If you find yourselves stuck in this pain, read this article. We will tell you how to use home remedies for sunburned lips. Don’t try to do anything weird like taking off the puffed skin or using lip balm. By doing this you can trigger an infection and make it harder and more painful to relieve the sunburn. Now, check out these methods.
Contents
Symptoms of sunburned lips and the time it lasts
Depending on how severe the situation is, you will experience different levels of symptoms. The common signs are: swollen lips, red lips and itchiness. This is level 1 of sunburned lips. If the condition is more severe, the swell will be bigger and you suffer from blistering.
Blisters are like bubbles of white blood cells. If you leave them as they be, the blisters will eventually flatten and disappear. But, if you open the blisters, they can leave some big and painful open wounds.
In basic conditions, sunburned lips heal after 3-5 days. But if the blisters break, it can take a week or more for the lips to heal completely. Only if you eat non-salty and non-spicy food. This can be considered the first step to cure sunburned lip: Not eating elaborately seasoned food.
How to treat sunburned lips with home remedies
Even though a relieving cream or gel can cure sunburn faster, they aren’t always within reach. Therefore, while you don’t have the time to buy the medicine, you can try gentle and easy home remedies. Remember to hydrate by drinking a lot of water. Combining hydration with homemade remedies can cure your irritated lips quicker.
Ice
Of course, you can use ice to relieve sunburn. But, don’t apply the ice directly onto the lips because it can cause a cold burn. On sunburned lips, ice can be more cold and dangerous. So what is the right way to use ice?
Cover it in a cloth and gently apply it on the lips. Don’t leave it on for a long time. Make sure that you let the lips rest for a while between applications.
Another way is to put ice in a bowl of water and use the cool/ cold water to soothe the lips.
Aloe vera
Aloe Vera isn’t something that lies around ready to be used all the time, but it is a good home remedy. First, clean the part where you are going to cut for the gel thoroughly to avoid mixing dirt with the gel. Take out the gel inside of the aloe vera and smooth it using a spoon. Then apply the gel on your lips. The coolness of the gel will alleviate the burning and irritated lips.
Aloe vera, in general, is famous for its use in relieving any type of sunburn. With this ingredient, it is possible to cure sunburn on the skin as well.
Cucumber
If you don’t have aloe vera in hand, check your fridge to see if there is any cucumber left. Cucumber is a cool vegetable. 97% of a cucumber is water. So it has a high soothing ability. Cut some thin slices of cucumber and cover your whole lips to relieve the pain and inflammation.
Tomato
Tomato is a great source of hydration, just like cucumber. Use the same method of application as cucumber and you will save your lips.
Not just for sunburned lips, tomatoes also make an effective remedy for daily use. Using tomatoes as lip masks or face masks can brighten your skin, moisturize it and reduce dullness.
Honey
Honey is a natural anti-inflammatory ingredient, which is very important for severely sunburned lips. But a thin layer is more recommendable so it doesn’t provoke discomfort.
Honey is a well-known ingredient for moisturizing lips. When it is paired with brown sugar, they make a perfect combo of exfoliators. But do you know that people use it to treat sunburned lips as well?
How to avoid getting sunburned
We don’t recommend that you rely on these methods since it is much better to avoid having to use them. The best way to avoid getting sunburned is using sunscreen or lip balm, lipstick with spf.
For sunscreen, buy any type that has the index of spf higher than 30. For lipstick or lip balm, 15spf is the minimum requirement. Putting on sunscreen doesn’t ensure 100% that you won’t get sunburned, but they help avoid the sad situation.
Other ways to prevent sunburn is wearing UV-blocking clothes and not wearing dark-color clothes. Dark-color clothes absorb more heat and UV ray. Or even safer, don’t spend too much time outside under the sun from 11am to 2pm. This is the time when the sun hits the top and the heat rises the highest.
What products you should avoid
Many claim that Vaseline can cure sunburned lips thanks to its deep moisture. We don’t think the same. Vaseline is perfect for daily use when your lips are in normal condition. But when it is inflamed, Vaseline doesn’t relieve the pain. Because of its mineral composition, it can trap the heat of the lips and prolong the inflammation. That’s why we don’t recommend Vaseline, or any type of oil in the case of sunburned lips.
Avoid interaction with any type of soap or cleanser. You must indeed keep the lips and the surface of the blisters clean. But don’t go to the other extreme. Clean water should work just fine.
Toothpaste doesn’t soothe sunburns, it makes things worse. Toothpaste contains alkali, a chemical element that increases the pain of sunburn. So even though toothpaste is minty and can reduce heat, it provokes pain. So avoid it.
Final thoughts
We hope with these homemade remedies, you will successfully cure your sunburned lip. Remember to be careful with your diet during these times. Salt and spices cause inflammation. The lips struggle more with healing since we have to move these muscles constantly, unlike the chest area. We still think that medicine is the best way to treat the condition. You can always pair it with homemade remedies. Good luck!