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Sometimes no matter how much sunscreen you apply, you seem to end up with a sunburn at the end of the day.

The slimy green stuff they sell at the store with the promise that it will relieve your sunburn won’t do much for you. Save yourself the money by tuning in to this episode where I’m giving you actual solutions to heal a sunburn. You don’t need the unnecessary, toxin ingredients piled into that after-sun solution.

On todays Ask Me Anything episode, I’m answering a listener question – what do you use for sunburns? Unfortunately, we probably all know the pain of a sunburn after a relaxing day at the pool. And even more unfortunately, the most popular products that are selling themselves as “Aloe Vera” are primarily water and alcohol with a little bit of Aloe Vera there in the middle and TONS of toxins.

If you’ve ever seen an actual Aloe Vera plant, the slime is clear. Not fluorescent green.

So why are we buying these sunburn solutions that are full of toxins when the real thing works just fine?

I’m taking you on a deep dive to discover what is in that Banana Boat aloe vera. You’ll walk away from this episode with products that actually work and the concoction I personally love to keep in the freezer for sunburns.

In this episode, we talk about:

• PEGs in sunburn care products and why they should be avoided
• Benzene contaminants found in sunburn care products
• Natural healing solutions to tackle a bad sunburn
• Toxin Free after sun care options
• The home remedy I always keep on hand

Toxins in the Green Slime

When you look at ingredient labels for aloe vera products that you find on the shelves at grocery stores, the first ingredient you’ll see is water. That’s not surprising because a lot of products are diluted with water. That’s why I typically recommend buying non-toxic concentrates so you can mix it yourself and not pay for a bottle of water with some other ingredients mixed in.

The next ingredient is alcohol, which is super drying. Why would you take a product that’s meant to moisturize and heal a sunburn and add alcohol to it?

There are three different kinds of PEGs, which are at the top of my Tossing the Toxins list. PEGs stands for polyethylene glycols, and they’re in a lot of products. They’re used as emulsifiers, cleaning agents, and skin conditioners.

There are a few major problems with PEGs and why they’re on my toxins to avoid list.

1. They often come contaminated with toxic impurities.
2. They’re a natural penetration enhancers – they allow ingredients more easily absorbed into your skin when it’s combined with the PEGs.

That’s the biggest problem with PEGs – every other toxin in aloe vera has a clear pathway through your skin. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want undisclosed fragrances, 1,4 dioxane, or yellow and blue dyes seeping through my skin barrier.

Wendy’s DIY After Sun Care Lotion

Luckily, there are completely natural and toxin-free ways to heal a sunburn. This is my go-to recipe.

In a 4 ounce jar, mix 1/4 cup each of coconut oil and pure aloe vera gel. Add 10 drops lavender essential oil and 5 drops peppermint essential oil. Mix well and store in fridge. Slather on sunburns.

(Disclaimer: Essential Oils are healing only when they are pure. Do not use store bought oils that could contain synthetic oils and fillers for this. You could make your sun burn worse.)

Lavender and Peppermint Essential Oils can be found in my list of Summer Must Haves.

Ditch the Green Slime

There’s no reason to make something a fluorescent green color to sell it. It doesn’t make any sense to add coloring to a product like that. You don’t need the green slime and it’s doing more harm than good. Not only are you slathering toxins onto your body, but the water and alcohol mixture could irritate your sunburn further and cause other health issues because of the other contaminants.

Try my DIY recipe or shop other toxin-free after sun care options below.

FAQs About Healing a Sunburn Naturally

Related Episodes:

Episode 2: The Fragrance Dilemma: How an Entire Industry Hijacked Your Hormones

Episode 16: The Truth About Sun Exposure and Sunscreen

Episode 119: The Mineral Sunscreen Ingredient That’s Causing Your Sun Care to Be Less Clean Than You Think

Episode 120: Shark Attacks and Pool Damage: The Inside Scoop on Tallow Sunscreen

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS WEEK’S EPISODE, PLEASE:

• Leave a positive review or rating wherever you listen
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