It’s all fun in the sun…until someone gets burned. You can lather on sunscreen and reapply, but sometimes you just forget. This summer season, if you misplaced your sunscreen or forgot to reapply that sunblock, it’s time for a sun soother. There are a few great products out there and we tried the most effective top four.
Related: 13 Effective Sunscreens That Will Leave You With Money to Burn
What Happens When You Burn
When you’re exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation for too long, your skin cells become damaged. Your body responds by causing your blood vessels to dilate, increasing blood flow to the skin while it attempts to repair itself. It’s that increased blood flow that leads to the red color and hot sensation associated with sunburn. So, what should you look for when trying to get relief? A good sunburn remedy should soothe your skin, provide relief from pain, and allow your body to heal. We’ll look at a couple natural home remedies, followed by a comparison of four popular over-the-counter products to determine the most effective option.
Related: Don’t Get Burned: What You Need to Know About Sunscreen
Aloe.
Glycoproteins in the aloe vera plant work to minimize inflammation and pain, and polysaccharides encourage skin growth and repair. What you don’t want is aloe mixed with alcohol, which can further irritate your skin. Read the ingredient labels and purchase a pure aloe vera gel. Keep it in the refrigerator so it stays chilled, providing an enhanced cooling effect.
Cold, Wet Towels
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, putting cold, damp towels on your skin can serve two purposes: it takes out some of the heat from the sunburn out of the skin, and it can help relieve the pain. What it cannot do is provide hydration. Natural remedies are a good start, but they may not always suffice on their own.
Related: We Tried 4 Organic Sunscreens and This Is the Best
Sun Bum ‘Cool Down’ Hydrating After-Sun Lotion
Price: $8 for 3 ounces Active Ingredients: Aloe Lotion, Vitamin E, Cocoa Butter Scent: Delicious Coconut Ease of Application: Goes on smooth with a very slight residue Where to Purchase: At drugstores or online. Effectiveness: Great
Sun Bum ‘Cool Down’ Hydrating After-Sun Lotion: The Low Down
Sun Bum has been making quality sun care products since 2000. Cool Down keeps your skin hydrated, smooth, and soft, and works to heal damaged cells. If the beachy fragrance isn’t enough to lure you into using it, perhaps the fact that it is does not contain oxybenzone. Oxybenzone has been shown to be a contributing factor to the bleaching and killing of our ocean reefs. Thumbs up to the company for being concerned with our planet.
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Solarcaine Cool Aloe Burn Relief Formula Pain Relieving Spray With Lidocaine
Price: $7 for 4.5 ounces Active Ingredients: Lidocaine 0.5% Scent: Fragrance Free Where to Purchase: Walmart Ease of Application: Goes on quickly, leaves virtually no residue Effectiveness: Fantastic
Solarcaine Cool Aloe Burn Relief Formula Pain Relieving Spray With Lidocaine: The Low Down
This low-priced cooling spray offers instant relief from sunburns. The nice thing about this product is that the lidocaine kicks in instantly, so it’s bye-bye burning sensation. Even better, the cool relief lasts a long time. Solarcaine is also moderately priced, so if you have children and they get sunburned, you can grab a few cans and take care of everyone’s irritated skin in one fell swoop.
Sunburnt Plus Pain Relief Gel.
Price: $9 for 4 ounces Active Ingredients: 1% lidocaine Scent: Menthol Where to Purchase: Rite AidEase of Application: Goes on a little goopy Effectiveness: Good
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Sunburnt Plus Pain Relief Gel: The Low Down
This product contains aloe, calendula, echinacea, cantharis, cucumber, and red algae to instantly cool, soothe, and re-hydrate overheated skin. We like that it smells good, however, it’s not the most cooling of the four products tested. Also, the mild cooling sensation doesn’t last long. That’s a problem if you’re really red and really hurting.
Ocean Potion Ice+ Instant Burn Relief
Price: $30 for 8.5 ounces Active Ingredients: Lidocaine 0.5% Scent: Menthol Where to Purchase: Amazon
Ocean Potion Ice+ Instant Burn Relief: The Low Down
With arnica, tea tree, and comfrey (regarded as great medicinal herbs) and lidocaine for soothing pain relief, Ocean Potion ICE+ is more than a cooling gel that provides instant relief – it also helps stop the incessant itching that sunburn brings. There’s absolutely no alcohol in it, so the combination of ingredients provides immense hydration of the skin. Overall, this product brought more and longer lasting relief than the others. But, given that it has become hard to find and prices for it have gone up, it’s not a great bargain.
And the Winner Is…
Most Effective: Solarcaine Spray Best Scent: Sun Bum Best Overall Product: Ocean Potion ICE+ for its ability to cool and hydrate
