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Everyone's heard of aloe vera. I use it when I get burnt really bad. (thankfully that doesn't happen very often) However, when i'm just a little pink from too much sun I'd rather swab some apple cider vinegar over my skin.

Apple cider vinegar helps to balance the skin’s pH factor. (it's also good if you have acne to use as a toner)

Mmmmm, red wine bath. >:3

What sort of tea Sunset? Orange pekoe?

I've actually got a bit of a burn today. Since I've got the cider vinegar, I'm going to give it a try. My new aloe vera plant isn't big enough to use.

(By the way, how big of a piece do you take off of the plant? The whole thing? )

Yes, Pirhan, plain old orange pekoe tea. We just bought a huge box of the cheapest tea we could find for the tub last summer, and it worked just fine. Now we keep a spray bottle full of strong tea in the refrigerator, and just replace the tea weekly. Around here, you can never tell when you're gonna need it. You know, if you added some Fruit Fresh to that tea in the fridge, you'd be adding vitamin C to the spray, which has to be a good thing----and keeping that tea fresh a little longer, too.

Fruit Fresh is powdered vitamin c that you add to fruit to prevent browning. Fresh fruit? Not for this. Although some pureed banana might feel good!

DIY aloe vera Gel

(to be kept refridgerated for use in summer)

- slice off large outer leaf and peel it with a peeler or knife. Put the leaf into a blender or processor
- for every 1/4 c of aloe gel, add 500 mg of powdered vitamin c, the contents of one vit. E capsul and 1/2 tsp of lavender essential oil.
- blend thoroughly. Then apply the gel as needed to cuts, burns, insect bites, etc.

The gel will keep refrigerated in a jar for a couple of months


Comfrey Poultice

Comfrey roots and leaves encourage the healing of burns.

1 large handful fresh comfrey leaves and/or roots, chopped.
1-2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp olive oil
2 drops lavender essential oil
1 drop tea tree essential oil

place the chopped herbs into blender and puree with water and olive oil until thick. remove and add the essential oils. store unused portions in a covered container in refrigerator

apply thickly to burn and cover with a cloth bandage. leave on for as long as possible and reapply as needed.

I suppose this could also be spread thinly on your skin as a general remedy for sunburn instead of a specific burn.

mkay, well, it was cloudy today... so yet again I assumed I wouldn't need sunblock... redface You'd think I'd learn my lesson by now, I have SUPER fair skin, and burn easily. So yup, I got the farmers tan working for me. But I wore gloves all day xp Anywho, just made a pot of tea, and poured it into the bath. I also decided to put a bit of honey in the bath, since I know it's a good hydrator.

Aloe vera, tea, and lavender essential oil are my top three.

That's one of the many things that aloe is recommended for. 3nodding