The dos and don’ts of treating sunburn

Last weekend we celebrated the wedding of two great friends. Despite their being flash photography, the weather was so glorious that I decided to apply my BASE Protection – SPF 50 anyway…I was more concerned about protecting my skin than the flashback on photos, which must be a sign of maturity 😂

My face remained perfectly protected ALL day (go BASE Protection 😉), however, I didn’t put SPF on my shoulders or arms as a) I didn’t think it was THAT hot and b) I thought we’d be indoors a lot more than we were…You can guess what happened next and I was so mad at myself about it!

So, in case you’ve been similarly caught out this week, here are my sunburn dos and don’ts to heal your delicate skin as quickly as possible!

Do: Get out of the heat ASAP.

Do: Immediately cool your skin with a cold compress (a damp towel is great for larger areas) or even better, take a cool shower. This takes the heat out of the area quickly to reduce the discomfort.

Do: Apply pure aloe vera gel. This stuff works absolute wonders and is so effective - it’s what we would use in clinic to treat laser burns. My top tip is to store it in the fridge so you can apply it cold which feels incredible on inflamed skin.

Do: Take paracetamol or ibuprofen to ease any pain if it’s medically safe for you to do so.

Do: Wear loose clothing and keep your skin covered until everywhere is fully healed.

And on the flip side…

Don’t: Use petroleum jelly (aka Vaseline) on sunburn. This is an occlusive product which means it will trap the heat in your skin and make everything feel hotter.

Don’t: Pick, scratch, or pop any blisters, or peel flaking skin away like it’s PVA glue on your fingertips at school…No matter how tempting! Let your skin heal in its own time so you don’t risk the formation of any scars.

Don’t: Put ice or ice packs on sunburn. This will traumatise the skin further and can stick to the wound if too cold. You want to cool the area gradually and not freeze it.

One of my lovely friends sent me a message to say her fiancé currently looks like a Drumstick lolly after a recent camping trip, (looking at you Ollie 😂) but if you follow these simple steps, your skin will take care of the rest for you and heal in no time.

For those of you who were keen to see the Botox blog, don’t worry! I’m going to write it for you in the coming weeks along with my in-flight beauty routine for anyone lucky enough to be jetting off on their travels.

Stay safe as the weather gets even hotter, keep applying your BASE Protection - SPF 50 and if you run into any issues, I’m only a message away!

Amy x