Soothing Sunburn with Aloe Vera

Those summer months are just around the corner, which means… potential SUNBURN.

By now, everyone is aware that aloe vera does wonders for burns. For sunburns, it’s especially good for soothing relief and to speed healing. Because I’m very fair skinned, I’ve pretty much used aloe vera all my life, and was chased around as a kid to have it applied to me after getting those nasty sunburns, and have never found a product that compares.

You should, of course, always use a good sunscreen when you’re going to be in the sun even for short periods, (especially if you’re fair skinned!) but sometimes we end up in the sun unexpectedly, or we missed areas when applying the sunscreen.

Here are a few things you can do to soothe that nasty sunburn with aloe vera.

If most of your body is covered in sunburn, the best way to soothe it is not always possible because more than likely you won’t have a sufficient amount of aloe gel around. But if you do keep large quantities of fresh aloe gel on hand, you can draw a cool bath, adding a large amount of the aloe gel to the bath. Soaking in the aloe vera bath will draw heat from your skin and soothe the pain greatly. (and will also make your skin oh-so soft, but when in pain, you won’t care about being baby soft, of course)You can also, of course, apply the aloe gel directly to your skin. Just apply the aloe gel and allow to dry.Another thing you can do is make an aloe vera “spray”. If you have a decent amount of aloe gel, then in a bowl, add very small amounts of water to the aloe gel, and mix as well as you can. Keep adding a wee bit of water if needed, until it’s mixed thin enough to be able to be sprayed through a spray bottle. Pour the aloe vera mixture into a spray bottle, and keep it in the fridge. You can spray your sunburn for relief as often as you need to.

Whenever using the aloe gel for any of the above, be sure to avoid any of the yellow “sap” underneath the skin of the aloe vera plant!

The aloe vera “spray” option comes in very handy when your back is burned, because you can’t always reach all of your back to apply aloe gel directly. (and that cool, refrigerated aloe spray feels sooooo good on a sunburned back!)

For my sunburned face, (especially the bridge of nose, and cheekbones that end up burned worse) I always apply the aloe gel directly, instead of using the spray. Majority of the time, I just apply the aloe gel directly to the worst areas, and use the spray everywhere else, or for the areas I can’t reach.

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Aloe Vera Internal Health Benefits

Aloe vera has always been considered the “Wonder Plant” through history, due to it’s external healing abilities, but it is also a wonderful herbal alternative for internal health as well.

Due to it’s anti-inflammatory traits, as well as increasing the ability to absorb nutrients in the digestive system, aloe vera has been used through time to greatly relieve constipation and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), help with heartburn and soothe peptic ulcers. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis treatment is also a possibility with use of aloe vera.Aloe vera has also been used to strengthen and improve the immune system because of the essential vitamins, minerals and enzymes it contains, as well as restoring vital amino acids your body needs.It has been said to help reduce blood sugar levels in diabetes, with claims of a 45% reduction.It has also been claimed that aloe vera can repair elastin and collagen in the skin and joints.

There’s been a wide variety of potential internal use of aloe vera to help with ailments and diseases ranging from arthritis, to dental problems, on down to cancer, but aloe vera is mostly recognized and used for it’s internal benefits to both the digestive and immune system.

If you are considering using aloe vera as an alternative to potentially harsh medicines, you should take caution when using it straight from a plant, and always consult a physician, especially if you are pregnant or considering the alternative for a child or pet. There are different processes for aloe vera and it’s very likely you will not benefit at all if using improper extracting methods for internal use. I strongly advise against it since ingesting improperly will cause various problems like diarrhea, and worse.

There are aloe vera juices on the market, but most cannot tolerate the taste at all, or the juices are watered down, which greatly reduces the benefits as well. My suggestion would be to use an aloe vera natural whole herb supplement that you can easily swallow if the aloe vera juice isn’t pleasing to your tastebuds.

Here’s to your health!

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