It’s not easy being a freckle-faced, pale-skinned girl in Southern California. Summers here are brutal for us!
Sure, my childhood summer memories are of all the fun attractions here in Cali–the beach, amusement parks, camping, poolside parties—peppered with the painful aftermath of being as a crispy as a forgotten hot dog on the grill.
I so wanted to be one of those girls! The ones who could lay out at the beach for hours turning a enviable golden bronze, rather than a blistered red.
Finally, as I got towards the end of high school, it hit me:
I was never going to tan.
Not even “burn, then tan.”
This wasn’t something that I could practice at it. It was a fact.
I don’t tan.
Nope.
Never.
Won’t ever happen.
Once the reality set in, I did a 180 on my approach to sun exposure. Complete coverup. Slathered on the sunscreen. Re-applied often!
And that was pretty much the end of painful blistering sunburns. BUT, as careful as I am now, there are still days when I get lax on reapplication and end up in the pink.
When I do get the pink punishment for my forgetfulness, I reach for this after-sun spray. The beauty of it is it’s both cooling and soothing. And it helps me get back to my alabaster, tan-less self quickly. (The perfect canvas to spray on a lovely pumpkin-y fake tan instead! 🙂
After Sun Spray Recipe:
4 oz glass spray bottle (like these)
1/4 cup 100% pure aloe vera gel
1 TBSP fractionated coconut oil (my favorite brand)
8 drops of Lavender essential oil
8 drops of Frankincense essential oil
8 drops of Peppermint essential oil (click here for my recommended brand)
Thoroughly mix all ingredients in a glass/Pyrex measuring cup and use a funnel to pour into spray bottle.
Shake well to combine.
Be sure to shake before each application. Do not spray in the eyes!
Bonus Tip: keep the bottle in the fridge for even more cooling relief.
How Mama Nature Does It
So, how do these ingredients help your skin recover?
Aloe Vera is full of antioxidant vitamins and fatty acids, which provide anti-inflammatory benefits.
Coconut oil‘s fatty acids moisturize and soothe.
Lavender and Frankincense are also soothing and helpful to a variety of skin irritations, including sun exposure.
Peppermint cools skin on contact to provide heat relief.
Nothing’s better than prevention, but even the most diligent sunscreen slathers (like me!) sometimes get caught up with too much fun in the sun! Thank goodness Mama Nature has us covered!
Check out this article for more tips on natural solutions for summer revelers.
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