This is an old home remedy from my family. For a bad sunburn, take a cool bath with a cup of vinegar added to the bath water. It will cool the burning sensation, and also cause the burn to turn brown so it looks like a tan! It will still peel, but at least it won't hurt so much.

I taught this to a friend of mine who had gotten a terrible burn in a tanning bed. She took the vinegar bath and found some relief, but during the day it would still hurt. She put vinegar and water into a small spray bottle. When she got hot and the burn would hurt, she would spritz a little vinegar water on it to relieve the pain. She was thrilled with how well it worked - although some of her coworkers were not thrilled with the smell!

I also burn easily and have found that after that nice cooling vinegar bath, if I use a good moisturizer (I am very partial to almond oil) on the burned area several times a day it does not peel as bad and seems to heal much quicker.

Better still to avoid the burn. Because I am fair and burn easily, but love to do all kinds of outdoor things, I plan ahead. A month or so before the weather warms up enough to start being outdoors all day, I will join a tanning salon. Starting with just the bare minimum time of five minutes, three days a week, I will work carefully towards having a light base tan. Most salons can advise you about a proper duration and schedule, as well as provide you with tanning products that will help your skin tan instead of burn.

I hope this little remedy helps you feel your best so you can enjoy the outdoors this summer!