Texas mom Cindie Allen-Stewart just thought she’d be helpful two weeks ago when she shared her favorite sunburn hack on her Facebook page. She had NO idea that her simple tip would soon go viral to the tune of 232,000 shares and countless news stories. It seems that, like Cindie, people who are prone to sunburn in the summer even when they use sunscreen (myself included) were looking for a sunburn hack to ease their pain. Turns out, even dermatologists agree that Allen-Stewart’s hack works. Her secret? Menthol shaving cream!
According to Cindie, that foamy white stuff guys put on their face every day will soothe your sunburn, taking out pain and redness, in about 30 minutes. Although I hope I don’t get burnt bad enough to need this sunburn hack, I sure am glad I know about it!
Here’s her Facebook post with the sunburn hack details:
If you’re like me, you hate getting sunburned. No matter how much sunscreen you put on, some people just burn anyway. I recently told a friend about a sunburn treatment that works wonders! She told me she had never heard about it, so I figured I’d make a post because I was sunburned recently. Usually, it takes just a couple days from start to finish, but this takes the heat out of it fast and makes it more comfortable on you.
I found out about this from my husband. His mom used to do this to him when he ended up with a sunburn.
First, buy you some Menthol foam shaving cream. It has to be the foam and it has to have menthol in it. We found Gillette shaving cream on Amazon since we had problems finding menthol foam in stores. We ended up buying 6 cans of it, but it works out because we live in Texas and sunburns happen a lot. (Plus, we have given a couple cans to friends.)
Next, apply the shaving cream on the burn. It may seem like it’s a strange shaving ritual, but trust me! Don’t rub it in, just let it sit on your skin. It will start bringing all that heat out (you’ll be able to feel it). You may feel like you are itchy too, but that’s a good thing! Itching means healing.
Then, after about 30 minutes, the shaving cream will seem like it has dissolved in spots. It will seem like it’s not as moist and a little dried out. You will feel as if you’re becoming a little cold, at least on the sunburned part of your body. THAT IS A GOOD SIGN!
Next, rinse it off in a lukewarm or cool shower or bath. It’s just to get the residue off.
Finally, if you still need it, do it again the next day. Usually after that second treatment, the sunburn disappears.
The pictures show my treatment. The final picture was taken the third day after my sunburn. I slept great after the first treatment and when my shoulders still felt hot from the burn the next day, I had another coating of shaving cream on just my shoulders. I have not had any peeling either. I use this on my kids too!
EDIT: OK, I was not expecting to find almost 5,000 shares in just a day. I was actually just posting for friends, but apparently, a lot of y’all find this at least interesting! I love this method and especially appreciate it because I don’t have to sleep with a sticky substance under a shirt (which I think is uncomfortable).
And one more thing, I don’t normally post publicly, so please don’t send me friend requests unless I know you from somewhere. I’d appreciate at least a note saying where that is.
I appreciate everyone’s comments as well! I have tried so many methods of sunburn care, and this is by far the best I’ve found thanks to a sweet mother-in-law.
