The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Baking Soda
Posted by Beth (Middle Earth, New Zealand) on 11/08/2008
★★★★★
My husband had severe sunburn around his neck (where the tshirt didnt cover). I made a thick wet paste of baking soda and water, applied it directly to the burn and left it there to dry. Immediately he had relief and the heat from the burn cooled down. When the paste dried, I reapplied more water to the dried baking soda and patting it all back until the pain was gone. I dont know the reason why baking soda works on burns but it does.
Egg Whites
Posted by Jennifer (Highland, California) on 06/23/2008
★★★★★
A few day's ago I went to the beach and didn't put on any sunblock. I was there for about seven hours and I got severely burned. I had been putting Aloe Vera on my skin for a few days and it was helping, but then I put raw egg whites on my skin. It felt disgusting but it helped a lot. I just used enough egg white to cover my skin and I slept with it on, so it had a few hours to work.
Calendula Ointment
Posted by Candice (Victorville, United States of America) on 03/20/2008
★★★★★
Every since I was little we have always used vinegar after a bad sunburn it helps to take away some of the sting but last 2 summers ago I fell asleep in the sun at the beach (in southern California) and burned so bad that even vinegar didnt help. I had read previously in a health magazine to take vitamins, drink plenty of water and to apply Calendula ointment topically to the skin, desperate I tried it and it worked wonderful! It numbed the pain. I purchased it at my health food store for about $7, but it was money well spent.
OTC
Posted by Emily (Jackson, Tennessee) on 06/09/2006
★★★★★
Mix equal parts of hydrocortisone cream and hemorrhoid cream and rub onto sunburned skin before bed. Although the smell is awful, by the next morning, the soreness and redness will be gone. It is amazing how this will work for the worst of sunburns!
Aspirin
Posted by Anna (Atlanta, GA)
★★★★★
1. Aspirin first, it will reduce the pain.
2. A cool wet compress will also make you feel better instantly.
3. Soak in a tub of cool water and add a cup of white vinegar to the bath. It helps a lot.
Fresh Whey
Posted by Jeanne G. (colorado) on 11/19/2023
★★★★★
I have seen a nasty sunburned skin look good in morning, after using pure fresh whey, after making home cheese, and letting it drip, that liquid applied as a compress on clean white cloth.
It was left of for 1/2 hour. The fresh whey used to be European beauty secret before we became suntan worshipers.
Baking Soda
Posted by Nadezhda (Charleston, Sc) on 07/11/2015
★★★★★
It's the best thing I have tried that actually works. I came to this website and tried this baking soda method of getting rid of sunburn. And I should say it worked out perfectly... You mix baking soda with a little bit of water, until it gets smooth. Then you put it with a cotton ball or your clean finger on the area where it's burned. Wait until it gets dried and then with a wet wash cloth pat it off. And just feel great!!! It doesn't take the color off, but it definitely takes the heat and pain off.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Jill (Chicago) on 07/07/2014
★☆☆☆☆
I got a sunburn over the weekend. I always break out when I'm in the sun but it was only about a half hour so I didn't think it would affect me like that. A day later it started itching like crazy. I tried ACV, plain white vinegar, and aloe. None of them helped at all. I had to break down and buy some hydrocortisone. I've been slathering it on. Maybe the natural products I tried aren't meant to treat an allergic reaction to the sun.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Jackie (NY) on 06/26/2025
I get itchy when I get too much sun. Bentonite clay has helped me with that.
Green Coconuts
Posted by Steve12 (San Jose, Ca) on 08/05/2013
★★★★★
Being fair skinned I always burned very easily. 12 years ago I started buying green coconuts from the Asian grocers for a dollar apiece. I would take 2 a day by pouring the liquid into a blender and then scrapping the coconut meat into the blender and make a coconut shake. Very delicous. So after a year of this I visited Panama and took suba lessons. I was out in the sun with out sunscreen and I didn't burn and ever since then, even without the coconuts I tan much easier than before.
Oatmeal
Posted by Citygirl27 (Richardson, Tx, Usa) on 11/01/2012
★★★★★
Oatmeal is great for sunburn relief. Add a cup of oats to your bathwater. Just skip the flavored ones. This is how the leading similar product that begins with an A became popular. Surprised this is not in your sunburn remedies.
Egg Whites
Posted by Lecia (Copenhagen, Denmark) on 08/14/2012
★★★★★
Egg whites! I apply raw egg whites to my skin and wait until it dries (which takes only a few minutes), or a little longer. Then I rinse it all off (just water, no products). It takes a few hours to work, but the result is almost a miracle, no burn at all!
It also smoothens the skin, and since I only eat the egg yolks, I have been using the whites on my skin often.
Vinegar
Posted by Jana (Clarksville, Tennessee) on 12/18/2011
★★★★★
We have used white vinegar for sunburn for years. Soak paper towels in a bowl with white vinegar. Put the wet paper towels on the sunburn. It will be quite cold to the burn. As the towels dry, reapply the vinegar either by redipping the towel or spray vinegar on... Works every time. The skin may still peel, but the pain /heat is gone. No uncomfortable sleeping.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Zoey (Clarksville, Tn) on 06/05/2013
Lol
Potato
Posted by Alice (Auckland, New Zealand) on 01/01/2010
★★★★★
Potato helped my sunburn
I had forgotten to put on sunscreen when I went to the beach today. I got back to discover my legs were as red as a lobster, and felt like they were burning.
I remembered reading potatoes does wonders with a fever, so I sliced some raw potato and put them on my thighs. The potatoes were cool and soothing, and gave me longer relief. Aloe vera wasn't this effective. The potato slices are sitting on my thighs while I type this up. Give it a go, it helps the burning feeling!
Lukewarm Bath
Posted by Snowdonx (What City, Australia) on 12/21/2009
★★★★★
Severe Sunburn Handling
Basically I had really severe sunburn, apparently when the pores on the skin start to close this can cause severe itching which had me running around the house like a nutcase because i couldn't sit still. Called ambos and hospital and nurse and theres nothing they could advise other than shower. So I started to think outside the box, water is generally soothing and when you sit in a bath i remembered the skin wrinkles this wrinkling basically increases the surface area of the skin and my theory was that it would in turn help the pores of the skin remain open.
So I spent a fair bit of time in the bath each day where it was painful some times up to 4 hrs in the bath the water was at just under luke warm temperature. Mind you I had used a 600ml bottle of the synthetic aloe vera which is no where near the same as the unsynthetic which disgusted me because I hate it when they start making synthesised versions of natural products.
Anyway to cut a long story short the bathing worked a great deal, I ended up sleeping in the bath a couple of times.
This was a painful lesson. If you are working out in the sunlight or aren't getting a regular exposure to sunlight then you will burn easily and may have a severe reaction. The funny thing is i was at the beach with a group of friends and this other guy who works outdoors got the same amount of burning was in the sun longer and basically had no ill effects.
As for the severe itching i encountered i don't know how successful that will be in the bath because it had calmed down a fair bit after the ambulance came and spiked up a couple of times but when i was in the bath everything felt much better. Also this severe sunburn seemed to leave some kind of permanent damage to the pores or skin in general.
Sour Cream
Posted by Maria (Los Angeles, Ca) on 08/30/2009
★★★★★
For a bad sunburn, I have always used plain sour cream by applying it generously over the affected area. It needs to remain on skin for 1-2 hours and then be washed off with just water. This does an excellent job of soothing away the redness and burning sensation. For a really bad burn, you can reapply every hour or so throughout the day. Truly the best thing I have found to work for me.
