Healing a Sunburn

Chances are, you’ve experienced a sunburn once or twice in your life. I’ve dealt with some nasty burns myself – fair skin and a childhood on the beach don’t mix well.

On an unusually hot day in May, I decided to head right to the beach after high school. I laid out in my uniform, forgoing sunscreen, and soaked in the rays. Legs don’t really burn, right? I ended up with one of the most painful sunburns of my life on my calves. To make matters worse, my school uniform came equipped with knee highs. I remember carrying around spray aloe, reapplying after each class, and gently rolling my knee highs back up over my calves. To this day, I cringe thinking about that recovery. Beyond skin damage and potential health risks, sunburns are painful.

What I didn’t have back then was a sunburn secret weapon. While I hope to never burn again and I hope you don’t either, it’s always good to have a backup plan. Not originally intended as a sunburn solution, I once tried Burt’s Bees Hand Slave out of desperation and, voilà, the next day, I was sunburn free. I’ve since continued to use the product as a sunburn remedy for years now and haven’t looked back. If you can handle the strong scent of various essential oils, you won’t regret allowing the product to soothe your burn. It takes some time to soak in, which is exactly what your sore skin needs – a thick barrier of moisture. This product is 100% natural and incredibly available – you can find Burt’s in almost every drugstore.

A note about Burt’s Bees: the brand is a little controversial in the natural products community. Back in 2007, The Clorox Company acquired Burt’s Bees and, although the brand has remained, many question its authenticity. You can really look at this two ways. One, Burt’s is now owned by a company that doesn’t share a similar belief system, therefore shouldn’t be supported. Or, appreciate that Burt’s is now more accessible to the mass population, less expensive than alternative brands, and has been able to increase its use of natural ingredients. I choose to go with the latter here. Burt’s has educated many users by offering quality natural products, opening many doors for other natural product lines. I’ll take it.