A minor sunburn can be painful and unsightly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that one-third of adults in the United States have suffered at least one sunburn per year. When you look at the pictures from your summer vacation, you want to see your family and memories, not a bright red sunburn. Take care of your sunburn and reduce the appearance of redness and swelling with items you may already have around your home.
Milk Compress
Your mild sunburn may not be bright red or blistered, but you still may feel some mild discomfort when wearing clothes or when your skin brushes another object. A milk compress can relieve some of the pain and swelling associated with a sunburn and is especially effective for the facial area. John F. Romano, M.D., clinical assistant professor of medicine at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, recommends dipping a piece of gauze in cold milk and applying it directly to the sunburn.
Pain Relievers
Regular acetaminophen may be a staple in your vacation makeup bag when you realize how it can improve your sunburn. Sunburn can cause swelling and itching, making your skin and face look puffy and sore. Taking two over-the-counter pain relievers can help reduce the discomfort from your mild sunburn, suggests the University of Illinois MicKinley Health Center. Taking aspirin can also help with the associated itchiness that can accompany a mild burn and subsequent peeling.
Green Makeup
Colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel cancel each other out, making for a more neutral color. This principle is applied to makeup when you have a mild sunburn, notes Meredith Gray, Assistant Beauty Editor for “Seventeen” magazine. To cut the redness on your skin, dust on a minty green powder makeup or spot-conceal with a creamy green concealer. The green will tone down some of the redness in preparation to your dusting a more natural-colored powder on your face. Of course this method isn’t waterproof, but it just might hide the telling sunburn when you’ve played hooky from work.
Lip Burn
Your face and body aren’t the only places that can get a sunburn. Lips can get burned and chapped in both the winter and the summer. Help them to look smooth and healthy again by dipping a clean toothbrush in baking soda and lightly brush over your lips to remove the flaky, dead skin. Rinse well, and then apply a light-reflecting gloss in a gold-toned hue, suggests Sabah Karimi of DivaVillage.com, to give your lips a healthy shine that deflects from the sunburn.
