Say Goodbye to Sunburn Pain: Discover the 10 Lotions That Actually Heal and Hydrate Faster Than You Ever Imagined!

Patricks makes a great face and body lotion—it’s a bit pricey, so instead of using it as your daily moisturizer, we’d recommend using it when your skin needs a little extra love, like after sun damage. Hyaluronic acid is great at locking in moisture, and taurine is an amino acid that reduces inflammation, so it’s great to apply after being out in the sun.

It’s not a lotion, but this Calming Serum from Dr. Barbara Sturm is great for helping soothe your skin after sun exposure thanks to ingredients such as cardiospermum, echium, and sunflower extract, which are known to calm irritated skin.

We love Blue Lizard’s new After Sun Soothing Lotion so much we included it in our 2026 Grooming Awards. The cooling lotion is made with aloe, cucumber extract, and shea butter, three of the main ingredients we look for in a sunburn lotion. It’s lightweight and smooth, so you aren’t left with the goopy feel of pure aloe vera gel. Even if you’re not burnt, it’s a good idea to apply this lotion after spending a while in the sun.

Sunburn is a short-term effect of sun damage, but you should also be protecting your skin from the long-term effects like fine lines, wrinkles, and decreased skin firmness and elasticity. Exoceuticals’ after-sun treatment uses the brand’s signature Exosomes, which are “cellular signaling molecules that modulate inflammatory responses in the skin.” These Exosomes provide short-term relief from dry skin, redness, and inflammation, and they also help support collagen and hyaluronic acid production, which can improve skin firmness, elasticity, and texture in the long term.

This moisturizing aloe vera lotion from Sun Bum contains aloe vera, vitamin E, cocoa butter, and other antioxidants for maximum moisturizing and soothing effects. It quickly gets absorbed into the skin and helps soothe sunburns almost immediately while also helping preserve your tan—so don’t worry about losing that summer tan altogether.

If you’re looking to spend no more than ten bucks on an after-sun lotion, try this one from famous sunscreen brand Banana Boat. You can even use it as a daily moisturizer, whether or not the sun is shining. Its main ingredients of aloe and vitamin E help make it super soothing, and it smells fresh and absorbs quickly.

Technically this is a hand cream, but we love it so much we use it everywhere. Its main ingredient is Manuka honey, which is extremely rich and buttery and helps calm irritated skin and reduce redness. It also has lanolin, a great natural ingredient for locking in moisture.

Lanolips is famous for its lanolin lip balm, which we’ve written about at length and lauded for its magical moisturizing properties. Again, lanolin is a really rich natural ingredient that’s soothing and helpful when your skin is a bit out of whack, so it works for sunburn relief. This body butter also has vitamin E, which is soothing, anti-inflammatory, and great at reducing redness and wrinkles.