe are two of my favorite essential oils, helichrysum and lavender.

There’s really nothing quite like helichrysum essential oil. It has a rich honey-like scent and is amazing for skin care. I’ve used it on burns, wounds, bruises, and other minor scratches and rashes. It does a wonderful job at helping return moisture to skin after sunburn and relieving sunburn pain.

Lavender essential oil is equally known for helping to heal burns and ease pain. It is also wonderful for skin and helps support cell regeneration. I use it in many of my lotions because I love the scent and I know it will work.

Sunburn Treatment Recipe

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a small mason jar, combine coconut oil, red palm oil, and shea butter.
  2. Microwave at 30 second intervals until oils are soft and mixable (not quite liquid).
  3. Stir well.
  4. Add aloe vera gel and stir well.
  5. Add essential oils and stir well once more.
  6. If the lotion appears too loose, continue to stir while allowing the oils to harden. The final lotion will be quite soft and a little will go a long way.
  7. Allow to completely cool. Store in the refrigerator for 1-2 months (or longer if your aloe vera has a preservative/mold inhibitor).

Use It For More Than Just Sunburn!

After making this lotion, I found that it is wonderful for so many types of burns, plus the scent is just heavenly! Use it on:

  • kitchen burns
  • diaper rash
  • bug bites
  • chafing
  • rug burns
  • inflamed skin

If you aren’t into making lotions, you can also try this DIY Sunburn Relief Spray or one of these 4 Natural Sunburn Remedies. Of course, the best way to treat sunburn is to prevent it by using sunscreen. You can try a natural Homemade Sunscreen, or find a natural store-bought option (like this one that DIY Natural recommends).

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About Katie Vance

Katie is a wife, mother, aromatherapist, and lover of all things DIY. She offers consultations and gives simple aromatherapy advice at Katie Vance, Aromatherapy Simplified. You can also find Katie on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Avatar photoMaya says

    After working on a burn ward in a hospital, I can only say NEVER ever put oil, any kind of oil on a burn!! Especially on a second or third degree burn. However, that being said, Collodial silver spray to eliminate possibility of infection and Aloe Vera Gel right out of the brown bottle from the fridge with Irish moss as an anti fungal & preservative has been demonstrated to heal first and even many types of second degree burns (as long as fabric has not adhered to the skin) when applied liberally as a wet dressing for as long as it takes to stop the pain. Anything more severe requires treatment in a hospital. (This requires a sterile technique and sterile field available only in a hospital.) and dear extended family PLEASE if blisters form that is a second degree burn. So, NEVER pop second degree blisters. Just watch for any sign of infection use colloidal silver spray and protect with cold wet aloe dressings changing often until healed.

  2. Avatar photoLisa Quenon says

    I may or may not make the sunburn remedy however, your article inspired me to get wise & harvest the huge aloe plant on my apartment patio. After a little how to research, now have well over a quart of fresh aloe… Some to ingest…some for external. .. the outside to compost. Thanks! !

  3. Avatar photoJEFF says

    Hello My name is JEFF living in Adelaide South Australia. I will start using this home made sun screen and see if it works down here under our sun