diff --git a/app/views/hyrax/admin/appearances/_custom_css_form.html.erb b/app/views/hyrax/admin/appearances/_custom_css_form.html.erb
index f4f5d980f..2607c73d3 100644
--- a/app/views/hyrax/admin/appearances/_custom_css_form.html.erb
+++ b/app/views/hyrax/admin/appearances/_custom_css_form.html.erb
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@
         theme: 'base16-light',
         autoRefresh: true
       });
+
+      // refresh the editor when the tab is shown
+      jQuery('[href="#css"]').on('shown.bs.tab', function() {
+        editor.refresh();
+      });
     </script>
   </div>
   <div class="card-footer">