Feel the Burn...

I went to the beach this past week. It was an amazing day, the weather was perfect and the water was refreshing without being too cold. Mom and I hung out for three hours and headed out. We're not huge beach people but we like to go a couple times a summer. It seemed like the perfect morning and then I got in the car and saw this...

This doesn't even convey the severity of my sunburn situation. I was purple. The worst part? I spent three hours total in the sun, and reapplied my SPF45 twice. I made sure it was a nice even genrous layer. My only explanation for why this might have happened is that this part of my body (just next to my underarm) never really sees the light of day. I didn't burn anywhere else just this baby triangle of skin on either side of my chest.

The point of this ramble is to show you the two things I found that really helped to soothe the IMMENSE pain this burn caused.

The Body Shop Mango Body Butter

 

The first thing I grabbed for was a nice rich body butter. I've had this Body Shop one for months now and just don't reach for it often because I generally prefer my Lush body lotions for all over moisture. The texture of this one though is so much more soothing and significantly richer feeling. I have the smaller trial size version of the Mango Butter and I felt like this little serving would go for miles, whether I used it on just the sunburn or all over.

I had put off using The Body Shop items because years ago I had used a tester in an airport and it made me very itchy. It was either something in the limited edition scent I sampled (which one it was I can't remeber) or a reaction to something else that I had on my skin that day, because I have no problems or irritation with this formula. In fact I was suprised when I applied this to the sunburn and it provided MORE relief than my Lush Dream Cream.  Now the Dream Cream is a fantastic product but it didn't work as well as the body butter for this specific purpose.

This also kept my burn incredibly hydrated which prevented any peeling and allowed the burn to fade evenly to a tan without going patchy.

Next up is an item I've shown you here before...



Caudalie Beauty Elixir



This was a godsend. I'm not sure this provided any healing properties but the minty tingle this gives on the skin was absolutely essential to my pre-sleep routine. It made the burning sensation fade just long enough for me to drift off to sleep regardless of the sting from the burn. Now this is a pricy product that I traditionally use on my face. By no means I am suggesting you run out and buy this solely on the basis that it helped my sunburn but, if you have it on hand try spritzing it on a burn to offer some temporary relief. Otherwise look for a product with a mild minty-ness (and I mean mild! mint can be very strong!) to create a nice cooling sensation on the area.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that avoiding sunburn and prolonged sun exposure is the best way to keep your skin safe and prevent future damage. As I mentioned sometimes even if you do take precautions you can wind up burnt. Practice safe sun guys.

I once heard that Noxema stored in the fridge feels really nice on sunburn but I've never tried it.

Any thoughts on sunburn remedies? Have you guys managed to beat the burn so far this summer?

xoxo

Molly