TL;DR: I skipped sunscreen and ended up with a painful sunburn a few hours later. A cooling after-sun lotion, hydration, and staying out of the sun helped calm my skin and ease the discomfort over the next couple of days.
The other day, I forgot to put sunscreen on before heading out for a day with the boys. The annoying part is I even thought about it, but it didn’t feel that hot outside, and I figured I’d only be out for a little while anyway. That’s not how things panned out and it ended up with me frantically looking around for a good sunburn relief product.
Just a few hours after getting home, my shoulders were already bright red, and the back of my neck felt hot. Even my shirt brushing against my skin was irritating. In this blog, I give you the rest of the story, so sit back and buckle in!
The Moment I Realised I Really Needed Sunburn Relief
The first thing I did when I got home was get out of the heat and take a lukewarm shower. My skin felt a little sore, but I didn’t yet fully appreciate that I’d be needing sunburn relief pretty soon. That said, even after my shower, I just felt warm the way you do after a day in the sun, but that radiating heat just wouldn’t seem to go away.
That’s when I reached for after-sun lotion from a company called Blue Lizard. There were lots more to choose from, but my buddy said he’d used it, so I trusted him. After smoothing it across my shoulders and neck, the cooling feeling was almost immediate, leaving me very glad I’d chosen this particular product.
That tight, hot sensation that had been sitting on my skin for hours finally started to ease off, and for the first time since getting burned, my skin actually felt like it could settle.
The Lotion Helped Me Over The Next Couple of Days
I knew that recovering from sunburn wasn’t going to be an overnight thing, so I was focusing mainly on keeping my skin happy. My new lotion really helped in this regard.
Keeping my skin hydrated was honestly the thing that helped most. Rather than that constant sensation of stretched, dry skin pulling with every movement, my after sun lotion kept things comfortable while the redness slowly faded.
A few other small habits helped make things easier for myself:
- I kept reapplying the after-sun lotion throughout the day. It kept my skin hydrated and helped reduce the dry, tight feeling.
- I stayed out of direct sun while my skin healed. My sunburned skin was already irritated, so giving it a break was a bit of a no-brainer.
- I wore loose, soft clothing, so no tight straps or rough fabrics rubbing against my burned skin and making things worse.
- I kept drinking extra water. Exposure to the sun can leave you more dehydrated than you realize, and those regular extra drinks helped to make sure my skin felt much less dry overall.
Within a couple of days the redness had settled down and my skin felt much better. It was an experience that showed me it was the ideal way to deal with sunburn. It was a bit slow, but it took most of the sting out of the situation.
Keeping Sunburn Relief Close at Hand is Wise
Forgetting sunscreen happens sometimes, even if you’re the sort of person who normally remembers to put it on. When it happens to you, having something on hand to help calm your skin can make the recovery a lot easier…and less painful.
Sunscreen is always the right call before you head outside, of course, but if you happen to misjudge time, lose track of when you last reapplied, or just end up staying out longer than you meant to, your skin needs support.
When that happens, a decent after-sun lotion is genuinely worth having in your bag. Even if that’s your only takeaway from this blog, it was worth reading.
