Ouch.

 

In first grade, I was used as an example for “what happens when you don’t wear sunscreen”. I’m not sure if it was the blisters or the embarrassment but I called home sick right way. Before you judge my parents for not applying sunscreen I would like to stop you. They were RELIGIOUS about putting sunscreen on my extremely fair skin. But I had spent the day before at the next-door neighbors, who were lucky if they put sunscreen on once through out the day. I came home looking like a lobster. And even my principle made jokes about my mother boiling me in a pot the next day. It was bad.

20–ish years later I wear sunscreen everyday but I have my moments when I think I’m some hidden golden goddess, like my sister, and I decide to only wear sunscreen on my face. Like yesterday.  Luckily I flip-flopped a lot and only got red in a few places during my 45 minute endeavor. My boyfriend stayed on his back the whole time and his stomach now resembles a tomato. This got me thinking about my younger days. And  home remedies. Especially ones’ safe for children.

In the Florida Keys, my dad used to break open an aloe plant and rub it on me but that isn’t exactly applicable in other parts of the country. So here are the remedies I’ve gathered.

• Vinegar seems to be a common thread. You can rise off and pat you or your child’s body dry and then put vinegar in a spray bottle, with or without cool water to lighten it up. The vinegar relieves the sting of the sunburn and helps with the inflammation.
• Plain or even chamomile tea bags come in handy as well. Steep a few bags, cool them off in the fridge, and then you can either spray the ice tea on the burn, apply a tea-soaked cool towel, or even step into a tea bath. For children I would suggest the spray bottle or the bathtub. The less you have to touch the skin the better!
• Cool washcloths soaked with milk. Rinse off within an hour. Otherwise the milk will start to smell a little funky. (I just saw this method used on Tabitha’s Salon Takeover after a “beautician” burned the bejeezus out of a lady’s eyebrows. It seems soothing.)
• Vitamin E is also helpful! I have the liquid version in our home. So we both took a few drops of it to helps the skin heal. I use Nature’s Bounty, which actually taste good. It has a slight lemon flavor to it. You can mix it with water or even juice if your child won’t allow you to drop it in their mouth directly. 
• This isn’t an exactly “natural” solution but I use Neosporin Wound Cleanser for Kids on my burns and wounds. There is no sting involved, which makes cleaning out wounds and burns easier for everyone involved, regardless of age.