The single most effective way to get rid of a sunburn

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.

Comments

[dorathexplore]

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

[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.

[Madielynn2011]

hello my name is samantha i recently went tanning at the tanning salon well instead of taking it easy i got in for the whole 20 min an now im burnt an it hurts to even sit or walk cuz i got burnt in the part of the leg where it bends at the knee cap would the balck tee work for this or is there something else i should try an does it have to be a certain kind of tea. someone plese give me advise on this i could really use the help thanks.

[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!!!!!!

[dscăunaş]

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:

[Dudeyowuzup]

Do take note of the part about not getting your clothes wet: Black tea can be used to dye fabric, so try not to get it on anything you don't want brown spots on!
Also, Birdy Jane, I agree with your plan to do tea first, then aloe. Aloe not only soothes the skin, but also leaves a moist barrier -helpful in fighting skin dryness, but can impede the absorption of the tea into your skin if you don't apply the tea first.

[Birdy Jane]

 But my Earl Grey tea packet says Ingredients: Tea, bergamot flavouring.

I have other packets, not Earl Grey, that list black tea as only ingredients.

So, do I use the Earl Grey or the black? My husband let the kids burn horribly today, and I'd like to see to them, before I see to him.

[TIM.ber.wolf]

Earl Grey is black tea- just with oil from a citrus fruit called Bergamot.

[Birdy Jane]

Thank you both. I used the Earl Grey plus the black tea together and swabbed it on the one kid who was still awake. He said it felt sooo gooood when I applied it. I put several large thick towels on his bed, laid him down and gently swabbed his burnt areas with it. I treated my daughter with aloe (straight from the plant) but didn't wake her for the tea treatment. I would say the results were not spectacular, but decent enough that tea will be the first thing I use on them for future sunburns (should there be any (grrrrr)). I think my aloe daughter was a little bit more sore, for just a little bit longer, than my aloe plus tea son. But it's hard to say for sure as he is older, more articulate while she borders on the hysterical at the slightest wound. In the end, I just go with my gut, which is telling me tea first, then aloe. So thanks for your Instructable. And it might interest you both to hear that at more than one other site I found, Bergamot was listed as among the top ten sunburn treatments. So that's that. May none of us ever need to know as much as we now know.

[drpepper8412]

Either or; as long as it's strong!
And try to go easy on him =)