Sun-kissed or Sun-burned: How to Treat Sun-exposed Skin

When it starts to get hot outside, everyone starts running around in tank tops and shorts leaving their skin completely vulnerable to the suns harmful rays.  Some people emerge from the sunlight with beautiful sun- kissed tans while other become walking human lobsters.

We all love to believe we can get a tan, but the unfortunate truth is that a lot of us will continue to burn forever. Some people may think burning is better than being pale, but with risk of skin cancer and skin poisoning it’s really not worth it. So here are some easy tricks to prevent burning in the summer.

Sunscreen

This may seems obvious but a lot of the time people still get burnt after applying sunscreen once during the day. That is because they aren’t using it correctly. When you get the bottle of sunscreen it is important to read the directions. It tells you when to apply the sunscreen before getting sun exposure or going into water. Also it will tell you when to reapply it. This will keep you from getting burnt. Freshman Kathleen Doyle stresses the importance of sunscreen; she says she uses SPF 35 to 100 sun block during the summer because of her fair skin.

Clothing and accessories

It gets hot during the summer so long pants and long sleeve shirts aren’t ideal. But if you’re scared about getting sunburn wear a pair of thin loosely fitted long pants and a bikini top and then alternate in a little bit with a thin long sleeve shirt and bikini bottoms so you don’t get too hot. Also, beach hats and baseball hats are great for prevent sunburn on your face.

Avoid the sun

We are not telling you to be a shut in like Howie from Benchwarmers, but when the sun feels like it’s getting to be too much, get out of it! Go under an umbrella for a little bit, or eat your lunch inside. Just like everything else in the world, it is better to take the sun in doses. Junior Haley Kleinhample has no problem staying out of the sun for a few days after getting burnt. It is better than suffering even more.

Now sometimes you do end up getting sunburn despite your efforts not too, and it is absolutely the worst. But good thing for you is that we have some ways to treat it.

1. Aloe

Aloe is your new best friend. Put the bottle of the aloe into the refrigerator until it is nice and cold and have someone helps you rub it on all of your burn spots. Doyle suggests laying under a ceiling fan after applying the aloe to cool you down even more.

2. Exfoliate

Exfoliating is very important because your skin won’t look blotchy when it starts to peel off. When you are in the shower take a loofa and rub a bath scrub over the parts of your body that are burnt to remove dead skin.

3. MOISTURIZE

This is the most IMPORTANT part! Put cream on your burn when you wake up, when you get out of the shower, when you go to bed, when your bored; all the time! Sunburn dries out your skin, and this will help you rehydrate it. Moisturizer makes it heal a lot quicker. “I typically use a moisturizer at least once a day to hydrate my skin, drink tons of water,” says Doyle.

The beach isn’t fun when you are covered head to toe in sunburn. So this summer take precaution with your skin and own your skin color.

Photo by Leah Polakoff