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Every summer, I love to spend as much time as humanly possible outside. With gardening, evening walks and the occasional trip to the beach, my skin can soak up a lot of sun. For those days when I’ve had a little too much sun though, then I turn to this soothing sunburn spray to help relieve damaged skin.

I’m a big advocate for getting some safe sun exposure and soaking up all those lovely rays to boost my natural Vitamin D levels. And for the times where I know I’ll be in the sun all day, like at the beach, I like to take along some natural sunscreen with me. Sometimes though, I don’t always think ahead and my skin ends up a touch too red and I know I’ve overdone it. And while sun is good for you up to a point, burning is definitely not good and can do some serious damage to your skin.

What I used to use for sunburn

We used to use the bright blue aloe vera gel from the drug store every time we had a sunburn. I hated the slimy, sticky feel of the goop on my skin. A few years ago I actually took a look at the ingredients list, and it wasn’t something that I felt good about using anymore, now that we’re using non-toxic and all natural products. I like the first 2 ingredients, but then it goes downhill from there.

Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice , SD Alcohol 40-B (12.2% v/v) , Propylene Glycol , Glycerin , Polysorbate 20 , Carbomer , Triethanolamine , Diazolidinyl Urea , Disodium EDTA , Tocopherol , Blue 1 (source)

Yikes! So what’s a safe and healthy option instead of the blue goop?

An all natural solution

You know how much I love all things herbal, and a soothing after sun spray is no different. Herbs like calendula and lavender have skin regenerating properties, while chamomile is deeply soothing.

• Calendula – antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, demulcent
• Lavender – anti-inflammatory, anti-histamine, analgesic (relieves pain)
• Chamomile – antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic (relieves pain)
• Peppermint essential oil – contains soothing menthol to cool skin down

I usually use an herb infused salve when my skin needs some extra care, but in this case, a salve can make the skin feel too hot. A cooling mist is the perfect option since you don’t have to touch the damaged skin, further irritating it. I like keeping this in the fridge so it feels extra cooling and soothing.

Soothing after sun spray

• 1 tsp lavender flowers – get it here
• 1 T. chamomile flowers – get it here
• 1 T. calendula flowers – get it here
• 4 drops peppermint essential oil
• 2 T. pure aloe vera gel – get it here
• 1 T glycerin –get it here
• ¼ tsp non-gmo vitamin E (helps extend the shelf life and protects skin) – get it here
• 7 oz Distilled water
• 8 oz spray bottle or mister – get some here

1. In a clean saucepan with a lid, heat the water until it starts to boil. Turn the heat off and then add the herbs. Let the mixture steep for 5 minutes before carefully straining the herbs out.
2. Pour the herb infused water into your spray bottle and allow it to cool to room temperature. You can place the bottle in the fridge to speed up the process.
3. Next, add the aloe vera gel, vitamin E oil, glycerin and the peppermint essential oil. Shake well to combine.
   Store any extra in the fridge and use liberally on skin that’s had too much sun.

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