With Vinegar Sunburn will start to be soothed.

Vinegar, sunburn. Does that sound like it doesn't make sense? Actually, using vinegar to treat sunburn is a great way to help soothe the burn and start the healing. The acid in the vinegar immediately cools the burning of any sunburn and minimizes peeling sunburn , too.

Be careful, though

Of course, the best way to treat a sunburn is not to get one in the first place. A vinegar sunburn treatment is not going to minimize your chances of getting skin cancer . It will, however, help soothe the burn after you have it.

Here's how you do it. If you've got a sunburn, take a cool shower and gently pat dry. DON'T apply any lotions, creams, etc., anything with oil. These things usually exacerbate a sunburn's pain and don't help over the long term.

Put some straight vinegar in a spray bottle (either white vinegar or apple cider vinegar will do, although some say apple cider vinegar works best; that's really your call). Lightly spritz yourself on all of your sunburned areas with the vinegar. Alternatively, you can also simply dip a cotton ball or clean, soft cloth into vinegar and wiped the affected areas down. (Don't put vinegar on any areas with cuts, since this will sting.)

That's it; you should feel the heat dissipate almost immediately, and it should stay away for several hours. You can also apply aloe vera gel as a secondary soother, but make sure the kind you choose is pure aloe vera gel without any alcohol base. The alcohol will sting.

Now, the vinegar sunburn treatment doesn't take away the pain altogether. In fact, the burn itself is still going to be there, which means the sting is going to be there, too. Your sunburn is still going to be sore, but what makes a sunburn so hard to take for most people is the heat it gives off. The acid in the vinegar neutralizes that heat so that you're simply left with a "sore" burn, but one without heat. And this helps it heal faster, too.

Often called the "tan accelerator"

Before too much sun exposure was known to be the bad thing that gave you skin cancer, vinegar was historically used as a tan accelerator because it could minimize peeling of sunburns (as well as soothing them), and help your sunburn turn to tan faster. And in fact, its effects do appear to do just that, where within a day or two your sunburn should be history and you should be sporting a tan in its place.

One more caution

Now, again, you should NOT use vinegar as a means to try to get a tan or to stay out in the sun too long. It's simply meant as a vinegar sunburn treatment in the event you do get a sunburn. Vinegar helps minimize pain and promote healing, so that you don't have to suffer for days with a hot, itchy, prickly, painful sunburn. That said, make sure you wear sunscreen if you have to be out in the sun so that you don't get one in the first place.

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