How to Prevent Sunburns from Ruining Your Vacation
This past weekend I went to Wanderlust 108: Seattle, and we ended up having perfect weather. After a dreary spring spring that left even the most optimistic of us doubtful that summer would ever come, the clouds have finally parted. Even though I came prepared with sunscreen, after 6 hours of sweaty activity in direct sunshine I ended up a little crispy. With the reminder of the importance of preparing for a long day in the sun still fresh on my shoulders (literally!), I decided to do a little research on the best ways prevent sunburns, and how to speed up the healing process if you already have one!
How to Prevent Sunburn the Natural Way
The benefits of sun exposure definitely outweigh its risks, but you do need to be smart about it. To ensure that you are able enjoy the positive effects of sun exposure without getting burned, I suggest following these safety tips:
Protect your face and eyes by wearing a wide-brimmed hat or a cap
The skin around these areas is much thinner than other areas of your body and is more at risk for visible skin damage and premature wrinkling. Though I’m not a huge hat person at home, I do enjoy trying on different personas via unique hats while I’m on vacation!
Slowly work your way up to longer amounts of sun exposure
If you are fairly light-skinned and tend to burn easily, it would be in your best interest to limit your initial exposure to just a few minutes at a time, especially if you are take a hiatus from winter in a sunny location. According to Mercola, the key is watching for your skin to turn the lightest shade of pink. This can occur in as little as 10-20 minutes, depending on your skin tone and other factors, such as location and cloud cover. At that point, you’ve reached your skin’s saturation point, and your body will not produce any more vitamin D. It’s important to remember that there’s no additional health benefit to staying in the sun past the point of “pinking” – staying out in the sun any longer will result in a sunburn, not a tan!
Once your skin cools down, then you can head back out into the sun for another dose! The more tanned your skin gets, the longer you can stay in the sun without burning. It can take three to six times longer for darkly pigmented skin to reach the same concentration of vitamin D in the skin. If it is early or late in the season and/or you are a dark-skinned individual, you could safely stay out in the sun for about 30 minutes during your initial exposure.
Build an internal sunscreen with beneficial antioxidants
The amount of antioxidants you get from your diet actually plays a major role in avoiding sunburn. The more antioxidants you have in your skin, the lower your risk of getting burned. They act as an internal type of sunscreen and allow you to maximize your sun exposure while minimizing the risks. Carotenoids (found in foods that are bright red, yellow, or orange) are critical to the photosynthetic process and protect a plant or organism from damage by light and oxygen. By consuming plants or organisms that contain these pigments, you gain a similar protective benefit.
Vitamins A and C are also important – your cells use them to regulate both light absorption and protection against sun overexposure. To make sure that you are eating enough food with high amounts of antioxidants, try eating a rainbow of whole fresh vegetables and fruits – especially berries. Although the exact pathway by which antioxidants help protect your skin from burning has yet to be discovered, it’s most likely related to the antioxidants’ anti-inflammatory properties, as sunburns are a type of inflammation.
Astaxanthin – a potent antioxidant – has been found to offer effective protection against sun damage when taken as a daily supplement. Do note that it takes a couple of weeks for it to build up in your system, so you cannot simply take it on the day you’re hitting the beach and expect it to be effective. This is particularly helpful to supplement with if you are planning on taking a vacation in a location that has a lot more sunshine than your current environment and you know that you will spend a lot of time being active outdoors, where seeking shade or shelter may not be an option. Other helpful antioxidants include proanthocyanidins, resveratrol, and lycopene.
Moisturize your skin naturally
Before sunbathing, apply organic coconut oil on the exposed areas of your skin. This will not only moisturize your skin to prevent dryness, but will also be an added layer of protection between your skin and the sun. Though this study only found coconut oil to have an SPF of around 8, many people swear by using coconut oil to prevent sunburns.
How to Treat Sunburn Naturally
Though taking measures to prevent sunburn from occurring is the least painful option, I’m sure that we have all experienced a time when we got caught outside without protection for a little too long and ended up feeling a bit crispy the next day. Having a sunburn can potentially ruin a vacation, especially if you’ve planned lots of outdoor activities. Here are some natural remedies to help kickstart the healing and minimize the suffering so you can make the most of the rest of your vacation.
One of the most effective first-aid strategies that I have heard of is to apply raw aloe vera gel topically to the burn. It’s loaded with powerful glyconutrients that accelerate healing. Aloe is also easy to grow outdoors if you live in a southern location, or indoors near a sunny window during colder months. Personally, I have two plants that I grow on my kitchen windowsill for this very purpose!
Make sure that you pick an aloe plant with thick, juicy leaves if you plan on using it for this purpose. After cutting the leaf from the plant, you want to first cut off the prickly edges. Then, using a peeler, peel the skin off one side. You can now rub the jelly side directly on your sunburn. If you’re traveling and somehow forgot to pack your aloe vera plant with you (can you imagine the mess?!?), make sure that you purchase a product that is 100% aloe vera. Apply it up to five times a day until your skin feels better.
Applying cold compresses to the sunburned area can also help lessen the burning pain. To avoid further irritation, do not wash sunburned skin with harsh soaps. Speaking of water, you also want to make sure to stay properly hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
Avoid applying petroleum jelly on your sunburn, as it may exacerbate the pain. Also, it’s not recommended to take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications or painkillers in most cases, as they may worsen your condition.
Besides aloe vera, there are plenty of other topical food-based remedies that can help ease the pain and speed healing that might be a little easier to find on the road. For example, you can use:
Cucumbers – To take advantage of cucumber’s cooling effect, simply putting it on top of your sunburns is guaranteed to provide instant soothing effects. You can also use it as a paste by mashing it and applying it on your skin. Don’t forget to save a couple of slices to soothe those tired eyes!
Green tea – The catechin and tannic acid found in Green Tea can also help soothe sunburn pain. Soak a couple of tea bags in cool water. You can either use the tea bags themselves as a cold compress on the burnt areas, or wash your face gently with the cold tea extract. Studies also suggest that drinking just two cups of green tea a day can provide additional sun-protective benefits thanks to its high level of antioxidants.
Potatoes – Potatoes have starch-based compounds that may help soothe sunburn. Slice up an uncooked potato, and rub or pat down a piece on your sore sunburned spots. You can also try grating a cold raw potato and applying it as a poultice.
What about Sunscreens?
According to Mercola, most sunscreens effectively protect against UVB rays, which is the main cause of sunburn, but also the main source of Vitamin D. This means that when you apply sunblock, even at a lower SPF 15, you’re effectively eliminating any chance of raising your vitamin D level.
Besides preventing vitamin D production, sunscreens can be problematic for other reasons as well. Many also contain toxic and/or hormone-disrupting ingredients, which migrate through your skin directly into your bloodstream. Products that contain vitamin A and its derivatives, retinol and retinyl palmitate, may also increase the speed at which malignant cells develop.
In addition, most sunscreens do not filter out the more damaging UVAs, unless it also contains a UVA block. So you’re still being exposed to harmful UVA rays, even if you don’t get burned.
According to Dr. Roopal Kundu, a dermatologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, as stated in an article by Time Magazine, UVA rays do not cause sunburn, but “it really leads to darkening and aging, because it penetrates deeper into the skin and has more influence in the collagen.” So if you do choose to use a sunscreen, in order to guarantee that your sunscreen offers UVA protection look for the words “broad spectrum.”
Personally, Kundu uses a water-resistant SPF 30 sunscreen with the active ingredient zinc oxide, a natural sunscreen ingredient that physically (instead of chemically) blocks rays. Make sure to use an entire shotglass worth for unexposed areas, and reapply every two hours and using this same amount.