Best moisturisers to treat sunburn – and one you must avoid completely

Sunburn may feel hot to touch and sore, so you may want to speed up the healing process.

In fair skin, the sunburn may appear pink or red; in darker skin, there may not be a noticeable change in the colour of the skin, but pain may be felt.

As soon as you realised you have a sunburn, it’s critical to get out of the sun as soon as possible.

Sunburn is proof that the sun’s powerful UV rays have damaged which your skin, skin cells and may lead to long-term consequences such as wrinkling of the skin and cancer.

Sore skin may feel better with a week, but there’s certain things you must do to help speed up the recovery process.

While covering the skin from more sun exposure is paramount, so is the type of moisturiser you use to treat the burn.

Aftersun creams and sprays are designed for this purpose, as they typically contain aloe vera, which is soothing to the skin.

Examples include Nivea Sun After Sun Moisture, £6.60 from Boots and Amazon.co.uk, and Hawaiian Tropic After Sun Lotion £7.40.

Aloe vera helps cools and hydrate the skin, which can help relieve the symptoms of sunburn.

The hydrating moisturiser prevents the skin from drying out further, which could result in peeling skin and blisters.

Aloe vera contains a compound known as loin, which has notable anti-inflammatory properties to help soothe the skin further.

One moisturiser to completely avoid on sunburn is anything with petroleum jelly, the. NHS confirmed.

Ice should also be avoided, as should itching of the skin or tight-fitting clothing.