My Sunburn Story

Warning:
one thousand words and unpleasant images ahead. 
Not for the faint of heart

I had always been dark skinned back in Elementary to my High School years, reason why I was oftentimes bulldozed in school, aside from being very tall, skinny and socially comatose. Feeling all emotionally scarred and uptight, I resolved to look my best as soon as I entered College. I was one of those teenage girls who were enticed by skin whitening products, from soaps to lotions to Glutathione pills. I succumbed to both the lotion and soap but not the pills. Takot ko lang lol. I was gratified with the use of one particular Kojic Soap which I used for years and I could attest how my skin turned from chocolate Brown to super fair. I was blissful and content, felt I was 10 shades prettier than my old self and than my colleagues. Needless to say, I was bursting with confidence. It really is true that people get to pay you more attention if you had a fair complexion, in the Philippines at least. So I indulged myself with all the admiring and envious glances thrown upon my way whenever I swagger my stuff in the campus, which was my catwalk. I was the Queen Tamarraw. charot.

 Anyhow, I had cited in my last post that we spent three days in Caramoan Islands in Camarines Sur where we did some Island hopping which meant too much exposition to the Sea, Sand and Sun. Given that I am not a beach person, well I am at heart, but in reality, I haven't spent a good whole day at the beach. Simply put, I was oblivious to using Beach products. I wasn't exactly the one to research or scrutinize the active ingredients of a sunscreen one by one and thus, I bought the first and cheapest bottle I came by at the drug store. I did not even bother checking the SPF level since I thought they were all the same @__@;;. I swear I can never be a beauty blogger! So anyway, I was convinced that I was well prepared for the wrath of Summer. However, it was pouring hard when we reached Bicol due to the approaching typhoon. It did rain the whole day on the first day of our tour but just to make sure, I lathered the sunscreen on my face and body. My color did not show any signs of darkness and I assumed it was due to the sun not coming out at all. The following day was a similar scenario. So I opted to put very minimal sunscreen on my body. My roomate offered me to use her facial sunscreen, noticing that I did not put any on my face or neck. I DECLINED. I even exlaimed "keri lang. wala namang araw". *flips hair* ("It's alright, there's no sun anyway"). I was even wondering why she looked stunned at my refusal, like, big deal? So I marched outside the hotel in my teenie weenie 2 piece bikini and a kimono and my hair proudly up in a bun so that my face is entirely exposed into the wild. The rest of the day was history. 

That night, upon getting back to the hotel and I was about to take a shower, my jaw was literally on the floor upon seeing my intensely Red and swollen face. My shivering hands mechanically reached my cheek and it felt hot, the fever kind of hot and every press on my skin stung. I realized I also couldn't yawn or open my mouth properly because it felt like my skin was tearing apart. I never had Sun Burn my entire life, and I hated it. I thought it would go away if I slept on it. But I was so wrong. That morning, my face was Redder, more swollen and hotter than ever. Everyone felt sorry for me and kept asking me if I was okay. They gave me all sorts of aloe vera gels and wet tissues to sooth my parched skin. We had a stop over at a nearby Gas station and everyone in the rest room was staring at my face the moment I walked in so I wore my sunglasses. It was uncomfortable and awkward. One kid even called her Mom and said "Mama look at her" while pointing at my direction. I badly wanted to pull that kid's hair. It felt like I was the bullied little girl in High School once again. I entered the cubicle and wept. 

After 8 hours of travel, I got home. And obviously, I was scolded. My face has already darkened and it felt rough but my cheeks, nose and forehead were still bright Red, smooth and thin, like it would burst anytime. I spent many hours researching "How to cure sunburn" and I tried everything I have read. My face was drenched in ice cold water, was soaked with tea, covered in Potato shreds and herbs etc etc etc. They did me no good. I immediately went to see a Dermatologist the same day. I spent a hefty sum but I've heard that the doctor was good. I've been seeing his clinic since I was a kid and it was my first time to pay him a visit since I never had skin problems back then. He was very nice, honest and funny. I learned as well that my use of Kojic soap and lotion reacted negatively to the sun's UV rays hence I was burned severely especially that I did not wear sunscreen. If you are using whitening products like me, always wear sunscreen with at least SPF 30 and apply after every 30 minutes to an hour if you are engaging in any water activity. Or you can get yourself a sunblock with maximum SPF that can last all day.

So the following photos are my day to day documentary. These aren't even nearly how I really looked like during my time of crisis. My camera phone could not justify the horror of it all but at least, I wouldn't look too disgusting in here:

cleanser 

for redness and swelling 

for itch

== DAY 01 ==

 == DAY 02 ==

See the division of the dark and fair skin from my neck to my chest? </3 

== DAY 03 ==

== DAY 04 ==

== DAY 05 ==

== DAY 06 ==

my whole body peeling== DAY 07 ==

I am quite thankful that my burns only lasted for seven days although my face is still considerably darker than my neck or the rest of my body. Last week, my family and I went to the beach again so I ensured to get myself a maximum SPF sunblock from Beach Hut:

So I learned my lesson the hard way. I'm still not giving up my whitening products though. I am not ashamed to admit that my fair skin was a product of Kojic acid or papaya enzymes or Glutathione and will continue to use them as I have before. Because now I am prepared and knowledgeable. I really am :p 

Do you have any sunburn horror stories to share? I'd love to hear from you :))

Ciao~

Love Lots,

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