How to treat sunburned lips? The simplest way is to protect your lips from the sun before burning. Yes, I always put on SPF lip balm before going to the beach or anywhere where the sun rays are harmful to the skin. Yet, you have burned your lips by the sun rays then there are lots of homemade treatments to recover soft, beautiful and kissable lips.
But, I tell you “Prevention is better than cure”. So, put more importance on how to prevent the UVA/UVB rays, rather than how to treat the sunburned lips. Then, you can enjoy healthier and prettier lips.
Before going to know how to treat sunburned lips, it will be better if you know what the dangers or risks may be associated with sunburnt lips.
[ Read Also: 10 ultimate tips to get pink lips ]
Symptoms of Sunburned Lips
Our skin generally gets burned by the two forms of sun rays. One is UVA sun exposure. It affects the deeper into the skin and causes aging signs, loss of elasticity, hyperpigmentation, inflammation, etc. And the second one is UVB sun rays. It mainly burns the skin.
Besides these symptoms, there are many other signs, like swelling, redness, dark spots, dehydrated, cracked lips, peeling off, blisters, etc. You may also notice nausea, fatigue, and fever if your lips are severely burned by the sun.
Even if the sunburned lips are untreated for a longer time, skin cancer on lips may be seen. But, it is rare.
How to Treat Sunburned Lips
Anyway, today I will share some effective tips that will help to cure your sunburned, damaged and dry lips. I will show you here, prevention the lips from the sun rays, general treatments, home remedies, and some DIY tips.
#Prevent Your Lips from Sunburn
Before I said, “Prevention is better than cure.” For the sunburned lips, it is beyond true. If you can protect your lips from the UVA/UVB rays, your tension will be minimized. Anyway, let’s see how to treat sunburned lips by preventing the sun rays.
1. Move Less in the Sun
Don’t move in the sun exposure if not necessary. The less sun exposure, the less sunburn. Cancer may be caused by untreated sunburned lips also (but it is rare).
2. Apply SPF Lip Balm
If you need to go in the sun rays, don’t forget to wear sunscreen for your lips. The SPF rich products, like lip balms, lotion or other sunscreen products you can use on your lips. But, the balms with SPF protection are a good match to protect the lips from the UVA/UVB sun rays. Apply lip balm before 20 minutes of heading out.
You can also reapply when it fades away or you feel dry lips. The reapplication has no side effects; rather it is more effective if your skin is fairer. Use a minimum SPF 15 sunscreen, more is better. You can use the below two SPF lip balms:
#Treat Sunburned Lips
If you could not protect your lips from the sun and your lips became sunburned, the only way is to treat the sunburned lips with medications or lip care products.
3. Ointments
You can use Aquaphor ointment. If your lips are more damaged by the sun rays, hydrocortisone 1% ointment can be used on the corners of your lips. Apply these medicines twice a day for 3 days. It will cure your sunburned lips. These ointments also hydrate and moisturize the chapped lips. Be careful, don’t the ointments go into the mouth.
4. Moisturize Your Lips
After the sunburn, your lips may be cracked or chapped. For alleviating dryness, you can moisturize your lips. It softens the lips. LUSH is a good moisturizing cream for dry, chapped lips. Of course, honey is a natural remedy to heal sunburned lips. It moisturizes and makes the lips smooth. Many dermatologists advise not to use Vaseline or petroleum jelly because it traps the heat. So, your lips may be harmed more. Avoid also the products rich with lidocaine.
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5. Use Aloe Vera Gel
Aloe Vera contains effective anti-inflammatory agents. These features remove inflammation and pain from the sunburn. You can treat your lips with Aloe Vera in two ways. One is an Aloe Vera gel. Use smell-free Aloe Vera gel (buy aloe vera gel from Amazon). Or you can directly apply natural or raw Aloe Vera on your sunburned lips. It will soothe your lips rapidly.
6. Medications
Some anti-inflammatory medications are good to cure sunburned lips. The most used medicines are ibuprofen and acetaminophen. The medications basically reduce pain but don’t allow the patients to use these medicines for less than 16 years.
7. Vitamin E
The oil containing vitamin E is an excellent way to treat the lips from the sunburn. Massage your lips with Sundown Vitamin E Oil before sleeping or after eating. Then leave a few drops of oil on the lips throughout the night. Thus, it will heal your lips. This oil regenerates the cells of the skin and prevents scarring.
#Home Remedies for Sunburnt Lips
There are some powerful home remedies for sunburned lips like potatoes, cucumber, ice cubes, etc. Natural treatments have no side effects and make your lips healthier.
8. Potatoes
Potato is an effective home remedy to heal sunburned lips. The starch in the potatoes cools the burned skin. Blender two potatoes and put it on the lips for 10 minutes. Then wash your lips off. Do it after getting sun exposure. It will soothe the lips instantly.
9. Cold Compress
A cold compress is also a nice way to soothe your sunburned lips instantly. After coming from the harmful sun rays, just soak your washcloth in the cold water. Then simply put it on your painful lips for 15 minutes. It hydrates and cools down the lips. And you will feel comfortable quickly.
10. Cucumber Slices
Cucumber is another great home remedy to reduce pain and irritation. It also removes darkness, dark spots, wrinkles, suntan and hyperpigmentation created by the sun rays. Just rub politely a slice of cucumber onto the lips. Do it for 3 minutes after the sun exposure. It will calm down the lips.
11. Ice Cubes
Massage your lips with an ice cube for 2 minutes every time coming from the harmful sun rays. It instantly soothes the sunburned lips. Ice cube increases blood circulation. So, your dark lips will look reddish.
12. Use Honey
Use Manuka honey to cure your sunburned lips and blisters that can also create infections on the lips. Manuka honey is rich in anti-inflammatory properties that heal damaged and irritated skin. Manuka honey has also some other medicinal and antioxidant properties that can be great natural medicine for you to soothe the wounds on your lips.
Just apply some Manuka honey on the sunburned lips and let it stay for 10 minutes. This way, apply the honey a few times of the day. Continue this home remedy until you can be free from painful lips. If you have not Manuka honey, you can buy it on Amazon or use pure natural honey.
[ Read Also: 14 amazing benefits of honey for skin ]
13. Use Chamomile
Chamomile is another healing natural ingredient to soothe sunburned lips. Chamomile extract has been used to calm the mind for centuries to centuries. Chamomile is loaded with anti-inflammation, and antioxidants that reduce minor burns, minor wounds, pain, inflammation, etc.
Mix 2-3 drops of chamomile essential oil in 1 tablespoon of aloe Vera gel or coconut oil. Apply it to the lips 2-3 times a day. Follow this natural treatment daily until it treats the sore, blisters, and burns on your lips.
#DIY Tips to Heal Sunburned Lips
In addition, you have to maintain some simple tips that will help you to get smooth, supple, healthy and sexy lips. These tips are just what you can or cannot do.
14. Stop Licking Lips
Normally the sunburn makes the lips painful; licking makes the lips more cracked. So, it leads your lips to more vulnerable. Even bleeding may come out of the lips. Just stop this bad habit. If you feel drier, you can use a good chapstick that will moisturize and soften the lips.
15. Drink Lots of Water
Minimum 8 glasses of water a person should take a day. Water protects the lips from being dry or dehydrated. Generally, the person who takes less water, his lips are riskier for the sun rays.
16. Apply Sunscreen
If you have to stay more time in the sun rays, you must use the lip care products that contain minimum SPF 15 sun protection. You can use the following two sunscreens for lips:
Summing Up
Hope, the above tips on ‘how to treat sunburned lips’ will be helpful to cure your lips. If the above treatments cannot treat your sunburned lips, you might need to go to your dermatologist. If you like the tips above, don’t forget to share it with others. Let me know also which home remedies you have chosen for your sunburned lips.
SOURCES
- Sunburned Lips By Rachel Nall, RN, BSN, CCRN On July 10, 2019
- Sunburned Lips: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention Methods By Nicole Harris On Feb 15, 2019
- A Sunburn on Your Lips Is Especially Dangerous By Caroline Picard On May 10, 2019
- How to Heal Sunburned Lips By Sarah Gehrke, RN On Aug 15, 2019
- 7 Natural Treatments For Sunburned Lips At Home By Shaheen Naser On Jun 11, 2019
- How to treat your sunburned lips By Amanda Barrell On Aug 19, 2017
While this article was useful, it has many grammatical errors and seems to be awkwardly translated. If an editorial staff is responsible, that implies that several people have read this and ignored these errors. If someone is going to write articles professionally, one needs to have a professional level of writing skills, not just knowledge of a topic.
Hi Mary, thanks for your suggestion and advice.