Taking Care of Sunburn Skin

Aloe, Water & Essential Oils

Taking in the rays of the sun can be good for the body, but getting to much sun can cause serious skin damage, or sunburn.  I love that warm feeling of the sun's rays on my skin, but to much UVA and UVB rays from the sun can alter DNA causing damage to the skin and premature aging. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are more than three million cases of sunburn in the United States every year. Many of these cases are mild and can be treated at home. 

 If you find yourself out in the sun to long, here are a few natural ways to care for sun burn skin. The most common response I have seen in my research for treating sunburns, is drinking lots of water. Keeping yourself hydrated is key in  healing sunburns. In addition to drinking water, you could drink herbal teas and water kefir. Another way to treat sunburn is Aloe Vera. This has been in use for not only sunburns, but many other types of burns for a long time. Getting the aloe from the plant instead of using a lotion with aloe may be the best option for nursing your sunburn. 

Oatmeal can be another way to tend sunburn skin. Add half a scoop or one cup to cool bath water, then soak. It's that easy! If  the sunburn is only covering a small area, you can add oats to cool water, put inside a cheese cloth or gauze, then place onto the burnt area. You may want to change gauze and re-cool the oatmeal as needed.  In addition to putting oatmeal on sunburn skin, you could use a clean potato. You would want to puree the potato first, placing the puree inside gauze, then applying to burnt area. My favorite way to ease sunburn is the use of essential oils, like lavender. I love the way essential oils smell and feel on my body without sunburn. Just image how much comfort you could have if  these oils are used on sunburn skin. When using these and any other remedies, try keeping the ingredients cool. This can help soothe that searing sensation felt on the skin. There are many other natural remedies used for the treatment of sunburn. Some items you may even have in your home. It's summer time and the sun is out longer. Sunburn can occasionally occur on anyone, what's essential is knowing how to treat it.

Here are other Sun Burn Relief Remedies:

after making keep cool

Andrea's Comment from Wellness Mama Blog: add into a 2 oz bottle with a mist top.

• aloe vera juice-1/8 tsp.
• vitamin E oil-1 1/2 tsp. 
• fractional coconut oil  
• roman chamomile 2 drops 
• lavender 2 drop 
• 2 drops melaleuca 

Herb Spray from Wellness Mama Blog:

• Boil 1 cup of water and add 2 tablespoons of dried mint leaf, lavender flowers, and dried plantain leaf. 
• Remove from heat and let cool. 
• Once cool, strain out the herbs. 
• Add an equal amount of apple cider vinegar to the cooled tea mixture and pour in to a spray bottle

Koketta Knowles

Lavender Love

This month, +Bloomfield Bath's Charity Soap of the Month is Lavender Love. In lieu of this month's charity soap, I will be talking about the effects of lavender on your skin. If your wondering what type of flower lavender is, well, it's actually an herb. Lavender can be used for many things, such as, consumption in baking products and teas, or as a fragrance for your home. Bloomfield Bath uses lavender in our body products. Lavender is native to northern Africa and the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean and it can come in a variety colors like yellow, green or white. The Latin version of Lavender is "lavare", which means, to wash. This herb has a nice refreshing smell. Lavender has many uses, one being a great aromatherapy agent. When dried you can place inside pillows or sleeping masks and this will help you to sleep, naturally. It is thought that lavender slows down your nervous system. *Do not use Lavender with any additional sleeping aids*  You can dry lavender flowers, place inside cloth bags, and use as dryer sheets. Thus, giving your linen a cool, refreshing, natural scent straight from the dryer. The natural scent of lavender can keep bugs away. Yes, no more buying those "chemical" bug sprays, when you apply the lavender essential oil you shouldn't have to worry about bug bites. Lavender is effective against most bugs like mosquitoes and moths. If you were to get bitten by a bug, all you would have to do is apply lavender essential oil to reduce skin irritation and pain. Not only is the lavender essential oil a great anti-inflammatory, it can help with skin acne and provide minor burn relief. When added topically, the essential oil of lavender can help hinder bacteria growth by reducing scarring when the acne begin to heal. Also Lavender relieves the pain of minor burns when applied to the skin. 

I have only spoke of a few of lavender's properties, but there are many other qualities that lavender posses in addition to relaxing the mind, soothing minor burns, and/or bug bites. Scientist are researching the effects of lavender and finding more and more great advantages of it's use. For example, researchers from the University of Coimbra in Portugal found that Lavender oil is lethal to an array of skin pathogenic strains. Another study completed by The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database says that, "...lavender can promote hair growth..." WOW, "hair growth". When I read that, I wanted to know more. This was then backed up by a Scottish study report. The, "[l]avender oil increases blood circulation..." when rubbed on your scalp regularly. They reported that patients with alopecia showed 40% more hair growth when using lavender essential oils on their scalp. 

Lavender is a great herb with healing and soothing properties. Bloomfield Bath adds lavender to our soaps, creams, lotions, butters, and polishes. When you've had a stressful day, why not take a bath with our Lavender Love homemade soap bar, then moisturize your skin with the cream. Now watch all your stress go away. The bonus in using Bloomfield Bath's lavender soap bar is knowing that we truly use all natural, unrefined lavender essential oils. Get soothed today with our Lavender Love Signature Scent. 

Lavender Love - a blend of lavender & lemon

Lavender Love