The Most Effective Way to Soothe and Heal a Sunburn, According to Derms We Trust
We all know the feeling. The weather warms up, the sun starts calling, and a little golden glow sounds like a good idea — until it does not. Even the most careful sunscreen user misses a spot now and then, and that is when a sunburn stops being a holiday story and starts genuinely hurting. I am not the one handing out the advice here, though. What follows is what three board-certified dermatologists told Byrdie writer Sara Spruch-Feiner: Dr. Ranella Hirsch of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. Michelle Henry of New York City, and Dr. Morgan Rabach, also of New York City. Their piece was medically reviewed by Rachel Nazarian, MD, FAAD, and fact checked by Aimee Simeon, and it is built around twelve dermatologist-approved ways to soothe a burn and help it heal.
The short version first. Get out of the sun the moment you notice a burn, because more sun only makes the damage worse. Cool the skin down with a cold compress or a cool shower to calm the inflammation and ease the pain. And reach for pure aloe vera — applied on the skin, it helps first- and second-degree burns heal faster.
What Is a Sunburn?
Before the tips, it helps to know what a sunburn actually is. It is an inflammatory reaction of the skin’s outer layers to ultraviolet rays, and it shows up as redness, peeling, swelling and sometimes blisters. A burn usually heals, but Dr. Hirsch is clear about the stakes: some damaged cells can carry mutations that cannot be reversed, and those can turn cancerous. Melanin is the pigment that protects skin from sun damage by darkening unprotected skin in the sun — some people tan, others burn — but as Dr. Hirsch puts it, both are signs of cellular damage to the skin. The sun’s ultraviolet radiation reaches the skin and damages skin cells by changing the DNA inside them, and that change is what produces the redness of a sunburn. The good news, as the dermatologists put it, is that there is plenty you can do to cool the burn and speed up healing — and to keep it from happening again.
The three dermatologists behind the advice are Dr. Ranella Hirsch, a board-certified dermatologist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Dr. Michelle Henry, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City; and Dr. Morgan Rabach, a board-certified dermatologist also based in New York City.
1. Immediately Remove Yourself from the Sun
It sounds obvious, and it is the first step for a reason. Get out of the sun as soon as you see a burn, and stay out until it has completely healed. Dr. Hirsch’s rule of thumb is to stay out of the sun for as long as you are still red, pink or peeling. Dr. Henry warns that skin already battling a sunburn injury is far more prone to sun damage the second time around — and that damage can be more extensive.
2. Cool the Skin
Get cooling relief to the burn as soon as you can. Dr. Henry confirms that cold helps soothe inflammation, pain and the stingy, itching sensation of sunburn. The one thing not to do is press ice, or an ice pack, straight onto the skin. Instead, wrap the cold compress in a towel or a thick cloth and keep it on for 15 to 20 minutes at a time to prevent frostbite, then wait one to two hours before putting it back on. A cool shower helps too — it can wash away any chlorine or salt residue that might irritate the skin further — but do not stay in it too long, because that can dry the skin out. And skip harsh soap and scrubbing while you are at it; both tend to cause more irritation.
3. Take a Milk or Oatmeal Bath
Draw yourself a sunburn-soothing soak. Finely ground oatmeal — the kind sold in drugstores as colloidal oatmeal — has anti-inflammatory properties that help control the inflammation and itchiness of a sunburn, thanks to compounds called avenanthramides that block inflammation, Dr. Henry explains. It can be especially helpful for what is known as the Hell’s itch, an extremely painful, unrelenting itch that can very rarely appear a few days after a sunburn. Cool colloidal oatmeal baths also help moisturise the skin and support skin repair. And if there is no oatmeal in the house, Dr. Hirsch has a backup: an equal-parts bath of milk and cool water. There is no need to soak for hours — the milk proteins and naturally occurring lactic acid are very soothing on their own.
4. Take Ibuprofen or NSAIDS
It is not only topical treatments that help. A pain reliever like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or naproxen (Aleve) helps mitigate pain, inflammation and redness, Dr. Henry says — but act fast. The sooner you take it, the faster it will act to reduce your symptoms of sunburn, so make a point of taking the first dose right away. After that, keep taking it as needed and as directed, just not on an empty stomach, because that can upset it.
5. Rehydrate from the Inside Out
Sunburned skin needs far more water than usual while it heals. When your skin is fighting the damage caused by harmful ultraviolet rays, it needs extra hydration to replace the fluids it lost while you were out in the sun, Dr. Henry explains — so as soon as you realise you are burned, it is time to drink more water. Dr. Hirsch adds that there are faster ways to top up, too: Gatorade, Pedialyte, and even Pedialyte popsicles can help rehydrate, and water-laden fruits and vegetables like watermelon and cucumber can help as well.
6. Hydrate Externally as Well
After showering, lock the moisture in. Pat the skin gently, and while it is still a little damp, quickly slather on a gentle moisturiser — something from the CeraVe line, for example — to help lock in moisture and ease the dryness that so often comes with a sunburn. As strange as it might feel, keep moisturising even during the peeling stage of a sunburn, Dr. Henry says.
7. Wear Loose-Fitting Clothing
Spare your skin the spandex. Reach for clothing that is loose, soft, breathable and as covered-up as possible, Dr. Henry says — anything tight will only rub against the burn and make it worse.
8. Apply Aloe Vera
Sunburns and aloe are a classic pairing for a reason. The cooling effect of the gel from this cactus plant can help heal first- and second-degree burns and speed up healing, Dr. Henry explains. The catch is purity: look for pure aloe vera, and avoid anything that contains alcohol, because it can cancel out the plant’s moisturising, soothing effects. If you happen to have access to an actual aloe plant, that is even better.
9. Mix Hydrocortisone + Aquaphor
Dr. Rabach recommends a drugstore-friendly blend you can probably make from things already in your medicine cabinet: hydrocortisone 1% cream mixed with Aquaphor. Together, they can soothe inflammation and help the skin feel less dry and tight. One important note from the dermatologists: this mix is only for adult skin.
10. Look for Products With Peptides
Peptides are best known from high-tech anti-aging skincare, but they have wound-healing properties too. They are small amino acid chains that are the building blocks of cells, so they work to rebuild damaged cells, and they can also permeate into the dermis and help boost collagen synthesis. Dr. Rabach recommends peptide-laced products like TNS Recovery by SkinMedica for all her patients dealing with the results of too much sun. The article also likes M-61’s ultralight Hydraboost Collagen+Peptide Water Cream, which it describes as a bit less of a splurge than the SkinMedica option.
11. Don’t Pick or Peel
Let your skin be, and try not to pick while it heals. When a sunburn reaches its peeling stage, let the skin slough naturally, Dr. Henry says — and if you have blisters, do not pick or pop them, because popping a blister increases the chances of getting it infected. If a blister pops on its own, clean it with mild antibacterial soap and cool water, then layer on some petrolatum ointment and cover the site with a sterile, nonstick band-aid.
12. Lastly, Prevent a Burn From Happening Again
Once you have treated the burn, make sure it does not happen again. Dr. Henry emphasises wearing sun-protective clothing — long sleeves, pants and a broad-brim hat — as the most important preventative measure against sunburn. That should go hand in hand with a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a high SPF, preferably SPF 30 or higher, reapplied every two hours, especially after swimming or sweating.
A sunburn is a reminder that the skin has taken real damage, but it is also very treatable damage. Get out of the sun, cool the skin down, keep it hydrated inside and out, and leave it alone to heal — and the next time you head out, the hat, the sleeves and the sunscreen go on before the sun does.
