Rudolph in June

hat’s what you can call me. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer and I both have the red, shiny nose thing in common (minus the cuteness factor). Even though I apply Neutrogena SPF 100+ generously to my face as I recommended in a blog post, I have apparently missed the tip of my nose, causing it to burn and flake. (picture below) The only place on my entire body that I burn is on my nose!

Last year, after my three-day trip to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, I went to Pakistan and my outspoken niece flatly asked me why my nose was so red. I was so embarrassed at how noticeable the red burn was on my brown skin. In Pakistan, I had no idea what to do about this reddened nose, so the tip of my nose flaked and eventually scarred. I was determined to avoid any scarring this year, so as soon as I noticed that the very tip of my nose made me resemble a very cute reindeer in a not-so-flattering way, I did a Google search on sunburn remedies. I realized that liberally applying my Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer would only cover up, not treat.

I found many, including applying white, plain yogurt, oatmeal, a baking soda mixture, vinegar and finally Aloe Vera lotion. The thought of applying food to my face freaked me out so I immediately crossed oatmeal and yogurt off my list. I knew that white vinegar had some magic healing qualities so I located some in our cupboard, soaked it into a cotton ball and applied it to my nose. And boy, did it burn and sting!! I immediately applied my cool, Vitamin E face cream from the Body Shop to my nose to curb the burning, and it subsided after about 10 seconds. I found that I was supposed to dilute the vinegar in cold water before applying, oops.

Still, the white vinegar helped reduce the redness of my nose overnight. While I am still flaking a bit, I hope that continuous application of facial lotion will help curb it.

So for all of you who want a quick, at home remedy for sunburns, vinegar is one of the many quick fixes! If you have body burns, you can take a cool bath with a bit of white or apple cider vinegar mixed in your water. You might smell like a pickle, but it will take away the pain.