Sunburn Relief

Summer is finally here in western Washington (I think....). The temperatures are consistently above 65 degrees everyday, the sun is out more than 1/2 of the day,the  heater hasn't been on for over a month, and the windows are cracked open all day and night. In the pacific NW that means it's summer, even if the rain joins us every couple days :) One thing that comes with summer no matter where you live is sunburns! I generally don't put sunblock on immediately when I go outside in order to give my body a chance to absorb some Vit. D, which is a serious deficient vitamin in the NW. Sometimes I remember to put some on after a while and sometimes I don't.

This last weekend my family and I went to an awesome hotrod show in Eatonville, WA, which by the way is a gorgeous cute little town at the base of Mt. Rainier. The sun was out and the hotrods shined. By 3pm I was feeling kind of crispy. Sure enough when I got home I was as red as a lobster.

Last summer I made a concoction with hopes to ease my sunburn pain and help heal burns quicker. I've heard that vinegar is good for helping soothe sunburns. I also know that St. Johns Wart and Lavendar are good for general burn relief (Note: if you ever get burned on the stove or by another means put some St. Johns Wart infused oil and Lavendar essential oil on the burn. The pain goes away and the St. Johns Wart prevents blistering). Both St. Johns Wart and Lavendar are starting to flower this time of year. St. Johns Wart is a "weed" around here and Lavendar grows in almost everyone's yard. Now is the time to make this for next year's sunburn relief. I've also read that St. Johns Wart is good for preventing sunburns (http://www.wisewomantradition.com/)

Here's how I made my homemade sunburn relief spray:

Supplies:

• Large glass jar

• plastic lid*

*if you don't have a plastic lid then you will need wax paper to prevent the lid from rusting

Ingredients:

• Fresh St. Johns Wart flowers
• Fresh Lavender flowers (preferably right before they bloom)
• Apple cider vinegar

Gather as many flowers as you can to fill the glass jar (1/2 St. Johns Wart Flowers, 1/2 Lavendar flowers). Fill the jar with apple cider vinegar to the top. Let sit for minimum 6-8 weeks. Top off with vinegar if needed.

After 6-8 weeks strain herbs out of vinegar and place vinegar into a clean jar. You can either use the vinegar by pouring it into a spray bottle or putting some on a rag and rubbing in on the burn. I personally like spraying it on for ease of application. Either way let the vinegar dry on the skin and the sunburn will go away sooner then you think.

The sunburn that I got this last weekend (Sat.) is turning into a nice golden brown without peeling or any discomfort. I'm usually not an advocate for tanning in the slightest, but I must say it's kind of fun not being as white as a ghost after a burn.

Enjoy the summer and take care of your skin.