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)

Step 2: Fill the pitcher

First things first, strip down, because you dont want to get any of your clothes wet. Fill the pitcher with warm water and soak the tea bags in it. When you have the water almost black, like the picture, then move on to step 3.

Step 3: Healing the wound

Once the water has cooled to a warm/lukewarm temperature, dunk the rag into the tea, and dab it onto the sunburn. DO NOT WIPE IT OFF! Leave it on and let it be absorbed into your skin. Once its dry, re-apply as necessary, but never wash it off. If you do this process before bedtime, you can go to sleep and give it time to work its magic. In the morning you can wash it off in your shower. The sunburn should be substancialy subsided or all gone, but remember: the sooner you can apply the tea after you get the burn, the quicker and more effective it will be.

Note: I had a severe sunburn and I also used the tea bags straight up, dabbing them directly onto my skin. You may use as many "coats" of tea as you want, but the more the better.

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!

[bakdrft]

Drinking tea? doesnt tea have diuretic qualities? Making you dehydrated? So NO do not drink tea drink water to stay hydrated.
Not a nurse but knew that.

[hasully]

i've had my sunburn for 3 days now.. i've had to miss school for it.. i made the mistakes twice of a hot bath and hot shower.. no matter what i do even with aloe my skin is dry not peeling but really dry. any suggestions to fix that?

[Alisa Selezneva]

To put cream is the best way actually

[grannyjones]

I wonder if this will work with white tea--I misplaced a whole box full,
and now they may be unfit to drink,
due to a possible invasion of icky small creatures.

[dlovetsky]

The single most effective way to get rid of a sunburn.

Don't get sunburned.
:-)

[Roy Glen Gilliam]

I would like to know if someone tried to use this as a sunscreen? Maybe soak your skin before you lay out???

[kachristie]

I tired years ago on my face that was badly sunburned, it was indeed very helpful! Try it.

[kmajors]

I tried it hope it works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dorathexplore]

could we put the tea in a bath tub and soak in it if you are burned almost everywhere?

[DanteKral]

Hi, does any tea work, I I got sunburned playing hockey and and I'm not sure I have black tea, so I'm just really curious.

Also, how do you deal with the pain from the sunburn, what's a good way to help relieve the pain.

[MELODY3458]

It didn't work for me I tried it last night and it is still burning.
I did it 4 times

[DeeRilee]

This also works wonders on diaper rash!!!!!

Apply gently to clean, area of skin that is inflamed from diaper rash. Let the area 'air dry'......then replace diaper.

[gigglestx24]

can someone please tell me about how long to soak the tea bags? soon please..thank you

[balvarez3]

read the full instruction... i think the longer you steep the tea, the better the result.;)

[balvarez3]

really helped me a lot,it so easy to do..every time we had our holiday outing i am so afraid to come out to sunlight because my skin got easily burn by the sun, that's why my friends keep calling me kill joy!! good thing i have this...

sun screen + this method = awesome trip to beach this next holiday!!

xoxo ;)

[ROBusmc82]

SO people i really need help.. I was outside in Arizona near a swimming pool... The only sun tan lotion i had on me was a sun stick... I used it, however still got sunburned and tried showering with the tea to get rid of the burn.. IT WORKED!
However i ended up with a two toned skin. I dont know if it was from the earl grey tea or the sun stick.. Its been over a month and it really hasn't change... Does anyone have any advice or info for me please.. I rather see what you have to say before going to a Doctor..

Thanks

[mgcat989]

So either I did this really wrong...OR yeah I don't know what else it could be, before doing this my back really didn't itch anything, and now after, I can't stop rubbing my back, and I'm more red now then I was before.

[Cache6489]

Just got burnt today from tanning bed. trying this so far a lot of the redness is gone from my forehead hoping it works on the rest of body as well!!! let you know in the morning!

[Buddytheelf01]

This was a lifesaver for me. I'm very fair and even with sun screen, I still tend to burn somewhere, at least my initial few times out in the summer. This time, it was only on the upper front part of my torso/arms. The burn looked worse adjacent to where the straps had been and there was some other very obvious and strange lines. As I am going to a wedding tomorrow, and my dress wouldn't be able to cover all of the red, I searched frantically for something to help the red. I found this, and that night I made strong tea and used it and even the tea bags themselves against my skin. I was amazed at how good it felt, and I made sure not to wash it off until morning. When I looked at it the next morning, I was more pink than red, and a some of it was already tan. It even improved throughout the day without any more application. I fully intended to do another tea sponge bath that night but fell alseep. This morning when I got up, I had no evidence of burn. I did use aloe and ibuprofen all along as well. In two days, what would have taken me weeks to get rid of was gone. Hallelujah, and thank you! I will tell everyone about this!

[wperegoy]

Dude I would hug you if I could right now.

So after a long day of tubing with friends and family on the lake, I came home with some gnarly sunburns on my shoulders, feet, and face. It hurt to put shoes on, my shoulders just plain hurt as well as my face, oh and my feet were itching like crazy!

So in the middle of the night I woke up very uncomfortable. My burns just plain hurt and the itching kept going. I tried to just muscle up and go back to sleep but that wasn't working for me. I was getting mad, the day after I would be going to whitefish to mountain bike with my friends for a few days and with a ton of sunburns it would really suck. So I searched up a remedy on google and found yours, after about 5 coats on my feet, face, and shoulders from a black tea soaked rag the pain just seemed to go away, but it wasn't the cheap 5 minute relief you get from aloe, it was about 30 minutes of just sunburn relief. As I laid there in bed I felt much more comfortable and would've fallen asleep pretty fast if I didn't have 1000 things on my mind and a loud thunderstorm in the background. In the morning I got up and sadly my sunburns weren't completely gone, but there was a big difference! The sunburns on my shoulders were GONE and the ones on my upper arm had subsided a good amount. My feet no longer itched and a lot of the burn there was gone too.

This remedy was such a help to me. Thank you so much! Off to put another coat of tea on my arms and legs!

Cheers!

[c4hfam]

I knew my fair skin was starting to burn but we'd just found the best snorkeling place for the kids and they weren't burning so I didn't stop to reapply sunscreen a third time. Despite immediate and continuing use of Solarcaine with lidocaine and aloe, three days later, my unblistered sunburn still made dressing excruciating, sitting my back against a sofa or chair painful, and getting hugs from my children off limits. I brewed a half gallon tea bag in 2 c. water, letting it steep until it cooled. After trying compresses, I switched to using a spray bottle to coat my back well. While it felt good immediately, a few hours later, I'm not sure there was any difference. I repeated at bedtime, this time with refrigerator cold sprayed tea, and the next morning felt much better. The burn was still as bright pink, but the pain was much, much less. I don't know if it's the tea or the passage of time, but this treatment seems worth a shot if you're suffering.

[supertoria12]

I brewed myself a great concoction of black tea and green mint tea about a week ago to use on my sunburned face. I think the mint in the green tea really made it go the extra mile since it had a nice cooling effect.

[creativitygirl78]

hey i only have "passion" tea will that work?

[shellie562]

Just wanted to add my "Thank you!!!" to the many comments!! I am on day 4 here & in misery!! My blisters just surfaced today--small, tight/hard, & of course water filled. I am a redhead & know my sun rules &limits but this was a total accident!! I used Tetley Tea bags--10 family sized in a bath...submerged myself as much as possible while pouring water onto any un-submerged areas. After the bath I also mixed some tea in a bowl, soaked a wash cloth in it & laid it on the worst areas. Needless to say, the itching has lessened enough thats its now tolerable, my skin isnt anywhere near as tight & the pain is definitely manageable. Thanks a million for taking the time to post this rememdy!! :))

[ericagrace1027]

does this only work with caffeinated tea or will decaff work fine as well?

[CorrieB123]

Does this leave the tan? Sometimes I get the most god awful sunburns that just leave a tan afterwards.