This shaving cream sunburn hack is going viral for good reason

Summer is in full force, which means you’ll be heading outdoors more often to soak up the sun while you can! Of course, it’s best to always wear sunscreen and reapply often (and perhaps put on a Facekini!), but you may still accidentally find yourself with a sunburn or two this season.

Good news, though: The internet’s got a great hack for sunburn relief.

Cindie Allen-Stewart wrote a Facebook post about a sunburn trick that involves shaving cream, and the post has since gone viral. The hack involves applying a menthol shaving cream to the sunburned area for 30 minutes and then rinsing off.

Allen-Stewart swears by this method for her family, and clearly, people everywhere are very interested in this skin-saving technique.

But Why Does It Work?

The key healing ingredient in the shaving cream is the menthol — so make sure you’ve got a shaving cream that has menthol in it before trying this at home. Once you’ve got that on hand, here are Allen-Stewart’s instructions:

“[A]pply the shaving cream on the burn. … Don’t rub it in, just let it sit on your skin … Then, after about 30 minutes, the shaving cream will seem like it has dissolved in spots. It will seem like it’s not as moist and a little dried out,” the post details. “You will feel as if you’re becoming a little cold, at least on the sunburned part of your body. THAT IS A GOOD SIGN! Next, rinse it off in a lukewarm or cool shower or bath. It’s just to get the residue off.”

After applying the shave cream once, you may have to wait 24 hours and then reapply to see any redness reduction.

It Works, But Don’t Forget Sunscreen

The pictures above show what the sunburned area looked like after three days of treatment. So, keep in mind that this method will not immediately reduce redness, though dermatologists say this trick could start to relieve sunburn pain after one application.

“Menthol has a cooling effect, which will help calm the discomfort of a sunburn,” dermatologist Howard Sobel told Allure. “If there is aloe in the shaving cream, it will work as an anti-inflammatory, and help relieve the irritation of burnt skin.”

One dermatologist had the suggestion of ensuring the product was cool before applying it to make the process even more enjoyable. “Another layer to the hack might be to put the foam in the refrigerator so it’s cool — and extra soothing — when it goes on,” dermatologist Rey Hamidi told NewBeauty.

This hack might be great for relieving irritation, but the reality is this trick isn’t undoing the skin damage caused by a sunburn. That’s why it is highly recommended that you wear sunscreen and reapply every two hours, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

What do you think of this sunburn hack? Will you try it out this summer?