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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters opt for a 4-ounce bottle of eco-salve instead of the conventional stuff, we'll keep the weight of 833 beach umbrellas in potentially hazardous chems outta production.
COCKTAIL FACT
Earlier this year, a group of Manchester and Newcastle University study participants who ate the equivalent of about five tomatoes per day proved 33% less likely to get sunburned.
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home › tip library › Sunburn Salves
Got a sunburn that's sending you over the edge?
The Bite
This time you've gone too far. You're lobster-red and flaking all over, and it's high-time you slathered on a natural after-sun salve, which brings you back from the point of no return without breaking any eco-rules.The Benefits
- Defying your pain limits. These sunburn-recovery potions bring you superquick relief and speed up healing.
- It's never too late to help the planet. Fewer synthetic chems (such as the cancer-linked preservatives parabens) in your body-care products means fewer will end up in our water supplies.
Personally Speaking
Thinking he was immune to sunburns (after many burn-less years on the swim team), Toshio boldly skipped sunscreen for a day of his Miami vacation and ended up in a dark room glopping aloe vera gel onto his aching torso.Wanna Try?
- Aubrey Organics Pure Aloe Vera Gel - straight-up aloe plant gel that's less creamy than our other salve options ($7/4 ounces).
- Dr. Hauschka After-Sun Lotion - new-for-2008 ultracooling formula with hydrating ice plant extract ($23/3.4 ounces).
- Shea Terra Shea Nilotica - organic skin care that originated in Africa, with vitamins A and E to promote a healthy 'dermis ($16/4 ounces).
- Burt's Bees After Sun Soother - aloe vera, coconut oil, and linden (lime) tree extract help calm down your skin ($10/6 ounces).
- DIY Bite - even if your thumb is really light green, you can probably keep an aloe plant alive. Just cut off a leaf, slice it lengthwise, and rub the insides over the burn. (Then make sure to put sunscreen on your shopping list.)
Jul 08,2008
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All editorial suggestions in this tip are the result of testing and a preference for the tip topic. No advertiser has paid to have its company referenced in the tip. For more information, please read our Editorial Policy.
Spreading the Skin Love
I generally snip off (somewhat guiltily) a little of my aloe plant for smallish skin things - nicks, cuts, localized burns (where I missed a spot with the sun block). But its extraction and stickiness makes it a little harder to use over larger areas of sun-exposed skin. Another lotion I just tried last weekend and liked is from Liz Earle (maker of my nighttime go-to, Superskin Concentrate), called Sun Shade Aftersun Gel. It's made with an organic aloe base and has lavender oil in it, smells great, and spreads evenly.
-Jenifer Morgan...off to slather some more...
Biter Comments...
Although it is designed as a hair product, miessence certified organic hair repair spray actually makes a brilliant after-sun treatment. It is loaded with organic aloe vera, rosehip oil, vitamin B, and certified organic essential oils.
It smells fantastic, and if you spray it on sunburned skin before you go to bed, it will be healed in the morning... no redness, no peeling, it's really quite miraculous!
(I also had a customer recently tell me that it helped her husband's hair to grow back, but that's another story!).
It also comes in a convenient travel size:
http://anniesorganics.mionegroup.com/en/category/2/4
Happy summer!
Annie
ONE Group Independent Rep
I know that you may think I'm nuts for posting this, but I have used this several times to help with sunburns--take a soaking bath and add about 1 cup of white vinegar to your water. It takes the red out and also helps with the stinging--all in all, very soothing!
On a side note...you may also want to have a jar of pickles handy because you will be craving them after your soak in vinegar! =)
I have to agree with Jenna... a teacher recommended vinegar to me after I got a bad burn in high school. I actually just soak a hand towel in white vinegar and apply it to a burn as a cool pack. I have extremely fair skin, and this treatment calms down most burns overnight-- no peeling or blistering. You do have to put up with the smell, but it works better than any aloe or lotion I have ever tried.
Jenna and Marie,
Maybe you guys should take over the bite newsletter as the writers seem to have lost sight of the main point of being more eco friendly. It seems to have become less about little things you can do and more about little things you can buy.
Sure, the companies mentioned are "green", but it's not hard to find a green choice on your health food store shelf. Pure aloe from the plant works very well on sunburn, and has little carbon footprint, but you guys discount it for the plastic-packaged stuff. (Just a day after the buy-less-plastic tip) The vinegar tip that the women above mentioned is also much more helpful and creative, because we all have some vinegar under our sinks (nothing additional to buy.) I would love to see the Bite go back in this direction. When I signed up, it seemed to have more of these creative DIY and home remedy tips in the "wanna try" section, which made it interesting. I miss those days! Good luck to you guys.
Burns - not particularly sun, but all types... Keep burning after you remove the source of heat. Cold water first (ice, in some cases, may cause damage), vinegar - Yes! I have seen very bad small burns treated successfully by application of honey - which is disinfectant & more. Science is beginning to reuse this old remedy.
Post sunburn (and before as well) take vitamin e internally daily.
Cocoa Butter is also good topically - and if you do want a product to keep on hand for such (altho' it is reputed to be a basic dry, irritated skin balm - not just for sunburn), Simmons Cocoa Butter Creme (in glass) a blend of Cocoa Butter, Aloe Vera, vitamin E and Sweet Almond Oil ( http://simmonsnaturals.com ) or make your own.
Another great DIY bite--make a large pot of black tea, and after it has cooled, pour it on towels and use it to cover the effected area. This is soothing, and helps turn a burn into a tan quickly. (Something about the tannins in the tea). My family has been using this remedy for generations, and it works great!
sadly i know all too well about this topic from when i was younger. another great tip is to use tea bags as you sit back and enjoy an iced sun tea you can use the bags from the batch you made place them on the bun and it will cool and releve the pain the teas bags also work on road rash if you wipe out on your bike or for other scrapes (thanks MOM)
Calendula tincture. Mix it with some water and dab it on. This works better than even aloe for sun related burns. And a bottle last a long time because you dilute it so much for use.
Susan, I TOTALLY agree with you!! I thought that being/going green meant spending/consuming LESS not MORE. If everyone consumed like us we'd need 4 or 5 planets, right?? It does take more creativity to use what you already have. Also there is no money to be made in that, right?? I find that the comments in this blog are more sensible & realistic than the tips & options given in the Bite. It is one of the reasons I am still subscribed.
Susan and Gloria... If you're looking for tips that focus more on how to green your life rather than how to buy green, try treehugger.com or smart2begreen.com, which is my personal favorite. I've noticed the same inconsistencies with Ideal Bite which has caused me to look elsewhere. Kudos on the great tips bloggers!
What always worked for my brother and husband who burn easy is cider vinegar - they say it takes all the heat out - but you smell like a pickle
They swear by it!!!
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: skin care | July 08, 2008 at 05:17 AM