When are Essential Oils good to use on a Sunburn?
So you (or a loved one) stayed in the sun too long and got a sunburn. It happens to all of us at some point. You have my condolences…
Now, let?s discuss what can you do to soothe the discomfort, speed up your healing and get your skin back as healthy as ever.
You?re on the right track by researching essential oils. In this post we?ll get you some in-depth information about choosing oils and application methods. It?s very important that you choose the right essential oils and learn how to use them effectively when treating your skin.
But first i have to ask you a question.
How bad is your burn?
- Mild sunburn – These are the ?first-degree? variety that only affect the top layer of skin. Essential oils should be effective remedies for this type of burn. Apply them evenly and often.
- Severe sunburn – If your sunburn is really bad it?s better to seek the help of a doctor. Essential oils may still help, but it?s likely that you?ll need additional treatments too.
How bad is your sunburn? Take the Sunburn Quiz to Find Out
Which Essential Oils will help Treat your Burn?
If you?re still reading i?ll assume you have a mild sunburn. Good, we?re glad you didn?t get too scorched out there!
Now let?s now discuss which oils you should put on your skin and why.?It?s important to choose the right oils. There are many on the market and most of them will not help your skin.
In fact, some can cause damage to skin if not handled carefully(!)
5 Recommended Essential oils to Soothe and Heal Sunburnt Skin
Lavender Essential Oil?
If you only choose only one essential oil for your sunburn, choose Lavender oil.
Lavender has been used for many centuries as folk remedy for common skin ailments. It is adaptogenic, soothing, calming and cooling
Here are some chronic conditions that lavender oil is used to treat:
- Acne
- Psoriasis
- Dermatitis
- Inflammation
- Eczema
Lavender works so well because it amplifies the skin?s ability to renew itself.
How can it do this?
In part because it contains adaptogenic compounds.
Adaptogenic compounds improve a variety of your bodies functions by supporting what?s needed in that moment.
And you?re in luck, because the adaptogens in lavender oil are fantastic at amplifying the skin?s ability to transform and heal itself after a sunburn.
Lavender also has powerful soothing properties – once you apply it on your skin your sunburn will instantly feel less agitated.
And because lavender oil is so rapidly absorbed by the skin you?ll quickly notice that the redness of your burn becomes reduced and your skin feels less aggravated when touched.
Over time lavender oil also tones and firms the skin. This stimulates cell formation, improves circulation and promotes a healthy oxygen flow into cells. Your new skin cells will become flush with fresh oxygen and grow healthy and strong during the renewal process.
Best-Selling Lavender Essential Oil Products on Amazon:
- Now Foods Lavender Oil, 2 OZ
- Kashmir Grade Organic Lavender Essential Oil, 10 ml
- Aura Cacia Lavender Essential Oil, 0.5 OZ
If you want to learn how to apply lavender essential then?Jump ahead to the application section.
Frankincense Essential Oil
Frankincense is another powerful skin tonic and works wonders for sunburnt skin.
Applied topically this oil is ideal for pain relief associated with your burn. It promotes skin regeneration and is well known for returning damaged skin back to it’s original luster.
(Frankincense is commonly applied to cuts, wrinkles, surgical scars and stretch-marks to diminish their appearance.)
Frankincense is a great application for dry skin. It’s commonly added to moisturizing face masks. You can bet your dry, burnt skin could use some watery rejuvenation.
Overall frankincense can be helpful for?any skin malady. It soothes burns and rashes and stops skin from prematurely aging right?in it’s tracks.
Best-Selling Frankincense?Essential Oil Products on Amazon:
- Healing Solutions Frankincense Organic Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil, 10 ml
- NOW Foods brand Frankincense Essential Oil, 1 ounce
- Sun Organic’s Large Organic Frankincense Essential Oil (4 ounces)
Peppermint Essential Oil?
Peppermint oil is the most cooling oil in this list.
Not only does it cool and soothe crispy sun-burnt skin, it numbs a bit too.
The peppermint plant contains the numbing agent menthol. Menthol numbs and cools, providing an all natural anesthetic to your burn that frees you from your burning agony.
It also moisturizes skin, especially when mixed with other carrier oils.
Oh, and if you’re worried about infection, peppermint has an effective anti-viral quality to it. Applying it to open sores from your burn will help eliminate the risk for infection.
Now, it’s important to note that peppermint essential oil has very strong effects when concentrated and its therapeutic use should be approached with caution.
When applying this oil it’s very important to dilute it’s potency. Later on in this post we discuss different ways to dilute and mix essential oils before we apply them on our sunburns. If you want to read about that now, then jump ahead to the mixture and application section.
Best-Selling Peppermint?Essential Oil Products on Amazon:
Helichrysum Essential Oil
Helichrysum is of the sunflower family. Traditionally it has gone by names such as “everlasting” and immortelle”.
In addition to it’s other various uses, helichrysum is a profound skin healer. It improves skins luster and speeds healing and regeneration.
In fact, it’s most well known for wound healing. It reduces swelling, speeds up tissue growth and disinfects the area.
It even helps reduce the appearance of scars.
The compounds that help make this possible are helichrysums own diketone molecules. They’re very well known for helping the body stimulate new skin growth. And they exist in abundance in this essential oil.
Since the properties of helichrysum are so soothing and calming it’s perfect for those with sensitive skin.
Now, if you’re burnt you’ll obviously have sensitive skin right now. But many people already have sensitive skin. In fact, those with sensitive skin are most likely to burn!
If you already had very sensitive skin before your born then helichrysum is the way to go. It has little to no side effects and is gentle enough for?babies that need help moisturizing their skin. So you can sure bet it’s good enough for you. 🙂
From regenerating tissue to lowering inflammation – it’s got you covered. It even has antioxidant properties to boot! They’ll help protect your skin and aid in the recycling of dead cells.
Best-Selling Helichrysum?Essential Oil Products on Amazon:
- Edens Garden 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade Helichrysum Essential Oil, 5 ml
- Aura Cacia Helichrysum Essential Oil, 0.5 ounce
- Nature’s Kiss Helichrysum Gymnocephalum Essential Oil, 10 ml
Rose Essential Oil
We’ve come to the last essential oil recommended for your sunburn.
Last, but not least.
Rose oil is a favorite for treating skin maladies by mothers all over the world. It’s fragrant and antiseptic. Gentle and comforting. And just all around nice.
A great reason to add rose oil to your skin care mix is it’s ability to make your skin more permeable. This means that you’re better able to absorb the medicinal and nourishing qualities of your treatment.
While helping you better absorb nutrients from other oils, rose oil packs a nutritional punch of its own.
Rose oil contains concentrated forms of many minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. It also contains emollient properties, which are great for moisturizing damaged skin and reducing redness and inflammation.
If you’ve already chose some oils to add to your healing mix, don’t count out Rose. It’s a great addition for many reasons, but is especially great for providing?that extra skin absorbency factor.
Best-Selling Rose?Essential Oil Products on Amazon:
- Rose Geranium 100% Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil, 5 ml
- NOW Foods Rose Absolute oil blend, 1 ounce
- Oakland Gardens Rose Bulgarian Essential Oil 100% Therapeutic Grade, 4 ml
3 Effective?Essential Oil?Mixtures and Formulas?to treat your Sunburn?
We’ve discussed great options for choosing particular?essential oils. Now let’s discuss how to prepare them to be applied on your sunburn.
Below we have a variety of ways for you to apply essential oils for treatment.
Some may want to keep it simple with a spray bottle mixture, others might savor a tranquil (not too hot) bath to subdue the burn.
But first, some cautions.
- Be careful not too over apply essential oils. They are very concentrated products. With most oils a strong dilution is necessary.
- If bathing with oils, avoid putting bubbles or soap into the bathtub with your mixture. These will likely dry out your skin and hinder your healing.
- Be gentle to your skin.?With sunburns its best to treat them and leave them to heal. Avoid scratching or rubbing in your treatment too much. Your skin will thank you for it.
- Be informed. Learn about the ingredients you are using. Some oils are not recommended in certain situations. For example, pregant women are discouraged from applying lavender oil.
Okay, on to the recipes!
#1. Spray Bottle Mixtures
Filling up some spray bottles with your diluted essential oils is a simple and effective remedy. Application is easy and can be done frequently at the squeeze of a nozzle.
Recipe:
- Add 8 to 15 drops of your oil (or a mixture of your favorite oils) to your spray bottle
- Fill the remainder with filtered water
(Alternatively you can add fractionated coconut oil?or aloe vera juice in place of water for your spray bottle)
Done!
Our most?recommended mixture for this spray bottle recipe is:
- Lavender oil (for it’s powerful healing capabilities)
- Peppermint oil (for it’s soothing menthol)
- Rose oil (for its effectiveness at increasing?skin permeability and absorption)
#2. Lavender Coconut Oil
Next up is a nourishing oil mixture that coats your skin in healing goodness.
This is a great way to make your essential oils highly effective.
Choose either fractionated coconut oil or extra virgin?coconut oil.
Fractionated: This oil is made as a base carrier oil. This means it is already liquid and you can apply your oils directly to it.
Extra Virgin: This is raw, unaltered coconut oil. It melts at 76 degrees fahrenheit. You will melt the coconut oil then add your essential oils (this is titled as a lavender mix, but you can apply any of the oils previously mentioned).?After you’ve mixed the oils together pour them into a jar then wait until it’s cool before applying.
- Choosing between these two forms of coconut oil comes down to preference. If you like more solid oils, choose extra virgin oil. If you like more fluid lotions, then choose fractionated coconut oil.
NOTE: The general rule of thumb is to add 4 drops of essential oil for every one teaspoon of a carrier oil.?For this recipe we recommend that you use 4 ounces of coconut oil and 40 drops of your essential oil.
#3. Aromatic and Soothing Essential Oil Bath
Lastly we have the cozy bath tub option. Our favorite.
Now, this might not be your perfectly imaged bath. We don’t recommend that you make it bubbly or scalding hot. Too much heat and too many chemicals will dry out your skin and slow the healing.
Instead, aim for lukewarm or close to hot. Warm water will help your skin loosen up and absorb the oils we’re about?to add.
Ingredients:
- A tub full of warm water
- 1 cup baking soda
- 15-20 drops of your favorite essential oil(s)
Directions:
- Combine essential oil and baking soda together.
- Add combination to water.
- Ensure water is mixed well with your ingredients.
- Be sure that your burned areas are submerged in the water.
- Bath for as long as you please. We recommend a minimum of 20 minutes.
- After your bath, pat skin dry.
Conclusion
That’s it for our post on essential oils and sunburns.
We hope you learned and benefitted from this information!
As a final note, we’ll leave you with a helpful essential oil spray bottle recipe to help you avoid getting burnt next time you’re out in the sun.
Prevention is the best medicine!
BONUS:?Sunscreen Prevention Spray Bottle Recipe
- Add 60 drops of Helichrysum to spray bottle
- Add 60 drops of Lavender to spray bottle
- Fill remainder of your bottle with fractionated coconut oil
Spray your skin at least once an hour and be sunburn free!
***Please leave a comment below if you need clarification about anything or would like to share your own advice or experiences***
Isn’t Rose Geranium completely different from Rose Absolute? I use Rose Geranium for my dog to repel the ticks, but I’ve read that Rose Absolute is good for skin problems and such. Just a little unsure here.
what size glass spray bottles are you using??