Sunburn myths that make it worse

Folk remedies for sunburn are everywhere, and several common ones actively slow healing or cause harm. Clearing them up spares a lot of unnecessary suffering.

Myth: put butter or oil on a burn. This traps heat and can promote infection, skip it. Myth: apply ice directly. Ice on already-damaged skin can worsen the injury; use cool, not freezing, compresses. Myth: peel or exfoliate the burnt skin to speed healing. Picking and scrubbing damages healing skin and invites scarring; let peeling happen naturally. Myth: a base tan protects you. A tan offers minimal protection (roughly an SPF of a few) and is itself a sign of DNA damage, so deliberately tanning to prevent burns trades one form of harm for another. Myth: you cannot burn on a cloudy day or in water. UV penetrates clouds and water, and reflective surfaces like sand and snow intensify exposure.

The evidence-based version is unglamorous: cool the skin gently, moisturize, hydrate, take an anti-inflammatory, leave blisters and peeling alone, and stay out of the sun. Most of the popular remedies either do nothing or make things worse, while the simple measures genuinely help. When in doubt, gentler is better.

Related reading: Sun poisoning: when a sunburn becomes a medical issue and What to do in the first 24 hours of a sunburn.