Best Affordable After Sun Products for 2021

Although I am an avid sunscreen user, I’m outside a lot and still get tons of sun which can dry out the skin like crazy. Fortunately, I haven’t had a burn in a long time, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t rely on a slew of hydrating and moisturizing after-sun products to keep my skin looking and feeling great. Because Summer is coming up (and it’s basically Summer here in AZ) I thought it would be a great time to share my tried and true Best After-Sun Products for 2021.

A good after-sun product can help in a few ways. Not only can it soothe a ravaging sunburn, but it can also help preserve a golden brown tan that you may have developed. After-sun products can help restore and repair the skin barrier, add moisture and treat your skin to a load of much-needed antioxidants to further fight signs of aging.

I personally like to use these kinds of products after I get home from the beach or pool, shower, and then apply right after. I will usually apply another layer of moisturizing lotion before bed too. Let’s take a look at some of the options I reach for myself!

Sun Bum After Sun Lotion

If you love coconut-scented products then you may love Sun Bum After Sun Lotion.  Not only does it have a lightweight feel, but it envelops your skin in skin-nourishing ingredients like Vitamin E, Aloe, and Shea Butter for total weightless moisture. It goes on just like a traditional lotion and leaves no stickiness behind. Everyone in my family enjoys using this one (I think mainly for the summery scent) and it comes in a variety of sizes to fit everyone’s budget. Amazon / Target

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun Lotion

Hawaiian Tropic’s Silk Hydration seems to be available just about everywhere and for good reason — it works incredibly well! The coconut papaya scent is enticing to anyone who loves beachy tropical scents and its barely-there feel gets two thumbs up from me. Silk Hydration is called a lotion but because of its dual ribbon formula, I would categorize this as a gel-lotion with a more “wet” feel than the Sun Bum option. I think this should be sold in a much larger size, but I also go to the pool daily so I tend to go through these kinds of products quickly. I love that this formula includes shea butter to restore the skin barrier, aloe for 24hour moisturization. Silk amino acids are included in the formula to help lock in moisture for the skin, and mango, papaya, and passion fruit extract are added for antioxidant power.  Amazon / Target

Hempz Lotion

I probably went through 3-4 bottles of this last season in our first year in Arizona. Hempz lotion isn’t considered a strictly “after-sun” product, but it moisturizes my skin better than most lotions out there. This year, we keep a bottle of the original on our kitchen island for everyone to use throughout the day, and then I have the rest in my upstairs bathroom for post-shower. All Hempz lotions include pure hemp seed oil which is rich in omega fatty acids to deeply nourish the skin while remaining THC-free. Depending on the fragrance chosen there can be a variety of ingredients to provide added antioxidant power to fight the damage done by environmental or UV sources. If you don’t like fragrance you will probably need to skip this brand. I don’t think they have anything fragrance-free, but for those of us who enjoy scented bath & body products, you will love it! My favorites right now are Sugar Cane & Papaya, and Original (which smells like banana).  Amazon / Target

Banana Boat Moisturizing Aloe After Sun Lotion

We’re going old-school with this one. Banana Boat has been around for ages, and their Moisturizing Aloe After Sun Lotion has been a goto for many years before I learned of other options out there. While you would think this lotion would also have some sort of fragrance, it doesn’t. It has that typical ‘plain lotion” scent that dissipates after application and totally brings me back to the 80’s and early 90’s. I’m going to sound like a weirdo, but it’s almost as if it smells like plastic pool toys to me which may not sound appealing but it’s a familiar scent from my memory. I got sunburned a lot as a teen so we always had this in the house for the aftermath. What’s great about this one is that I could continue to apply through the day without any disgusting buildup or it feeling heavy. It does feel “thicker” on application, but I’m thinking my skin was so parched it would absorb so quickly that I could continue to apply and avoid any peeling that may come from a sunburn.  It includes aloe and Vitamin E to repair, soothe and hydrate the skin. Available at Target

Burts Bees Aloe & Coconut Oil After Sun Soother

With so many positive reviews all over the place, I decided to pick this one up and give it a whirl. Burts Bees Aloe & Coconut Oil After Sun Soother is a quick-absorbing option that uses coconut oil and aloe to replenish after a day in the sun. It can be used on both face and body but I’ve only tried it on the body so far, and enjoy the scent every time I use it. Instead of going tropical, it’s got a lemon scent to it. It’s got an 89.9% natural ingredient list and features linden extract, a powerful antioxidant that has anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties.  Amazon / Walmart

If you choose to go with your own after-sun options, be sure to choose something that’s lightweight and lists hydrating ingredients. Something heavy like straight coconut oil can be too occlusive if you have a fresh burn and can trap heat in the skin making it an uncomfortable recovery process. If you have to swell from a severe sunburn you can consider something with hydrocortisone to bring it down and then follow with moisturizing products. Using hydrocortisone on top of burnt skin sounds scary and a last-ditch resort to find relief but it is recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology in some cases. And of course, don’t forget the power of a pure aloe product which can hydrate the skin well while staying on budget. You can sometimes get one with lidocaine but I prefer the pure kind for myself. 

Is there something special you use when you get too much sun? Share in the comment section below!