Scalp sunburn! Help!

[Marz Hase]

I was out quite a bit at a car show and wore my hair up due to all the wind... but now my natural part is burnt and blistered! :( Well, it would have happened anyway with it down... How can I relieve the pain? Surely some of you LHCers have had a sunburned scalp before. :)

I just CWC'd with cold water and put some olive oil all over my head for moisturizing. I use olive oil on the length daily anyway... What else can I do?

I'm seriously miserable here. ;.;

[claram89]

I've had that EXACT THING most of my childhood summers. I had two braids the whole time, so I had a perma-burn down my part.

I just put Aloe Vera (I like the raw, straight out of the plant stuff vrs the gel, but gel works too) on the burn. And I mean PUT IT ON. It should look nasty. It should look gloppy. It should look like the plant just pooed on your head.

If you have somewhere to go, you can put it on the ouchy part, (obviously not as much) then pull it back, and use the more aloe vera as a gel for the baby hair.

Then to prevent sunburns again, I used to make a spray mix with water and sunblock. Shake it up, then spray your part (if you are parting it) or if you are pulling it back, kind of work the spray into your scalp with lifting and aiming, then pull it back.

My dad also used to put sliced tomatoes on my burns. I'm not sure if it actually helped, or if it was because he pulled them from the fridge, but it did feel nice.

[Gumball]

When that used to happen to me I'd just put sunscreen on my part the next time I went out. Because it's sunburned I imagine you're doing nothing to disturb it so why not put some aloe on it to help up the healing process? Aloe works on sunburns, so one on your scalp should be no different.

Buuut now when I'm outside I usually just wear a hat along with sunscreen. If I don't wear a hat I'm coated in sunscreen anyway. I burn easily, but haven't had a serious sunburn for quite some time.

[Marz Hase]

Thanks, guys. :) You're a lot of help! My father in law also recommended rinsing with vinegar... does anyone have any experience with this?

[deviantkitten]

One tip-if you can catch a sunburn anywhere not too long after it appears, take a paper towel and soak it with vinegar-I have always used plain white distilled, never tried it with anything else. I take the soaked paper towel and press a bit and keep it wherever the sunburn happened. I heard this as an old wives true tale, and it soooo worked for me. You can "soak" it for as long as you think you need. For a shoulder sunburn, I took a good 10 minutes of pressing and holding, soaking, pressing and holding, etc. I have no idea why this works, but it did! And as a bonus, it cuts down significantly on that lovely skin suit you shed LOL
As far as what would soothe it now, since the vinegar trick needs to be done ASAP, aloe vera is my go to for burns too long past for vinegar. Milk is good, or heck, even an ice cube. Anything cooking and soothing to the burn.
Next time, just take some sunscreen- I use 50+always because I am fair, and the higher the SPF, the less you have to reapply- place some in my hand, then take a q-tip to apply it town the parts-don't forget the parts where your bands are if you have them! Because the q-tip applicator is so small, I find it cuts down on the greasiness that happens I get when I use my fingers.
Feel better soon!

[Fractalsofhair]

Loads of lotion and cool water. In the future, wear a hat!

[Khiwanean]

vinegar is supposed to help keeping sunburns from peeling. I've used it for that purpose before. I hated the smell though, of course the time I used it, the sunburn was on my shoulders. I also don't know if your sunburn is bad enough to warrant use of vinegar of not.

[embee]

Spring is coming. Go looking for a hat that will protect your hair, your part, and your face from sunburn. Car shows can really do a number on your skin - no trees, no shade... all that squinting in the bright light.

Sorry you're burned, been there done that; vinegar or aloe would be helpful. But just wait until it all peels and you look like terminal dandruff. Yuk. :(

[Anje]

Vinegar on a blistered sunburn sounds painful. I probably wouldn't try it for that reason alone.

As others have said, you can glop on aloe nice and thick. Normally LHCers suggest getting the clear stuff, but for sunburn you probably want the one with pain relievers in it. Taking some ibuprofen might help ease the pain a bit, too.

In the future, you'll probably want to go with a hat. I know I can burn the whole top of my head through my hair in midsummer, so I tend to wear something on my head when I'm in the sun for the day, no matter how it looks. Your hair can also get damaged with lots of sun exposure, so covering it is also a good idea.

[Carrie Ingalls]

Ouch, I feel for you!

To echo what others have said, when I have gotten a really bad part sunburn I slather the part with aloe vera gel (the kind with extra stuff in it for sunburns, the kind I use is typically green).

Also, sometimes the eventual flaking can be hard to get out as it encases several hairs. The time I had it really bad with the flaking I ended up pulling the flakes (really more like chips) down the whole length to get them free. But that time I had not put the aloe vera gel on and haven’t had it that bad since using gel on the burns.

[JaclynBailey]

I used to burn my part all the time as a child. I cant use Aloe as it turns out that I am allergic to it.... but I would just take my moisturizing conditioner and pat it gently into the burn. Then I would just wear a scarf or something over my head until all the flakiness from the peeling skin was gone.

About that peeling skin, I would gently brush my hair an inch or so away from the scalp until it was ready to peel. Then I took a rat-tail comb and used the pointy end to gently lift the peeling scalp. Then I would use the comb side to slowly and gently "lift" the chunk o'scalp out of my hair. I was usually able to get most if not all of the peeling scalp out in one good lift. It sounds gross and it was kinda gross to pull up a strip of scalp.... but my mom didn't do this and she looked like she had terminal dandruff for weeks after a bad burn. I would only have dandruff for a day or two.

[Cirafly24]

Vinegar definitely helps take the heat out if you use it before washing the burned area. I've never had it burn...it feels soothingly cool. I'd also like to echo the aloe recommendation.

I've sunburned my part before, and it hurts! Be careful when you comb.

[Pifkin]

I definitely second (third?, forth?) the vinegar suggestion! It's surprisingly very soothing. :)

I make a 50/50 vinegar and water mixture and put it in a little spray bottle and spray it on.

[dame-dancealot]

Lavendar oil.

I tend to put it directly on, but I've also heard that it aids when mixed with the aloe or vinegar. (I learned this from a metalsmith- they would know about burns!)

I also tend to use mustard rather than vinegar. I know its a bit of a wreck to put on your part, but it keeps it from blistering (I'm a fair skinned person that blisters at the drop of a pin), and thus makes it less peeling.

My complete remedy, if I'm at home with everything, is to mix mustard (like for hot dogs) in a small bottle with lavendar oil, apply it, let it dry, wash hair, apply lavendar oil mixed with aloe gel, and slick my hair back very carefully.

[prettydark]

Vinegar applied full strength, I'd use a spray bottle. Once the burn feels soothed and less painful, a liberal application of aloe if you are not latex-sensitive.

[Darkhorse1]

I've put zinc oxide on a scalp sunburn.

Hats. They rock--or an SPF buff. Trust me, working outdoors, protect your head and your face and hair.

[MandyBeth]

???? I thought if the sunburn blistered, you AREN'T supposed to put things on it?

The issue being if you blister a burn, you have a second degree burn, thus a trip to the doctor is in order - if for no other reason that to limit/prevent scarring.

Next time, some sunscreen and a covering (bandana, scarf, hat...). I know the sunscreen may not be the best for hair - it makes mine look like vile - but I'd rather have bad hair than an sunburn or skin cancer.