Are You There, Sunburn?

Are You There, Sunburn?

April 18th, 2010 @ 12:35 pm by Mrs. Scissors
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It’s me. Scissors.

Are You There, Sunburn? : wedding georgia health Img 216 IMG_216

On Friday morning, I was sitting outside for around two hours in a cardigan. No big deal, right? It’s still early-ish spring, and thinking about body sunscreen wasn’t really high on my list of priorities.

Are You There, Sunburn? : wedding georgia health Img 215 IMG_215

Um, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. Those two hours in one position left me with the weirdest one-sided sunburn I’ve ever had. It… well, you can see what it looks like. It looks just strange, and I’m not very happy about it. For one thing, it’s angry, swollen, and looks gross.

Are You There, Sunburn? : wedding georgia health Img 21601 IMG_21601

For another thing, I am pretty much the palest person on the planet. It’s a type of blue-pink pale that can only be truly “appreciated” in person, but trust me… it’s a shocking form of pale. This whiter side of pale…

…also means that when I get burned, I STAY burned. It takes months and months and months for the mark to go away. Do you see where I’m going with this?

Oh yeah. This is most likely still going to be visible on our wedding day, which is a mere 2 months away. Such luck have I. Hopefully, once it peels and heals, I’ll be able to exfoliate the you-know-what out of it so that I have an even chest color on the big day and not a weird one-sided cardigan mark.

Lesson Learned: WEAR SUNSCREEN, EVEN IF YOU’RE STILL IN CARDIGAN WEATHER.

Anybody else get a weird sunburn, or any sunburn for that matter, before their wedding? What did you do to make sure that it wouldn’t still show on the wedding day?

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57 Responses to “Are You There, Sunburn?”

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Bee

Miss Lioness (message) 817 posts, Busy bee

I feel your pain, my pale sister! Advil for the inflammation, lots and lots of aloe, and in a week, get some super hydrating lotion (like Aveeno). It should be gone in a couple of weeks…definitely by your wedding day I’m sure! If you’re really worried about it lingering until then, I’d go to the dermatologist. I’ve gotten some prescription stuff for a really bad sunburn before and it definitely sped up healing. I hope you feel better soon!

4/18/10 @ 12:43 pm (reply)

Member

kindge_03 (message) 18 posts, Newbee

Sorry to hear about that girl! Yeah I had the weridest sunburn about 2yrs ago. I went down to Texas to visit my cousin. We went out on their boat to hit the gulf for a few hours. I slathered on the sunscreen and reapplied it several times. However, they must have super rays refelcting off that water because I had not only a halter-top burn line going, I had spaghetti strap lines as well from my cover up! Ugh…it was awful. It took months and months for me to even out after that.

My only suggestion to you is to try and even out the tan lines once the pink is gone. Try tanning once or twice a week to lessen the line. Keep your skin moisturized. It helps to even out tan lines, believe it or not!

4/18/10 @ 12:46 pm (reply)

Member

crayfish (message) 4,844 posts, Honey bee

This happened to me last month - went to a wedding in Barbados in my Boston-winter-pale-glory, wore SPF50 REAPPLIED 3 times on a snorkling trip day one, and was forced to lay on my stomach with cold compresses on my back for the remainder of the trip. Still have burn lines….they will probably still be visible for my wedding. Great.

4/18/10 @ 12:58 pm (reply)

Member

tweds (message) 448 posts, Helper bee

Oh yikes! Aloe vera gel works wonders as do OTC anti-inflammatories for pain and redness, and in future invest in a physical block SPF above 70+ if you’re that pale - Sorry Scissors!

4/18/10 @ 1:03 pm (reply)

Member

froggy518 (message) 268 posts, Helper bee

OH NO! I’m so sorry Scissors! As if it weren’t insulting enough, there’s the actual physical pain. Sunburns suck. I’m a white shade of pale too, and although our wedding isn’t until next summer, I’ve already initiated a self-imposed ban on seeing the sun until after I’m married. I really hate sunscreen (ew), so I’ve just decided to live in a cave until then. Oh the crazy things we do to avoid tan lines . . .

4/18/10 @ 1:04 pm (reply)

Member

LpCutiPie (message) 699 posts, Busy bee

I feel your pain. Last weekend we were driving down to my grandma’s and had the sunroof open. The hour in the car left me with a nasty sunburn on my left shoulder but no where else. Bleh- stupid sunburns!

4/18/10 @ 1:06 pm (reply)

Member

amariem25 (message) 3,733 posts, Sugar bee

ouch, if you have pale skin make sure you go to the dermatologist yearly to get a skin check. I got really sunburned on a March day in Texas back when I was 20. Three years later I have had two small skin cancers and I think they are a direct result of that bad burn.

Also, maybe 6 weeks before the wedding if you still look red you could start using a tanning product? Nivea’s sun kissed beautiful legs lotion will gradually give you skin a golden color and might be able to cover up the red from the burn.

4/18/10 @ 1:23 pm (reply)

Member

Gemstone (message) 5,656 posts, Bee Keeper

You poor thing! I hope it evens out for your big day!

4/18/10 @ 1:28 pm (reply)

Member

D.Marie (message) 2,484 posts, Buzzing bee

wow that looks really painful and even worse than my burnt shoulders that I got two weeks ago. I hope it will be enough time for you wedding for it to heal. I got burnt two weeks ago not thinking either! And our wedding is next weekend! Its starting to heal but now Im pealing!!! Good luck to you…keep lotion on it.

4/18/10 @ 1:31 pm (reply)

10.

Bee

Miss Octopus (message) 1,446 posts, Bumble bee

As a fellow blue-pink pale person who has gone through a few vicious sunburns herself, I feel your pain! Cocoa butter the hell out of it!

4/18/10 @ 1:43 pm (reply)

11.

Member

jmc (message) 882 posts, Busy bee

You should commiserate with Bear Cub!

4/18/10 @ 2:08 pm (reply)

12.

Member

labrat (message) 472 posts, Helper bee

I found this stuff from the drug store that was a spray on mist pain killer for burns in the bandage isle after a family trip to the lake left me burned. That and ice helped with the pain. I had a strip of lobster red that went down my chest over my belly down the tops of my legs… It was bad considering I’m as white as bleached paper. The burns were so bad that most of the tan peeled off so I don’t have any recommendations for healing but loosing the tan. If you do end up getting tan lines that don’t go away, you could find one of those places that does airbrushing to even you out before the wedding.

4/18/10 @ 2:10 pm (reply)

13.

Member

msashleymarie (message) 616 posts, Busy bee

Oh man, I’m sorry! I’m so scared of that happening. I also have fair skin and avoid the sun… eek!

Good luck.

4/18/10 @ 2:16 pm (reply)

14.

Member

jenbrandner (message) 1,387 posts, Bumble bee

OOWWWWW that looks very RED! When I get burnt like that, I alternate between aloe vera and intensive care moisturizer every 30 minutes to help it heal.

Guess what I did this week? Here in Wisconsin we get 50’s and 60’s in the spring with a couple random 80 degree days thrown in. Well we got one of those 80’s earlier this week and I decided to take advantage of it with a “lunch break” on the beach. Just 15 minutes in the sun and back to work right? That plan went out the window when I locked my keys in my car, and waited outside in the sun for 45 minutes while my fiance brought my spare key to me. That was virgin skin out there for 45 minutes, and yes I got burnt. This will heal in a week or less though.

Oh and if anyone’s wondering, yes we have beaches in Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Michigan.

4/18/10 @ 2:20 pm (reply)

15.

Member

Missbliss (message) 784 posts, Busy bee

I’m that pale shade too! I’ve gotten a couple strong burns, and have discovered that aloe is terrific and if you can find the coolant variety… that has extra medicine in it… it will help heal it faster!

4/18/10 @ 2:22 pm (reply)

16.

Member

rabbit (message) 1,542 posts, Bumble bee

I too make white paper appear to have color (I once had students tell me that it was hard to tell me apart from the white walls in the classroom!) and burn like a string of swear words. My recommendations are:
-hydrate! Any lotion is better then none, but I found noxema, high content aloe lotions, and lotions especially formulated for super dry skin seem to work best. Apply over and over again throughout the day, not just once in the morning or at night.
-Protect! I used a spray-on SPF 70+ from March through October. Spray it on in the morning after a shower (don’t forget places like your neck (front and back), upper back, and feet!) and anytime before spending time out in the sun after that. I now get a shade or two darker in the summer instead of making lobsters jealous of how very red I am.
-Build-up! Even though its horrible for me, I start going to tanning beds once a week for 5 minutes at a time sometime in April. I’ve found that if I go in with a light sunblock, I don’t get burnt there OR outside.

And finally, I am so sorry to hear about your burn! Ugh. It sucks, I know! My worst burn led my skin to bubble one summer and I was unable to sleep/move comfortably for a week!

4/18/10 @ 2:22 pm (reply)

17.

Member

LisaM (message) 160 posts, Blushing bee

Sorry to hear that honey. Time is the only solution to your problem. Let us just hope the sunburn will not last long.

4/18/10 @ 2:41 pm (reply)

18.

Member

curiousfool (message) 40 posts, Newbee

I feel you! I am the whitest person I know- truly. In high school I literally blended in with the white background of the prom pictures and all you could see were my hair, eyes, ruby red lips, and black dress.

Here’s the remedy I swear by- and I burn like you do.

In the event you don’t get enough/any sunscreen, take a shower. Turn the temperature of the water WAY up- the hottest you can physically stand. And stay under the water for at least 10 minutes. It forced your pores to open up, which, when you’re burned, is not an easy thing to do. An uber hot bath also works. Keep water boiling on the stove/electric kettle and keep adding it as the water cools.

Immediately following getting out of the shower, slather yourself in aloe vera. The aveno with eucalyptis also works well, as it hydrates as well as cools your skin.

Take an ibuprofen, drink lots and lots of water, and wear lightweight clothing to cover the sunburn. It will only get worse if you leave it exposed.

4/18/10 @ 2:43 pm (reply)

19.

Member

krissybee (message) 3,921 posts, Honey bee

oh no!!! i’m also the palest person and have to watch the sunscreen when i go out. Hopefully it will fade out beautifully by the wedding, i bet it will! deep breaths.

4/18/10 @ 3:00 pm (reply)

20.

Member

kakazuya (message) 7 posts, Newbee

use aloe. the real, cut from the plant stuff tends to be sticky, so go to the drugstore and buy the blue gel one. After that. slather in a retardedly thick moisturizer. I use equate dry skin cream (the wal mart version of another one).

My fiance is half white (I’m full Asian and he’s half Asian) and he tends to burn like no one’s business. I’m always chasing after him with sunscreen and aloe.

4/18/10 @ 3:54 pm (reply)

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