The single most effective way to get rid of a sunburn

Well this is my first instructable, and is only going to be short because its an extremly easy and effective method to removing a painful sunburn. This method was recommended to me by my friends mother, who is a nurse and therefore MUST know what shes talking about. Turns out she did. I hope this helps many a painful sunburn to receed or dissapear.

Step 1 Gathering materials

You will need a total of five things.
1)A bathtub to do this in (preferably ceramic, so it wont stain)
2)A pitcher
3)A rag that you dont mind getting stained
4)Water
5)Three bags of black tea (I use Earl Grey)

Comments

[THE NURSE]

Please DO NOT take hot showers after a sunburn. This is a BURN and hot water can make it worse d/t nerve ending damage, u can't really tell how hot the water is. Cool water helps bring down the temperature of your skin. The tannic acid in the tea bag soothes the skin; this is a great remedy for any 1st degree burn. If you suffer a really bad burn seek medical attention, please!! Dehydration/burned skin is serious and u may need fluid replacement. Tea bag treatment is also great for itching burning feet!!!!

[drpepper8412]

Thank you very much for this! Im glad that you posted this so people now understand how dangerous some of their other methods are.

[Wolfrick]

+1 This really works. . . we've used this method for years in my family. The stronger you brew the tea, the better it is. Also, drink some iced tea, too, and stay well-hydrated. If you get a really horrible burn, see if you can find loose tea at the store. Brew the tea leaves up in a small amount of water, then apply the cooled wet leaves directly to your sunburn. Something about the tannins help take the injury away, and cures it up really fast. I went boating in an aluminum flat-bottomed boat with no paint left, wearing shorts, and burned my legs beet-red one time when I was about 13. Tea really helped. ~W

[filmrebelroby]

Today was hell for me. I had the worst sunburn itch. If you don't have blisters and your sunburn itches, a warm/hot shower works. Make sure the temperature isn't so hot as to burn you, but after the shower, the itch will be gone. I know because this just happened to me. Also of course, Aloe Vera and cold showers are good too.

[jrh143]

I just tried this remedy on a two-day-old lobster belly, and WOW! what a fantastic difference! Only difference: I didn't have earl grey tea, so I used what was on hand, which is plain old Lipton ice tea bags. I used seven of the small (not family size) bags. I got almost immediate relief from my constant itching, which was making me think I was going to lose my mind (assuming I had something there to lose in the first place). I have posted this remedy to another site (wiki answers, I think) with credit given. Thank you very much for your helpful advice!

[drpepper8412]

Wow, thats wonderful! I'm so pleased that it worked that well, especially on an old burn! Could you send me the link to where you reposted the remedy?

[jrh143]

Sure! It is at: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_do_you_do_when_your_sunburn_starts_to_itch
Mine is currently still the last one on the page, signed John Hance. Thank you for the helpful tip! It is one I will be handing down to my kids and passing on to all my family and friends.

[jrh143]

Just wanted to add that this remedy did NOT keep the burn from peeling. I currently look like a two-toned leper. I am still quite pleased with the instant itch relief this remedy gave me, but does anyone out there know how to keep burnt skin from peeling? Seems like I never go from honky white to tan without passing immediately through bright red and then peeling back to honky white + 1 shade darker. If I find the answer to this question "out there" I'll come back and post it here. Thanks again!

[Weather_blue]

The best I've been able to do to keep a burn from peeling is to slather it in Oil of Olay type moisturiser (Mal-Wart's Equate brand works just as well). Every time the toasted skin starts feeling or looking tight, hit the moisturiser until the skin won't take any more. You'll be vaguely sticky for a couple of days, but if you've kept the skin well hydrated, the peeling should be minimal. Of course, if anyone's got a DIY method with comparable results, I'm all (slightly pink) ears. ;D

[TorinMiasma]

I've been on instructables for a few months now and it took a wiki answers site to send me to this... and right when i needed it... my girl thinks i'm addicted but this site really does have a bit of everything.

[drpepper8412]

Glad you found it! Once summer starts up, I always tend to get a lot more comments, so I'm glad it could help with one of the first burns of summer!

[sickdog74]

It worked for me! Here's what it did: I used 4 tea bags (earl grey) in a large tea cup. Microwaved the 4 bags with water for 2.5 minutes. Let cool, swish around. You now have a very very very strong cup of tea. Dabbed on my sunburned face. Repeated every 45 minutes or so until bedtime. Probably did it 8 or 9 times before bedtime. In the morning, I was tanned but not burned! I went from lobster red to tanned in 12 hours!

[drpepper8412]

Congrats! I'm so glad it works so well for so many other people! =D

[cindi59]

I did this last spring when I forgot to put on sunscreen while gardening. I wasn't burnt to a blister state but was uncomfortable on my shoulders to sleep! I made 4 bags of plain lipton tea in a glass two cup measuring cup. I let it cool and started by dipping a washcloth in and after wringing (not completely, just to not drip) it out I dabbed. Instant difference! I was able to cool the burn enough to sleep. I left the tea in the cup and in the middle of the night when I got woke up in pain I did it again. The next morning the majority of the sunburn was gone. I did use the tea on the more burned part over the next day. Instead of days of soreness, I had one! My kids have done the same since! It isn't a cure of course but It sure helps!

[Shapes99]

IT WORKS
 I mean it is not one of those scams it works. I had sunburn and where i have applied it. It has gone down to a minimal amount.
THANKYOU DRPEPPER8412
 

[Shapes99]

I had really bad sunburn on my legs, arms, ears, face and neck. My arms and my legs have gone down a lot. Thankyou again. Keep hydrated you have lost water due to sunburn. Also Everyone keep moisturizing where the sunburn it will retain moisture.

[Shapes99]

Thankyou so much.

This has made my sunburn pain go away.
I will be telling heaps of people about this remedy and site.
I applied it about 8 hours after and 25 min after i found this site.

THANKYOU SO MUCH

[jlittle11]

hey this didn't work for me! so i used aloe vera worked nicely!

[sland]

I have tried this and I love it. I have extremely pale freckled skin. Dark hair and dark eyes but as my friends and boyfriend have said I pink in about 15 minutes of unprotected skin exposure. I went to a bike run and forgot sunscreen and was out somewhere between 6 - 9 hours in the sun. I had a bad burn on my neck and arms and chest and face. This helped take the pain out of my neck and reduce what little pain was in my arms. My face didn't really hurt but when it did the tea helped relieve that as well. I also tried taking the washcloth and soaking it in the tea then letting it sit on my neck to pull the heat out and it worked wonders. Though my shirt did get soaked in the process. So if you don't mind your shirt getting a bit wet that is something that helps two. Thanks for posting this remedy for us :)

[Katester21]

I have a sunburn, and it's bad enough that it blistered. It's mainly on my face and the sides of my neck, so do I still need to use three teabags or can I get away with using one?

[molerat12]

do not apply hot tea on. only cold.

[bridge47]

I read over your instructable several times and nowhere did it say to cool the tea, so I applied HOT TEA to my burn. No wonder it hurt. I thought maybe that was the point, that it would slough off the dead, damaged skin cells. Well, on a scale from 0 to 10 (0 is the same and 10 is totally healed) I'd say using the hot tea method gave me about a 1. Tonight I try the cold methods, already it feels better!

[molerat12]

was it like bad heart burns all over whare your burn was? just at little places and like fire? did you yell like a hiena and worse? thats what happend to me

[drpepper8412]

Oh my! I'm so sorry! I thought it was self evident, but thank you for bringing it to my attention!!

[jtuccio]

So I have been sunburnt for a 24 hours and then I found this website. I just put the coats on this second. Do you think I still have a chance for sanctuary in the morning even though I waited a little long?

[jmeyer8]

I jus found this website after like 10 mins after I got the burn and I put on 3 coats in 10 mins my redness is already almost gone! And so is the pain. I am really glad I found this!

[jojodiaz12]

im 12 years old and i just got back from summer camp this week and i got a really bad sun burn on my face and arms. is it safe to use this in my age group and is it safe to use on yor face to. i was just wondering becuz im staring school in three days and i dont wanna look like a lobster. hope someone could help me out thx.

[drpepper8412]

Yes it should! As far as I'm aware it does not differ for people of different race, gender or age. Good luck, let us know!

[ethomas6]

does this treatment work on your face too?

[abook]

I am soo glad I found this!! I'm getting married in exactly 13 days and I ended up getting "sunburn" lines today, thanks to my fiance and his need to have the top down. I am freaking out about the sunburn AND the tan lines that will result after the burn is gone. Hopefully this trick will work for me as well as it has for everyone else on here, because that is one less thing, of way too many, that I will be worried about. At least if it works I'll be able to start trying to figure out how to get rid of the lines in less than two weeks...yikes!!! Anybody have a quick fix for that?? Thanks in advance!!!!!!

[mimhoff]

what if you dont have black tea???? i need to get rid of my sunburn because my face and shoulders are burnt and it hurts to move my face and im in a work out program so its hard for me to work out

[megpaintsthetown]

really hope this will work my prom is tomorrow and i have aweful sunburn, willing to try anything :)

[scree44s]

can this work with other teas like chai tea and green tea?

[tomacho27]

Is it possible to make a sunburn cream with black tea ? So you dont need to put a towel, and just apply the cream directly into the sunburn?
Thanks

[scree44s]

you might be able to but i think the cream wont be as powerful because it would be washed out by the other ngredients.

[drpepper8412]

I was actually trying to design something like that. If you can, more power to you!

[bandnrd]

Question!! Do you let the tea cool down before applying it, or do you apply it while still "warm"? I got horribly burned today while at the beach with my family- first time I've been in over a year because I was in the hospital. I was wearing SPF 75, and still look like a lobster.

A speedy answer would be much appreciated- I'm in extreme amounts of pain and can't sleep! Thanks so much!!

[dscuna_]

Okay I have a pretty bad sunburn on my back and tomorrow I'm going to Florida so I needed to find the quickest way to get rid of this sunburn! Last night I couldn't sleep and i had this spray that supposedly treats a sunburn, instead I was twiching all night. I decided to look on the web and thank god I found this! I'm setting this up and hopefully it should work... How long does it take to heal a moderatly bad sunburn?

[cindy09]

Does green tea also work instea of black tea ?
Please answer as soon as posible , i have a bad sunburn D:

[luvit]

the most effective way is to smack it hard about once a minute. some people refuse to believe this.