Sunburns shouldn't be on my mind in January, but I live in Houston. I went for a 3-mile walk at the park yesterday with my baby and it was hotter than expected. With little shade, the sun was beaming straight at me. I was too worried about shielding my kid from the sun that I didn't realize I was getting a sunburn on my already-flared up face. In retrospect, I should've gone home right away!
My Sun-Burned Face
It's hot to the touch, is very swollen, has huge bags and lines under my eyes, is leaking because I scratched a ton this morning, is super itchy when I moisturize it with Aquaphor (heats up my skin even more, causing it to itch an intolerable amount) and is now super dry and crusty, because the moisturizer wore off (okay, it was scratched off!) and the leaking dried up.
I know four things for sure:
1. I'm not moisturizing my face anytime soon! It'll make my skin hotter, super itchy and won't be very helpful at this point.
2. I'm not washing my face for awhile. The water will burn and my face will dry up even more.
3. My dentist must have thought I was a hot mess when I showed up to my 7am appointment today with my face swollen, red and wet. Without her knowing it was an eczema flare-up, she probably thought I was a fast-aging, super-tired new mom. I am, but typically look much better than I did this morning!
4. This flare-up will pass. And next time it's super hot and sunny when my skin is flared-up, I will get out of the sun and go to an air-conditioned room!