The sun is lost, this is the UK.

I think you’re lost, Mr Sun. This here is Scotland!

Rain rain has gone away.
It hasn’t rained for a good week. I thought maybe that there was some sort of apocalypse on the go. And of course the dry hot heat did not help moving out of halls from uni on Friday. Not when I live on the 7th floor anyway. The above forecast was on Friday for where I live, and for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and so far today, the predictions certainly held true. Of course, I did what any good British girl does when there’s a hint of sunshine for more than an hour – I stripped down to my skimpiest clothes and moved out to the back garden at 11am on Saturday with a paperback of Angels and Demons. I came back in at about 4pm and spent the night in watching the Britain’s Got Talent finale with friends. As the night drew on though I noticed something terrifying.

Claws out, clap clap and shuffle.
My arms, legs (especially my knees!), chest and shoulders were a frightful shade of red. I had neglected to put on any sun block (because I’m British and in Britain of course). I was turning into a lobster. As the children sang as the men danced on the television, my skin was becoming tighter and tighter. But what’s a girl to do?!

Tips and tricks.

• Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise. Use after sun if you like, or for added skin rehydration use a thick and creamy moisturising lotion with aloe vera in it to sooth the skin.
• If it’s exceptionally bad, keep you lotion in the fridge. Though this doesn’t speed up the heeling and de-redding situation, it feels nice on the overheated skin.
• Cannot stress this enough – keep drinking water. Work the hydration from the outside in and the inside out. Plus, you’re probably going to be overheated and a nice cold drink might bring a smile to your face.
• Avoid warm showers. Try and have the water cold, as cold as you can stand. The hot water on your burnt skin will feel like a million tiny knives and it’s just not pleasant.
• Moisturise, sun block, wait. Wait for the lotion to dry before layering your sun block on top. Wait for about 20 minutes before going into the sun to allow the block to properly dry and be effective. Reapply often.
• Do not forget your face and feet. Feet burns hurt so much.

Personally.
I’ve personally been applying moisturiser every hour or so, especially around the elbows and knees where my skin is at it’s tightest. Though this margin has been getting bigger as the night goes on, it has definitely made me feel a bit more comfortably. I used Nivea Soft moisturiser from a massive white pot – nice and thick and easily absorbed, I didn’t keep it in the fridge though as it being that cold is always a bit of a shock, even on my overheated skin. Sun burn though obviously means summer has begun!