Sunburn
Sunscreen
Most people use sunscreen when they are outdoors during the summer. Most people use it incorrectly. As a result, millions of people each summer get sunburned.
There are dozens of kinds of sunscreen and plenty of information on how to use them correctly so instead of replicating that, we’d like to address what to do when those prophylactic measures fail.
When you didn’t get sunscreen right
The ultraviolet light from a summer sun can do damage to the skin when it is exposed for too long. This damage takes a few days to repair and during that time it will go through various stages.
The initial stage is pain and the pain can make it difficult to sleep. Then, the damaged skin will start to fall off and the area will itch. The itching can be downright uncomfortable.
Dealing with this holistically requires that we:
- Address the pain
- Relieve the itch
- Help the body to heal
The pharmaceutical treatment for sunburn is a spray analgesic that relieves the pain. But this does nothing to help the skin heal and has very little effect on the intense itching that usually accompanies sunburn.
Some homeopathic creams for sunburn exist, but they are often painful to apply since they require spreading and rubbing the already painful skin. Their effect is usually hard to even detect because of the high levels of dilution of their constituents.
Addressing sunburn with herbs
The balanced natural approach to sunburn relief would rely on powerful analgesic herbs such as Arnica and White Willow to address the pain of the condition.
Next, the nerve-quelling capabilities of St. John’s Wort and Lavender would be utilized to relieve the itching.
Finally, the skin restorative properties of Calendula, Comfrey, Aloe Vera and Tropical oils would help the body to speed the restoration of healthy skin to replace the cells that were irreparably damaged by the excessive UV exposure.
Tropical oils such as Macadamia nut oil, Kukui nut oil and Avacado oil are also very effective. Finally, it is the combination of these decocted herbs in a water base, employed as a spray, that relieves the sunburn symptoms and helps the body to heal.
The spray feels cooling and soothing on the skin. More importantly, it doesnÕt require touching and rubbing what is likely a very sensitive area.
Named after the favored tourist island of Maui with a play on words, there is such a spray and it is called Maui Aui.