What's the best sunburn solution?

I have an unwanted souvenir from my vacation – sunburn. Does it need doctor’s attention or can I treat it on my own?

First of all, it’s important to know how serious your sunburn is. You’re probably familiar with the terms a first-, second- and third-degree burn, with the first degree being the mildest and the third degree being the most severe.
Beach-goers are likely to be faced with some redness on the skin and mild pain. The area might feel warmer than the unaffected areas, and after 24 to 48 hours, the skin might begin to peel lightly. This is a first-degree burn, and in most cases it will go away on its own or fade almost entirely a week.
For a mild burn, you can promote faster healing by cooling it down as soon as possible. One common remedy is putting unflavoured yoghurt on the skin to cool down the area and re-establish its pH balance. Aloe vera and cucumber are also popular home remedies. In bygone times people also believed potato peelings could treat sunburns because they are naturally cool and have anti-bacterial properties that help in healing. You can also try over-the-counter cream made specifically for treating sunburns.
 If your burn persists longer than a week without any significant improvement, it might be a second-degree burn. This means the harmful UV rays have burned through the first layer of the skin and reached the dermis layer. Second-degree burns usually come with blisters, swelling, intense redness and severe pain.
Minor second-degree burns usually heal without medical help, but sometimes they can heal with pigment changes, leaving the area darker than the surrounding skin. Contrary to popular belief, rubbing ice on the burn might even cause further damage to the wound.
If you have blisters, avoid touching the skin and do not try to break them. Broken blisters can be introduced to infection more easily, wreaking further havoc.
It is unlikely to develop a third-degree burn from spending too long in the sun, so I will just explain briefly. This kind of burn involves damage at all layers of the skin. It is considered an emergency and medical help is urgently needed.
If your sunburn seems within your control, just cleanse the area daily with water – avoid soap that causes the skin to feel too dry, because it would promote peeling. The damaged skin needs extra moisturiser, preferably with Vitamin E or aloe vera, to help with regeneration of skin cells. Don’t use moisturisers that contain fragrance, since they can irritate the area.
To speed up recovery, you can try facial treatments, especially those that help add moisture to the skin and encourage cell regeneration. “Code of White” treatment combines a Dermal Injection Free (DIF) system to push vitamins into skin and a whitening mask to add moisture and treat uneven colouring.
Applying creams superficially can help, but using transdermal delivery technology can enhance and control nutrient delivery better. DIF is an “electroporation” technique that increases the permeability of the cell membrane, and it’s a medically recognised drug-delivery system that allows vitamins to penetrate the skin better.
In case pigment changes occur after recovery, try to solve the problem as soon as possible – leaving it for too long can make it harder to treat. Soft-laser technology breaks up the existing pigment clusters on the skin’s surfaces. The procedure is quick and painless, and the results are quite obvious after just one treatment.
It never hurts to seek a dermatologist’s opinion if you’re worried about your skin condition. A small problem that is treated incorrectly could lead into something worse and harder to treat. Give yourself a few days and see if the burn starts to get better. If not, consult a dermatologist to find out the best way to treat it.