The Woes Of A Burnt Girl And Seven Products Which Helped Soothe The Heat

I was adamant that I wouldn’t burn when I went to St Lucia as I was going to be really on it. I grabbed some good quality factor 30 sun cream and knew I’d reapply as often as possible. Fast forward to the end of our first proper day and the tops of my legs and my right side was pretty burnt and I couldn’t go back. So despite my best efforts the 30-degree heat that my body just isn’t used to left me burnt, but here are some of the products and things which helped soothe the heat.

My top products to ease sunburn

My number one help to literally soothe the heat was the Banana Boat Aloe Vera Gel which is one of those things everybody should own whether you’re going away or not. If we have a good summer again chances are we’ll all be going pink in the UK sunshine and this gel will be a godsend. We used to have this when I was a kid and my parents would keep it in the fridge but we didn’t do this. The product was cold enough just staying on the side nevermind whacking it in a fridge. Every time we’d go back to the room during the day and at night I’d pop a layer of this on and it did ease any discomfort. Luke found it pretty handy as well when his stomach got a bit pink.

We also had some aftersun moisture cooling spray as well which was much finer and lighter than the think Aloe Vera Gel. I used one from a beauty box I used to get but the Nivea Spray is a great alternative. As this wasn’t thick or sticky we could spray some of this on more often, just before we went out etc as it wouldn’t leave marks or sink into any clothes you put on over the top.

Trying to avoid sunburn

I did realise pretty quickly that to stop myself getting too bad that I’d need to get some stronger suncream and thankfully our spa stocked the Coola range. I knew that I’d need to get a factor 50 this time as even though I do sit in shade quite a lot the 30 just didn’t seem to be cutting it. I picked up the Guava Mango suncream spray as I couldn’t be too picky with scents. While the scent was really nice and smelt like a beach cocktail I did find it a bit too strong, but it did the job. As it was a spray bottle and the product was clear it seemed much easier to apply so I’m going to be stocking up on this going forward when we go away.

Keeping my skin hydrated in the heat

To make sure my face stayed hydrated I was using the Kiehls Glow Formula Skin Hydrator in the evenings and any time we weren’t spending outdoors. I didn’t wear any base makeup and this gave me a subtle glow of colour but kept my skin hydrated throughout. My skin felt pretty soft whenever I had this in and mixed with using a full moisturizer in the morning and at night this definitely helped to stop it going dry and flaky.

I also made sure to use a few sheet masks during my trip. These were great to both cool my skin down on days where I was just pretty warm but also drench my skin in hydration. I took a collection of ones away with me and while there’s no specific one which I think was better than others, specific hydration ones would be the best. I did about 2-3 during my 10-night trip and would just lay in bed watching the TV for 20 minutes with the mask on my face. Luke found it quite funny to watch but I didn’t get any super dry patches like I normally do.

Ways to protect yourself against the sun

It isn’t all about products and skincare that can help protect you, two things I did relied on clothing. when I started getting pink shoulders I went back to what I used to do as a kid and put t-shirts on when I was in the pool or the beach. You don’t realise how strong the sun is when you’re under the water and your shoulders are prime targets. I opted for ones which were a little thicker so would be more protecting. I did feel a bit like a child but if it saved super burnt shoulders which are very painful I don’t care.

My final product which helped me was my Aldo Straw hat which I literally bought about a week before we went away. I get uncomfortable in too much sunshine so I decided that a hat would be just what I needed but I struggled to find one I liked. I didn’t want a peak cap but I also didn’t want a huge floppy one so this one fit the bill. The red headscarf accent around the middle helped it to stand out and add a little excitement to a pretty basic hat so I wore this for a lot of my holiday. It definitely kept both my head and my face shielded from the intense heat.

What are your must-haves to avoid getting burnt?

Pin It