My sad story of badly sunburned legs and how sea buckthorn seed oil saved me a trip to the doctors. (Related story on TNG: Preventing Sunburn with beautiful foods)
You know you should avoid getting sunburnt, right? Research shows that the more sunburns you got over the course of your life, the higher your chances of developing skin cancer are.
But sometimes you are careless. Like me. After never-ever “sun bathing” in the last couple years, I feel asleep on the beach on the Oregon coast with my pure white legs given complete access to the sun’s glare. Let’s just say the back of my legs were almost purple with outrage over this careless nap.
And I was in so much pain.
My skin was slightly swollen and incredibly bright red, and so painful I was basically bed-ridden and nauseous with the pain of it. We tried almost all of the cures we knew of, and they did seem to prevent me from blistering and help manage the pain some. Coconut oil, manuka honey, and lavender essential oil were used lavishly between tepid baths with strongly brewed tea. Those were the things that were helping most among the many we tried, but it helped in a limited capacity.
Although I very rarely take pain medication, I was taking some, and using a painkiller cream for sunburns, and it was still hardly touching the pain. And although my “natural cures” were helping significantly with preventing blistering, it just wasn’t enough. After two days with no clear improvement, we were going to take me into the doctor in the hopes of getting burn cream with silver in it (my sister got it when she was burned from boiling water, and it really helped her heal).
As a last resort, my husband went yet again to a local store and asked for help in the supplement section for me. He came home with the above bottle of Organic Sea Buckthorn Seed oil. Since the sunburn was on the back of my legs, where it was hard for me to reach, my husband carefully dropped the oil on my legs and gently spread it around (which was pretty darn painful!)…and then… literally within the hour, I started noticing my pain lessoning significantly, and soon I was finally walking around and not taking pain medication, and actually enjoying my day again! Our plan to take me to the doctor went out the window, and we just kept applying the oil to my legs when it had soaked in completely or when my legs started to become really painful again.
The immediate and dramatic difference the oil made has convinced me that I always want to keep a bottle on hand, and I knew I had to share about it with you all! Just in case you have a careless moment like I did. I am also using it on my face right now, and really liking it! While I am hoping to avoid any more sunburns, if there ever is a “next time”, I will use this oil first off (perhaps with some lavender essential oil mixed in).
It turns out that sea buckthorn oil has a long history in skin healing. According to WebMD: :: Some people apply sea buckthorn berries, berry concentrate, and berry or seed oil directly to the skin for preventing sunburn; for treating radiation damage from x-rays and sunburns; for healing wounds including bedsores, burns, and cuts; for acne, dermatitis, dry skin, eczema, skin ulcers, and skin color changes after giving birth; and for protecting mucus membranes. ::
I was impressed with how long sea buckthorn oil has been used:
:: The references to medicinal use of Sea Buckthorn were found in the Ancient Greek texts attributed to Theophrastus and Dioskorid and in classic Tibetan medicinal texts, including “the RGyud Bzi” (The Four Books of Pharmacopoeia) dated to the times of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). Herbal remedies obtained from Sea Buckthorn were traditionally used for the treatment of diseases of skin and digestive system. Application of Sea Buckthorn oil to promote the recuperation of skin injuries and treat skin diseases well agrees with the data of modern clinical trials and laboratory studies. Medicinal value of Sea Buckthorn oil is associated with its apparent ability to promote the regeneration of the skin and mucous. Cosmetics and skin care products made of Sea Buckthorn are valued for their rejuvenating, restorative and anti-aging action.:: Source
What I know for sure is that, unlike a bad sunburn I got in my teen years that left my skin rough in areas, the back of my legs are already soft and normal again (with the exception of a little peeling). And it saved me from a doctor’s visit and a lot of discomfort too!
It’s important to note that there are two oils, one made out of the berry, and another oil made out of the seed. What I used was the seed oil. Most brands mix sea buckthorn oil with other, less expensive oils. While many are very good products, for a situation such as mine I would recommend the 100% oil like I used.
- You can buy the Sibu brand of oil that I used at my Amazon partner here.
- And I also noticed that my partner Mountain Rose Herbs carries a version as well. Their version uses both the berry and the seed.
For the rest of the summer, no naps in the sun for me, and I am also upping the sunburn preventing foods in my diet!
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I bought some after reading about this in one of your previous posts, but got the berry oil. Hard to use in a daily skin regimen as it leaves you OompahLoompah orange!!! But apparently you can take internally for the same effect?
I laughed a little at your “Oompahloompah” orange reference! I don’t know how different the berry and seed oils are in color, but the seed oil is also quite bright. However, I use only 5-6 drops twice a day on my face, so perhaps that is why I haven’t noticed any discoloration issues. 🙂 I think you could either just use it at night, OR you could mix it with another good-for-the-face/skin oil to tone it down a bit. I haven’t researched the topic thoroughly, but yes, some people do use it internally! Nothing like healing from the inside out, right?
The seed oil has more benefits when you apply it topically, where as the berry oil has more benefits when you ingest it. So the seed oil is what you want to use on your skin, especially for burns. The berry oil won’t do much when you apply it topically, and it will definitely stain your skin as well as your clothes.
Thanks so much, Ashley, for sharing your knowledge. That explains a lot. 🙂
Actually the berry oil has more external benefits than the seed oil. Berry oil contains almost all of sea buckthorn’s omega 7 content. Omega 7 naturally occurs in your skin and berry oil’s bright orange color is a result of it’s massive stores of beta carotenoids/Vitamin A which is also great for your skin. It’s fantastic externally.
Seed oil has much more omega 3, antioxidants, and overall nutrients than berry oil. The seed oil is the clear internal winner. Omega 3 is an EFA … Omega 7 is not. We need EFAs … they’re essential … so seed oil internally and berry oil externally.
But outside of the ideal .. they’re both GREAT internally or externally and have many benefits. : )
Interesting! I noticed when at the store the other day that another brand recommends that you use the berry oil externally, and the seed oil internally, as you suggested. SIBU suggests their oil for external use however, and I was pretty darn happy with the results! 😉 The Mountain Rose Herbs oil could by nice since it has both mixed in together.
Actually the berry oil has more external benefits than the seed oil. Berry oil contains almost all of sea buckthorn’s omega 7 content. Omega 7 naturally occurs in your skin and berry oil’s bright orange color is a result of it’s massive stores of beta carotenoids/Vitamin A which is also great for your skin. It’s fantastic externally.
Seed oil has much more omega 3, antioxidants, and overall nutrients than berry oil. The seed oil is the clear internal winner. Omega 3 is an EFA … Omega 7 is not. We need EFAs … they’re essential … so seed oil internally and berry oil externally.
But outside of the ideal .. they’re both GREAT internally or externally and have many benefits. : )
Have you ever tried papaya cream? It’s really good for all sorts of skin sores and problems. Haven’t heard of sea buckthorn before so will check it out. Aloe is also good for sunburn.
Thanks for the recommendation!
This is so good to know, thanks!
In case you are interested, there’s a supplement you can take called Astaxanthin (a kind of algae) that elongates your ability to be in sun (among other loved-by-me uses). Check it out for yourself, but I’ve been doing it for years now and haven’t burned once, even the couple times I forgot sunblock. And I’m a fair-skinned redhead with many a vicious tan in my past.
I buy the BioAstin brand on vitacost. Takes 3-4 weeks to be effective in your system, so I start just before the summer season each year with a 4 mg dose 2 times a day. After 3 wks, I drop to one a day. You’d have to experiment as to whether you’d need to stay at 2. It helped me so well with my (extreme) seasonal allergies, but I don’t suffer from them anymore (astaxanthin? diet? ??). And it boosts my energy. Supposed to help muscle repair as well (after strenuous workouts, marathon training…)
Thanks, Lynda! I appreciate it. Astaxanthin has always sounded awesome. I am actually not prone to burning at all…it was just a complete overload of the sun for my system after nine months of very little sun. 😉 But I am sure this would have helped too!
I love this story (not pain that you had to go through!), but the demonstration of the healing power of nature. For sun protection though, aside from the sea buckthorn or coconut oil, I would caution anyone against using with just any essential oil though, blended or not, when planning to be out in the sun. I had an bad burn experience back in March in Mexico. I had been using an essential oil lavender blend as a perfume and got a nasty burn in all of the places I had rubbed in the essential oil that were exposed to the sun. I was only in the sun for about a 1/2 hour at the end of that whole day too, and didn’t realize until I bed time that I was burned. All I had with me was good old aloe vera, but an oil burn is not nice either and the skin is still discoloured in those areas even though my burns were not even close to being as bad as yours sounded!
Eek! That’s terrible, Clare! Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I knew that some essential oils made you sun sensitive, but wasn’t aware that lavender could also cause that. (I guess any oil can intensify the sun’s rays on your skin, but certain oils can make you photosensitive.) Sea buckthorn isn’t an essential oil as it’s a seed oil, and I’ve heard that some people actually use it as a low SPF sunscreen, along with coconut oil.
Have any readers had success using sea buckthorn seed oil or coconut oil as a sunscreen?
Oh well, lesson learned! I’ll omit the essential oil as perfume when I’m going to be in the sun…..especially Mexico! I have been using coconut oil at home now with no burning! Have not done any digging on the sea buckthorn seed oil as sunscreen yet and would also love to hear other people’s experiences. 🙂
great post! I never would have thought of sea buckthorn, but I love coconut oil. I use it as a body mosturizer and then apply SPF over. I’m really kind of prone to burns so I need protection. As an everyday, I think it might be okay to wear only a natural plant oil though, esp if it’s cloudy or not sunny out.
Thank you for sharing this, Kimi! I’m so sorry about your bad sunburn. I had that happy to me when I forgot to put sunscreen on my chest. It just completely slipped my mind as I got distracted, I’m sure. When I finally realized I was burning, it was too late and had the same experience – pain, blistering and peeling. I wish I had known about sea buckthorn oil. I used aloe which helped greatly, but I am happy to know about this, as I sometimes burn myself in the kitchen while cooking and it sounds like this is much more effective at stopping pain than aloe. I’ve pinned this and plan to share it with my FB fans too! Thanks so much again for sharing! Blessings, Kelly 🙂
sorry for the typo – LOL! I wasn’t “happy” when I had this “happen” to me. that’s what I get for typing too fast. hee hee!
Hi Kim,
I was just doing research on seaberry oil (trying to find out how it protects skin when the carotenoids are ingested and absorbed internally), and I found your post. Thanks so much for sharing your story. We just launched a little company–Vermont Seaberry Company–to help promote the shrub here in Vermont, where we’ve been growing it since 2007.
I just love it! The juice is awesome, and full of the oil. I am impressed that the oil relieved your pain so dramatically. That’s cool! We’re not extracting the oil per se, just including it in the juice.Anyway, just thought I’d say thanks for your story–and your blog! Best, Melissa
Thanks for this article. We use this oil in our home for all burns. It relieves the pain and helps heal. There should be more publicity about this wonderful oil.