The best way to treat sunburn is to cool the skin, reduce inflammation with a pain reliever, and keep the area moisturized while it heals. Most sunburns peak in redness and pain 12 to 24 hours after exposure, so starting treatment early makes a real difference in how uncomfortable the next few days will be.
Sunburn unfolds in stages. First, blood flow increases to the damaged area, bringing redness, swelling, and pain sensitivity. Then your immune system kicks in, flooding the skin with inflammatory cells and signaling molecules. Finally, a resolution phase begins as your body works to repair UV-damaged DNA and rebuild the skin barrier. Understanding this timeline helps explain why sunburn often feels worse the day after you were in the sun, and why the treatments below work best when you start them right away.
Cool the Skin First
A cool (not ice-cold) bath or shower is the fastest way to pull heat out of sunburned skin. If you can’t shower, drape a cool, damp cloth over the burned area for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Avoid ice or ice packs directly on the skin, which can add injury to already-damaged tissue. Pat yourself dry gently rather than rubbing, and leave a little moisture on the skin before applying a moisturizer to help lock hydration in.
Take a Pain Reliever Early
An over-the-counter anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen does double duty: it eases pain and dials down the inflammatory response driving redness and swelling. Take it as soon as you realize you’re burned, ideally within the first few hours. Acetaminophen helps with pain but won’t reduce inflammation the same way. Either option is reasonable if anti-inflammatories bother your stomach, but ibuprofen is the stronger choice for sunburn specifically because inflammation is the core problem.
What to Put on Your Skin
Aloe vera is the classic sunburn remedy, and the evidence backs it up. In studies of first- and second-degree burns, aloe vera shortened healing time by roughly nine days compared to standard wound care. One trial found a 95% healing success rate with aloe vera versus 83% with a standard medical cream. Aloe also accelerated the regrowth of new skin cells when measured at both five and eight days after application. Look for pure aloe vera gel or lotions with aloe listed as a primary ingredient. Avoid products with alcohol, benzocaine, or heavy fragrances, which can irritate raw skin or trigger allergic reactions.
A thin layer of over-the-counter 1% hydrocortisone cream can help calm intense redness and itching, particularly on areas where the burn is most painful. Apply it several times a day for the first two to three days, then switch to a plain moisturizer as the worst inflammation fades. Petroleum-based ointments and heavy creams can trap heat in the skin early on, so stick with lighter, water-based moisturizers for the first day or two.
Drink More Water Than Usual
Sunburn pulls fluid toward the skin’s surface, which means the rest of your body can quietly become dehydrated. You may not feel especially thirsty, but your fluid needs are higher than normal while your skin is inflamed. Drink water steadily throughout the day, and if you’re also dealing with nausea or have been sweating in the heat, add a drink with electrolytes. Dehydration makes headaches worse and slows healing, so staying ahead of it is one of the simplest things you can do.
How to Handle Blisters
Blisters mean the burn has reached a second-degree level, damaging deeper layers of the skin. The fluid inside a blister is part of your body’s protective response, cushioning the raw tissue underneath while new skin forms. Leave intact blisters alone. Do not pop, peel, or drain them. If a blister breaks on its own, wash it gently with soap and water and cover it with moist gauze to protect the exposed skin and reduce infection risk. Loosely fitting, breathable clothing over blistered areas helps prevent friction from tearing them open.
What Not to Do
Some common instincts actually make sunburn worse. Butter, coconut oil, and other greasy home remedies seal heat into the skin. Lidocaine and benzocaine sprays numb pain temporarily but can cause contact dermatitis on compromised skin. Scrubbing or exfoliating peeling skin pulls off layers before the new skin beneath is ready, increasing the chance of scarring or infection. Let peeling happen naturally, and keep the area moisturized so loose skin softens and separates on its own.
Signs of a More Serious Burn
Most sunburns are miserable but manageable at home. A small percentage cross into territory that needs medical attention. Watch for blistering that covers a large area of your body, bright red skin that oozes, severe pain that doesn’t respond to over-the-counter medication, fever, chills or shivering, headache, or nausea and vomiting. These symptoms can indicate sun poisoning, a more intense inflammatory reaction that sometimes requires prescription-strength treatment or IV fluids. Young children and older adults are more vulnerable to these systemic effects and should be watched closely.
Recovery Timeline
A mild sunburn typically peaks in pain and redness within 24 hours and starts to improve by day two or three. Peeling usually begins around day four or five as your body sheds the damaged outer layer. The entire process takes about a week for a mild to moderate burn. Blistering burns take longer, sometimes two weeks or more, and the new skin underneath will be more sensitive to the sun for several weeks after that. During recovery, keep the area out of direct sunlight entirely. Even brief exposure can deepen the damage or cause a new burn on skin that hasn’t fully healed.
The pink or lighter-toned skin that appears after peeling is a reminder that your skin’s outer barrier is still rebuilding. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher on any previously burned area once it’s healed enough to tolerate it, and reapply every two hours if you’re outdoors. A single severe sunburn significantly increases your long-term risk of skin cancer, so protecting that skin going forward matters more than most people realize.