Dealing with sunburned, peeling skin

Jun 28, 2008 12:00 PM by Kori Ellis

Posted in Beauty & Style / Makeup & Skin Care / Skincare

Cool it down

towel

If you notice your skin start to peel, the first thing you should do is take a cold shower or bath. The cold water will help your skin cool down and slow the peeling process. When you are drying your skin, be sure to pat dry with a clean, soft towel and avoid rubbing. By rubbing your skin, you can actually speed up and spread the peeling of your skin -- and you definitely don't want to do that.

Stop the itch

ice cube

At all costs, you should avoid scratching your skin when it's peeling. You can actually do permanent damage to your skin in the form of scars. If you get the urge to scratch, the best thing to do is to use ice to dull the sensation. Put ice in a piece of soft cloth and gently place the cloth on top of the area of your skin that itches. The itch should subside once the ice begins to cool down the skin.

Moisturize your skin

lotion

Once you get out of the shower and dry your skin, apply a moisturizing lotion. Look for a moisturizer that is specifically designed to work on sunburn or peeling skin. Generally, the lotion should contains aloe vera, which will cool your skin, reduce inflammation and slow the peeling. Aloe vera is a natural cactus extract that has long been hailed for its soothing properties. You can actually buy pure aloe vera gel (or break open the plant, if you have it) and apply it directly to the peeling skin to aid healing, fight pain and avoid infection.

Drink up

water

Now that you have cooled your skin from the outside, it's time to start working on your skin from the inside. Truth be told, nothing helps your skin as much as a tall glass of water. Healthy skin needs to stay hydrated. When your skin is damaged -- like after a sunburn -- water becomes even more important. Drink a lot of water to give your skin all the fuel it needs to repair and revive itself. If you notice your skin beginning to peel, be sure to drink eight to 10 glasses of water per day.

Don't peel it!

scissor

Flaky, peeling skin is more than just irritating and unattractive. It can also lead to an infection. Peeling skin can become infected if you scratch or try to forcefully peel the skin. If there is a segment of dead skin that is hanging off and you want to remove it, don't pull on it - no matter how temping it is. Instead, get a small pair of scissors and carefully cut away just that section of skin. Be sure you are only cutting away dead skin and you don't tear skin that is trying to heal. Once you cut away the dead skin, apply an antibacterial ointment (such as Neosporin) to the area.

Prevent scarring

oatmeal

Reduce the itch associated with peeling (and moisturize your skin) by taking a cool bath containing colloidal oatmeal. You can find this fine oatmeal in most pharmacies. To help prevent scarring, promote healing and reduce long-term skin damage, take antioxidant supplements -- vitamin C and vitamin E. Also apply a topical vitamin E cream to reduce the chances of scarring as well.

Be prepared

Prevention is the best cure for peeling. Plan ahead and don't get sunburned in the first place. By the time your skin starts peeling, that means that the damage has already been done. Before you go out into the sun, always wear sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful ultraviolet rays. If you are going into the water, be sure to re-apply sunscreen each time you get out. When applying sunscreen don't forget about hidden areas, such as behind your ears, which are often forgotten and end up burned.

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Comments

Comments on "Dealing with sunburned, peeling skin"

I totally disagree with this article when it comes to removing the flaky skin. If you need to wear makeup, just use packing tape. It removes the dead skin because it comes off easily, but doesn't peel the rest up.

I am allergic (extremely) to aloe vera (yep one of 0.05% of people in the world) so I have no idea what to do. I live in sunny Florida and I've burnt many times but lightly and was able to stay out of the sun for a couple days, nice tan and no peeling but this time my daughter & family was visiting from up North and go, go, go, in the sun, beach, pool, Disney...help!

well i went to the beach last week,it was super hot and i forgot to where sunscreen and my face was super red by next week and then the other day i was peeling,so i did what ever it told me to do here and it worked, my skins regular now and i am glad i read this and i would like for every one and all of you to try this and i hope yaw get better on that sun burn a peeling.

On the weekend I put 2 layers of sunscreen thinking that I wouldn't get burnt. Then a few hours later I saw I was toasted! For the next 3 days I put some aftersun lotion and did NOT go outside. On the fourth day I realised my skin was starting to peel. I didn't know what to do so I started peeling a bit of it off. Now I regret it, wish I read this article before I got it :( my skin really doesn't seem to be healing and it's just getting worse ad worse every day. When will I get my normal colour back and how long does it take to heal?? :(

I got fryed froma tanning bed BAD! I had to be put on oral steriods froma doc becus the swelling on my face was SO bad! For my skin though aloe, cream, everything hurt to even put on it! IT WAS PAINFUL! I recommend Aveeno Oatmeal bath with luke warm water and soak! then when needed aveeno lotion with oats! aloe vera cream as long as its a good 1 with no alcohol...i used a soft loafa to softly scrub away wut i needed too, then with a cotton ball (super soft) lightly put on a layer of lotion. DONT WEAR MAKEUP OR ANYTHING...let the skin HEAL!

I got completely roasted in Thailand and when I got to australia, I was multi-coloured and in a LOT of pain... I used a product called Lucas Paw Paw (google it, comes in a red tube) and rubbed it on all over. Its a bit sticky but man, what a difference! Next morning I was smoothe all over, so I kept using it and sorbolene on the bigger peeling bits... trust me if you are reading this article AFTER you have been roasted, try do all of the tips, and use the paw paw cream... it actually works!!

I feel so stupid after reading this! I'm in Florida and got Totally sunburned because my skin can easily burn. I put on Aloe Vera for a while but my skin on my forehead and a small patch on my back started peeling a few days afterward! I didn't know what to do so I peeled off the peeling skin that people could see. I didn't really scratch though. After I peeled off some of the peeling skin on my back, a patch on my back looked pinkish. I used some wet washcloths to kind of rub off some of the dead skin but that didn't really work so I put on Aloe Vera on my back and forehead daily and ask my mom to get me a loofah because I want this dead skin gone! (My forehead looks like one part is lighter and one part is darker..)

Went to Cancun and got fried...hope this works!

Im allergic to sunscreen and try not to go out in the sun a lot but about 4 days ago my friend invited me boating and so I went. I was out in the sun from 11 in the morning until 7 I am now peeling like crazy around my nose, forhead and above my cheeks right under my eyes. I need help! People look at me like I have some kind of desease :( can I cover up with make up?!? Help!

I’ve found a miracle product! Aveda’s Cooling Masque. It will change how you think about time in the sun. It will take down the temp of your burnt skin by a thousand degrees. Although stinky, Apple Cider Vinegar works wonders as well.

God, I am permanently sunburned all summer long. I have such fair skin, and even if I put on sunblock, sometimes it still happens. If you stay out of the sun as much as possible once you've gotten burnt, that helps too. And lotion lotion lotion, let me tell you, I've got a big ol' bottle of cocoa butter lotion, and that stuff is the bomb. It really helped the itching and the pain on my thighs.

Just the other day, my middle school had a Field Day where we would do all kinds of athletic activities outside. I put sunscreen on at 9 that morning (I didn't know it only lasted 80 minutes, so I didn't reapply later in the day). My Field Day lasted 5 hours. We went back into the school at 2, and that's when everyone started noticing the huge burn on my chest & backs of legs. I was so embarrassed. People didn't notice the mild burns on my arms & face. When I got home, I immediately put aloe on my skin on every place it was burned. For 2 days, it hurt so bad. I woke up this morning with severe peeling and this article really helped. I did almost everything it told me to do.

I did every thing they said not to do.

Well, I never watched Gilligan's Island, but I have eaten Idaho ptatooes and I have used a similar method of peeling them. Beats the heck out of the traditional way! Which reminds me I'll bet my husband wishes I would get back into cooking more and spend less time online. Oh well, he understands .Thanks for the fun video, Rocque!.-= Jacque LaMantiab4s last blog .. =-.

I got a bad sunburn in belmar in the beginning of the Summer. My chest started peeling realllyyyy bad and i ended up tearing it all off and I think I have permanent damage now, but not sure. It's a huge scar on my chest where i peeled it and it still itches and looks bad. i dont know what to do.

I got sunburned in Hawaii

i was at a waterpark last week, i rarely get sunburned so i didnt put sunscreen on. about 45 minutes ago i noticed water blisters and peeling skin i thought yours supposed to peel it off so i rubbed all that i could off now im red where the skin was and tan everywhere else lol...then i came accross this article...damn now i feel like an idiot but least i know next time/tomorow when more peels off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a late comment, but oh my gosh, I'm so glad you commented that Claire. I thought I was the only one. I've had them tiny water bubbles on my arms and back before from sunburn and I just scratch them away and peel the dead skin off. My hands are clean and I've never had an infection. I wouldn't do it with huge blisters, though. Not saying it wouldn't happen, but I'll just scratch and peel. I don't force any skin that isn't supposed to come off anyhow. And any rough edges from peeling usually get taken care of with a washcloth in the shower anyhow. That's just grose to have them little blisters just pop on their own and have wet smeared dead skin all over. Nope.

Wish I would have read this article before I did what I did :-< .....I got sunburn at a concert last Saturday being in the heat all day. I'm someone who rarely gets burned, so I didn't put on sunblock. I put Aloe Vera gel on when I got home and when I did, it burnt like hell for like a min or so. The very next day I noticed that I wasn't as red but within two days my face and nose started peeling (I didn't notice that at the time, my head was also peeling). I shave my head weekly, and once I did today, I noticed the extremely dead skin that had began to peel.I got into the shower to clean up the extra hair that stuck on my head. and I noticed little pieces of skin coming off my head. I was showering and rubbing my head, and showering and rubbing, until I felt no more chunks attached to my head. I put soap on my head and that's when I felt the same freaking burn that I felt the first time that I put on aloe gel. I then placed my head directly under cold water which eased the pain for a short while until I put on lotion. My head is still tingling a little bit? My question is, what do I do now that I rubbed off all that dead skin and most likely rubbed off new skin?

As the article says, DON'T force peeling as you also remove the surrounding damaged but under repair skin... That's what i were doing end ended up removing a quarter of my back's skin while it could be cured on its own... Then i ended up here. Other than that, happy holidays folks.