It had been 17 years since my last sunburn – one I remember vividly. The year was December 1999 and I was vacationing in Durban with my friend – a South African of Italian descent with beautiful olive skin that, much to my irritation, turned a golden brown after about 5 minutes of sitting in the sun.
On day two of our vacay, we made our way to the beach for some sun and sea. All I wanted was a deep, golden tan, and I thought the quickest way to achieve this was by laying in the sun without sunscreen for an hour or two (for the record, this was before I became a beauty ed).
Boy-oh-boy did my skin pay the price… After just 45 minutes I began feeling the burn as my scorched skin turned pink. Silly me, I stayed in the sun a good two hours after that.
When we finally packed up and got back to our apartment, I was horrified at what I looked like. Not only was my skin bright pink; tiny, painful water blisters had developed on my décolletage, back and shoulders. I won’t even go into how painful it was that evening when I got into the bath. For the rest of the holidays I stayed out the sun, because the minute any rays touched my sunburnt spots, the water blisters re-appeared.
Now, for those of you who don’t know, it takes only FIVE blistering sunburns between the ages of 15 and 20 to increase your risk of melanoma by 80% That’s a scary statistic for a fair skinned gal like myself who grew up in the sun and had countless sunburns growing up. (source: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/)
That experience taught me to respect the sun and always protect my skin whenever I ventured outdoors. As a beauty journo, I’m now well versed on the damaging effects of the sun on the skin – and am always preaching the importance of SPF. Also, my décolletage is the one area that really shows my age – it’s lined, wrinkled and has ugly age spots thanks to years of sun abuse and no protection.
Then, on the 28 December 2017 it happened again…I got (badly) sunburnt due to my own stupidity and, well, laziness.
Silvermine Nature Reserve – My fave picnic spot in Cape Town
We left the house early to get a good spot at Silvermine Dam, under the trees. We arrived at around 8am, set out our picnic blankets and went for a swim. It was slightly cloudy and a bit windy, but my weather app (which is NEVER wrong) said it would be 30 degrees. “I must apply some sunscreen” I kept thinking as I sat in the mottled shade (wearing my denim shorts and a vest) – before becoming completely engrossed in my book.
A little later (I still hadn’t applied sunscreen) our JHB friends arrived and we started chatting. The clouds were lifting and the sun’s rays gently kissing my skin. “I’ll put some sunscreen on as soon as I feel the sun burning my skin” I thought (I mean, WTF??). Engrossed in conversation with my friend Nick (who I hadn’t seen in months) I didn’t quite realise just how much sun my skin was exposed to. At 13:51 pm – and only after feeling extreme heat on my legs – did I finally apply sunscreen. And, guess what? It was too late. Two days later, I asked Nick if he too was as sunburnt as I was and he said yes, followed by, “I was waiting to see when you you applied sunscreen, then I’d follow suit”.
When I got home, my skin was hot, red and sore. This is what I looked like #Lobster (note the strange tan on my legs from my shorts)
Pics: What I looked like the day I got sunburnt. After three days, my skin developed water blisters that, when popped, led to my skin peeling.
I went into full panic mode, furiously looking for post-sun products that would soothe, hydrate, replenish and nourish my burnt-to-an-almost-crisp skin. I’m well aware that in a few years time I’ll pay the price for this day in the sun. I’m not looking forward to an even more lined and wrinkled looking décolletage, and most likely pigmentation on my upper legs. I’m not even going into my increased chances of getting skin cancer, but have scheduled an appointment with my very derm.
Below are the products I used to help soothe, calm and hydrate my skin:
Aloe Unique Aloe Gel R98 (BUY HERE), because we all know aloe is brilliant at hydrating and calming irritated or inflamed skin. I don’t have an actual aloe, but this gel really did the trick. It contains 99% pure Aloe Ferox that helps renew the skin, as well as moisture-grabbing glycerine and anti-irritant Allantoin. It has a dense, gel texture and gave my sun parched skin instant relief. I used it every evening after my shower for about a week and a half.
La Roche-Posay Posthelios After Sun Face & Body Gel R240 available at Dermastore (BUY HERE) is incredible. I’m the biggest La Roche-Posay and really love all their products. I found this formula super nourishing and calming. Even though it’s marketed as a gel, I’d describe the product as more of a lightweight cream that melts into the skin. You can also use it on both face and body. Ingredient wise it has Shea Butter to hydrate and niacinamide and Glycerin to repair and moisturise the skin. I applied it over the Aloe Unique Gel to really boost hydration. I also love that all La Roche-Posay’s products are paraben-free, not tested on animals and suitable for all skin types – even sensitive.
Environ Derma-Lac Lotion R280 Is one body product I’m NEVER without and have blogged about before (HERE). This brilliantly effective, runny liquid is packed with skin-friendly, super gentle exfoliation and hydrating ingredients like urea and lactic acid.
I used this in the hope that it would speed up cell renewal and prevent my skin from peeling (which it sadly didn’t). However, once the peeling was over and my skin started healing, it was super dry. I found that this liquid hydrator/exfoliator kept it moisturised and smooth. It is a fantastic product – one I can’t rave about enough.
You can purchase Environ products at selected spas and salons or check out their website HERE for stockist details.
I’m interested to know, how do you treat sunburn and which are your favourite after sun products to use?
