“The spring sun is treacherous,” my grandmother used to say when, as a child, I spent a lot of time in the sun and hated oily sunscreens. Longing for a warm day and playing in the yard for many hours often ended with burnt arms and a red nose sticking out from under the hat. That's when grandma stepped in.
Sunburn is also a time when the skin tans too quickly in a short period of time and eventually begins to burn, hurt and make it impossible to sleep. In the 1990s, applying sunscreen to the body was not so obvious and popular, such products were used occasionally, mainly when planning a longer stay at the seaside or on a river. Hence, parched arms always required care. One plant came to the rescue.
Grandma's remedy for parched skin. Look for this plant in your home
In the past, there was not so much awareness that long exposure to the sun without appropriate sunscreen could have dangerous consequences. The focus was rather on covering the head, because every mother or grandmother was afraid that a child engaged in play would ultimately choose the sun instead of the shade and would be exposed to heat stroke.
Therefore, although almost everyone wore hats or flat caps, on hot days people often ran in dresses or T-shirts. Eventually the skin became parched and in the evening I started moaning and whining.
A thorny flower from grandma's windowsill came to the rescue. She reached for it, plucked off a few shoots, cut them lengthwise and scraped out the flesh. She put it in a bowl and added finely grated fresh cucumber. She placed the prepared mask on our shoulders.
After a few minutes, she washed it all off and applied another fresh layer. She repeated it probably 10 times, but it worked. Afterwards, she smeared the skin with Vaseline or a greasy cream and we felt relief before going to sleep.
The next day, we put on short-sleeved shirts to cover our arms and made sure to spend more time in shaded places. When I got older, I asked what flower that saved us every spring and summer, of course it was aloe.
Aloe and cucumber, or how does grandma's mask work against sunburn?
Aloe is a plant that has been valued for centuries and used in the cosmetics industry mainly as a moisturizing ingredient. However, this thorny flower from grandma's windowsill also has anti-inflammatory properties.
Moreover, the pulp contains polysaccharides that accelerate the production of collagen fibers. Thanks to this, the skin regenerates faster and the effects of sunburn become less severe. It is worth mentioning that aloe also contains salicylic acid, which relieves pain, which is very important when the skin is too parched and you cannot sleep.
Cucumber, like aloe, has a strong moisturizing effect, which is very important for sunburned skin and is needed to improve its condition. The water, vitamin C and A contained in cucumber soothe irritated skin, firms it and give a feeling of refreshment and pleasant coolness to warm, excessively tanned skin.
It happened that when one of us had more sensitive skin and the sun burned it faster, grandma prepared fresh egg whites before applying the mask.
She cracked the egg, separated the egg white from the yolk, beat it gently with a whisk, and then soaked the cheesecloth in it. She put the prepared compress on her shoulders and changed it several times. And only then did she apply a mask of aloe and cucumber. Egg white contains cystatin, which inhibits inflammation, making it easier to reduce high body temperature.
