This body oil for sunburns is super soothing to the skin. You can apply it to sunburned skin before bed (and again in the morning if you wish). Use it in conjunction with my cooling spray for sunburns. This is one part of a deep dive into essential oils for sunburns. Check out the main post here for a list of best essential oils for the issue and more background info.
DIY Body Oil for Sunburns
This body oil recipe doesn’t contain cooling-sensation essential oils or aloe because the focus is more on deep healing of the sunburnt skin. If you do want the instant (albeit brief) relief of a cooling agent, you can rub aloe vera gel on top of the skin after applying your body oil.
Links are to Plant Therapy essential oils, a brand I personally trust, use and love. They are affiliate, however I do not work directly with them and am not sponsored by PT (I wish lol).
Customize Your Body Oil for Sunburns
Simplify the carrier(s):
You could opt to just use one carrier oil instead of three (olive oil, wheat germ, calendula). Extra virgin olive oil is high in vitamins and minerals. It’s been traditionally used to heal burns for centuries, so I’d recommend going with that. But …
Important if you don’t use wheat germ oil:
The wheat germ oil in this blend, aside from being useful for damaged skin, acts as an antioxidant. Adding an antioxidant to essential oil blends helps to extend their shelf life. If you don’t include wheat germ, I would recommend adding 1600 IU of Vitamin E to the blend as your antioxidant. You can buy gel capsules of Vitamin E and just rip them open and squeeze into the blend.
Tweak the essential oil selection:
If you’re going to keep one oil from the above recipe, I recommend Lavender. And keep it as the dominant oil in the blend. You can, however, swap and play around with ratios of the the others. Keep the overall ration of the blend the same though (24 drops total of essential oils per 4 oz of carrier). Choose from the following:
- Lavender
- Chamomile
- Geranium
- Sandalwood
- Neroli – FYI Neroli essential oil is pretty expensive, so you might opt out of including this one.
Safety Considerations
This recipe yields 4 oz of body oil at a 1% essential oil dilution. Typically with topical body oil blends for adults, I would recommend a 2% dilution. But because we’re dealing with sunburnt, sensitive skin, 1% is preferable.
Because of the lower concentration of essential oils in this blend and the gentle nature of the oils selected, this is also safe to use on children. Still, it’s always prudent to do a skin patch test before incorporating them into a blend to make sure no allergies or sensitivities are present. More on that in this post.
Please keep in mind that these essential oil recipes are intended for mild – moderate sunburns. If you’re absolutely fried (blistering, etc.), you should consult a doctor.
xo Nicole
The statements and blends referenced in this post have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products and/or information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, have a medical condition or are taking any medication, consult with your physician before using any essential oil or blend.
I’m a Certified Holistic Aromatherapist through the Institute of Integrative Aromatherapy and only share blends with you that I’ve personally used and from which I’ve benefited. I stand behind them 100%! Essential oil blends are, however, most effective when made with individual needs, goals and personality in mind.
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