I have just spent a long weekend walking up and down steep hills in Devon – a very hot and sunny Devon indeed – and whilst doing my power-walking, it seems that my meticulously applied layers of sun-screen must have sweated off (probably aided by me wiping my forehead on my arm every ten seconds). I returned to our quaint thatched cottage in the evening to see that my nose, forehead and cheekbones were bright pink and rather sore, at which point I launched into the “Sunburn SOS” emergency procedure. This procedure has been designed (by me, so please don’t bet your life on it or anything) to instantly reduce the ill-effects of too much sun and get rid of the redness as soon as possible.

Firstly, I cool down the affected area with a cold cloth or flannel. This takes quite a while – you have to be patient! Many people make the mistake of just slathering on a load of thick, rich cream – this is a MASSIVE no-no! Thick creams can actually trap heat in the skin making the situation worse than if you had just done nothing at all! My trick, after I’ve sat with a cool cloth/cotton wool pads/flannel on my face for as long as I can bear it, is to apply Avene’s soothing mask. I know that I’ve mentioned the Recovery Cream before (and this is a great moisturiser to use for a few days after you’ve sunburnt yourself), but the mask is really great to leave on for a while to calm the skin down. It’s light and non-oily so it doesn’t seal the heat in next to the skin, and it replaces any moisture that’s been lost.

If you keep it simple: cool the skin down and apply a pure, light, soothing product, then you should see a speedy skin recovery!

I’m off to find a sweat-proof, wipe-proof, hill-walking-suitable sunscreen.