Staying out in the sun for too long without the adequate protections often leads to sunburn and your dried out skin may even begin to peel. If you plan on keeping your skin intact, find out how to care for it in order to prevent the peeling process, which can sometimes leave ugly scars behind.
Stop wondering how to prevent sunburn from peeling and discover the right type of products for your skin and the natural remedies that can help you out.
1. Don’t Scratch or Pick
The best advice ever given regarding peeling skin is to make a focused effort to avoid scratching it or picking at it. That sounds simple, but you really need to do your best in order to avoid damaging your skin further with your fingernails.
Leave your skin alone to help it heal faster and avoid scarring.
2. Cool Your Skin
Making sure that your skin isn’t itchy and inflamed is the next step. There are plenty of ways to cooling your skin to prevent sunburn from peeling. You can take a cold shower or bath, or even apply ice packs. Forget about rubbing your skin with towels, and find the softest one you can before gently patting it dry after a cool soak.
3. Moisturize Well
Using your summer moisturizer on sunburned skin or even your rich one for cold weather is a bad idea. What you need is a special lotion for sunburn. Most of them contain aloe vera that gives a cooling sensation when applied to the skin and it also prevent itching, which leads to scratching and more peeling.
4. Apply Aloe Vera Gel
Using aloe vera gel directly is an even better solution when you’re looking for answers on how to prevent sunburn from peeling. Its anti-inflammatory properties may not help your skin heal faster, but they will relieve most symptoms on sunburn and leave your skin feeling colder, while also preventing any infections.
5. Take Antioxidant Supplements
Another way to prevent sunburn from peeling is to load up on antioxidants. Even if your diet includes plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, you should also start taking oral supplements, vitamin C and vitamin E when you plan on sun bathing or simply being out in the sun. Vitamin E also helps in the form of topical ointments when you’ve got sunburn and peeling is just around the corner.
More: 10 Ways to Prevent a Summer Beauty Meltdown
6. Use Apple Cider Vinegar
Whether you’re pouring a cup of apple cider vinegar into your bath or making a 50-50 solution with water and spraying directly on your skin, this natural remedy always helps. Restoring the skin’s natural pH balance is a good answer to the question of how to prevent sunburn from peeling and that’s just what apple cider vinegar does.
7. Try An Oatmeal Bath
An even more moisturizing and soothing bath includes oatmeal, lavender (dried buds or a few drops of essential oil) and Epsom salts. Put the plain natural oatmeal into a big coffee filter or a piece of muslin, and drop it in the hot bathwater. Wait for it to cool down before soaking.
8. Aspirin
A good way to fight sunburn symptoms, aspirin can also prevent sunburn from peeling. Take it three times a day when you’re out in the sun for an even better preventive effect.
9. Try a Baking Soda Bath
Another way to help your skin avoid the ugly peeling process is to use baking soda in your bathwater. Dissolve 3/4 cup of baking soda into warm water, then step in when it’s cooled off a bit and enjoy it’s beneficial effect on your skin.
10. Stay Hydrated
Making sure you’re never dehydrated is another useful tip on how to prevent sunburn from peeling. That doesn’t mean all liquids help. Water, along with fruits and vegetables with a high water content, are the right way to go, while caffeinated, carbonated and sugary drinks are best lest for later.
11. Avoid Rough Fabrics
Use your softest sheets, towels and clothes when your skin looks like it might start peeling. With rough fabrics touching your skin, the risk of peeling and scratching is much higher.
12. Cut Peeling Skin
If you didn’t know how to prevent sunburn from peeling in time and your skin is already flaky, do not peel it off. Instead, use scissors to cut off just the detached sections, without peeling further. Use an antibacterial ointment on any area where you forcefully peeled your skin off.
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