logo
Rise in dangerous summer TikTok ‘wellness' trend that puts Gen Z girls at risk of cancer or even death

Rise in dangerous summer TikTok ‘wellness' trend that puts Gen Z girls at risk of cancer or even death

The Sun21-06-2025
EVERY morning, Taylor Lyttle heads to a local beauty salon for a 15-minute sunbed session.
After topping up her already deep-mahogany tan, at a cost of £13, the 21 year old then scrolls TikTok to check if her skin is darker than all of her sunbed-using friends.
6
'If I see someone online darker than me, I get annoyed. I love how I look with a tan, it boosts my confidence and I feel more attractive,' she says.
Taylor, a hairdresser from Belfast, adds that she's aware of the risks of sunbed use, including skin cancer, but isn't too worried.
'I'm very healthy. I eat well, I look after myself. I've never had any issues since I started using sunbeds five years ago.
"I think of it as me-time – it's relaxing and reduces my stress,' she says.
Like countless other Gen Z girls aged 13-28, Taylor spends hours scrolling posts on TikTok with hashtags like #tanned, #sunnyd and #whatmakesyouhappy, often featuring users bathed in blue UV light. 'It's a problem, but I'd rather die hot than live ugly I guess #yolo #lol #sunbed,' reads one caption.
Meanwhile, influencers on the platform claim tanning beds can do everything from boost vitamin D levels to improve your mental health.
Not only are many of these claims unproven, some are entirely false, and charities are concerned that marketing tanning as a 'wellness' trend is driving Gen Z girls and women to sunbeds – risking their health, and even death, from skin cancer.
It's big money, too, with the UK's largest tanning chain, The Tanning Shop, growing by 40% since 2018.
Alarming time-lapse video reveals how tiny 'dark patch' morphs into melanoma
'Social media encourages us – we look at people's tans online and it gets competitive'
Taylor has been using sunbeds since she was 16, even though it's illegal under the age of 18.
'No one ever checked my age,' she says. 'I just paid my money and went in. I guess I was self-conscious about my pale skin and I don't have a lot of confidence.
"It's something that helps me. My mum knew I was doing it, but she didn't mind.'
It's a social thing as well – we'll often meet at the sunbed salon then have coffee or lunch afterwards.
Taylor Lyttle
She adds: 'Now, I go most days, spending over £200 month to get my fix. I also use nasal tanning sprays [which contain synthetic hormones such as Melanotan II and are sprayed directly into the nostrils to stimulate the production of melanin and darken the skin], before each session, which I get for £25 from a friend.'
Last month, Trading Standards issued a warning that tanning nasal sprays could cause 'nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure and even changes in mole shape and size,' and urged users to be cautious about unlicensed sprays bought online.
However, Taylor insists she's never suffered any side effects, and plans to continue using them.
'Social media encourages us,' she says. 'I don't post photos of myself, but we all look at people's tans and it gets competitive.
"We watch videos about how to boost your tan and most of us use tanners like nasal sprays.
"It's a social thing as well – we'll often meet at the sunbed salon then have coffee or lunch afterwards.'
Dr Björn Thomas, a consultant dermatologist and lead for melanoma at Guys' and St Thomas' Hospital, London, is seeing a rising number of young patients.
'We're no longer surprised to see someone aged 19 or 20 with melanoma,' he says. 'Often, they've had lots of exposure to sunbeds. It's an increasing trend among younger generations.'
Dr Thomas said there is 'minimal' evidence emerging that a small amount of UV light is good for you. 'The reality is, sunbeds are not safe,' he says.
'The carcinogenic, cancer-causing effect could be significantly higher than if you are getting ambient sunlight out and about.
Melanoma is a very common cancer – it has the ability to spread and kill patients. It is a very serious diagnosis and the knock-on effect to your life could be devastating.'
Risks of sunbeds
THE promise of a constant glowing tan is too tempting for some people to deny.
But while popping to the sunbed shop may seem harmless, people who use tanning beds should be aware of the risks.
Approximately 10 per cent of the population of Northern Europe use sunbeds on a regular basis, the World Health Organization says.
Some people use them for years on end, accumulating risk of serious disease.
We are here to give you the lowdown on sunbeds and if they are safe to use.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), sunbeds are as dangerous as smoking.
Like the sun, they give out harmful UV rays that damage the DNA in your skin cells.
Over time, this may lead to malignant melanoma - the deadliest form of skin cancer - studies have shown.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), there is significant evidence to show that using tanning beds causes melanoma.
They report that sunbeds increase the risk of skin cancer by up to 20 per cent, and also state that they have no positive benefits to our health.
Cancer Research back this statistic, adding that " there is no such thing as a safe tan from UV radiation".
One study found that sunbeds can almost double the risk of cancer compared to never using them - with women 83 per cent more likely to develop the disease.
While some people think tanning beds are safer than sitting out in the midday sun, according to Cancer Research, the risk is still twice as high when compared to spending the same amount of time in the Mediterranean sun at lunch time.
The Sunbed Association claim there is not enough evidence to link sunbed use with melanoma, adding: "It is over-exposure and burning that will increase a risk of skin cancer, not responsible UV exposure."
But the WHO says: "The majority of tanning parlours provide inadequate advice to their customers.
"The use of eye protection such as goggles or sunglasses should be mandatory.
"However, as sunbed users aim to have an even tan, they often decide against protecting any part of their body."
Referring to the link with skin cancer, the world health experts add: "Sunbeds for self-tanning purposes have been available for the last two decades and due to the long latency period for skin cancer and eye damage it has been difficult so far to demonstrate any long-term health effects.
"Even though the causes of malignant melanoma are not fully understood, tumour development appears to be linked to occasional exposure to intense sunlight.
"Sunbeds subject their users to intermittent high exposures of UVA and UVB radiation – this may provide the ideal setting for the development of malignant skin cancer.
"However, the few epidemiological studies that have been carried out to date have not provided any consistent results."
Despite the WHO's cautious stance on the skin cancer link, it discourages the use of sunbeds, quoting an expert who said the use of tanning parlours is like "an industrial-scale radiation exposure experiment".
Regardless of skin cancer, sunbeds don't just have long-term health risks.
Users have reported a range of short-term symptoms including itching, dryness and redness of skin, freckling and photosensitivity.
Common outcomes in the longer term, especially in fair-skinned people, may involve blistering of the skin.
" Sagging and wrinkling of the skin are an almost certain price to be paid by frequent sunbed users", the WHO says - not quite the outcome you hope for when going to the sunbed shop for a beautiful, youthful look.
Georgia Edwards was diagnosed with melanoma when she was just 19, after finding a bloody mole on her thigh. She'd been using sunbeds for three years.
'I was really young and loved having a tan without the faff of getting all messy using fake tan,' recalls Georgia, now 27, from Horley, Surrey.
'My friends and I would go together for 10 minutes and you'd feel like you'd gone to Spain and back. It became addictive.'
Even though she was at school when she started, like Taylor, she says she was never asked for ID.
I was called back in and there was a consultant and a Macmillan nurse – I knew it wasn't good news and broke down.
Georgia Edwards
'I just put my card into the machine and selected how many minutes I wanted.
"I was going three or four times a week, but I could have gone twice a day if I'd wanted. No one stopped me.'
Georgia showed her GP the affected mole in March 2017, after going to the doctor for a chest infection, and was immediately referred. After a biopsy, she was diagnosed with stage two melanoma that May.
'I was called back in and there was a consultant and a Macmillan nurse – I knew it wasn't good news and broke down.'
Georgia, who works in a rehabilitation centre for children with brain injuries, was referred to London's Royal Marsden Hospital for treatment.
6
6
She had two surgeries to remove the cancer. Fortunately, it hadn't spread.
'I had a wide, local incision to cut out the mole and surrounding area as it was quite deep in my skin and close to the lymph nodes,' she says.
'I have a 12cm scar on my leg and, eight years later, I'm still regularly checked as there's a high risk of it returning.
'I was young and naive. I thought it wouldn't happen to me. That was my mindset. Young people simply aren't aware of the dangers, and in years to come there's going to be a mass of people getting diagnosed.
"Influencers promoting sunbeds have no idea of the dangers, they don't realise it could cost someone their life.'
'I lost my sister and best friend to sunbed use'
Jessica Crowe knows only too well the the pain sunbeds can bring. Her sister Tazmyn spoke to Fabulous in 2021 after being diagnosed with skin cancer in 2014.
The mum of three died in March 2023, aged just 31, having used sunbeds up to twice a day when she was younger.
'When we were teenagers, Tazmyn would use them all the time,' recalls Jessica, 31, a healthcare assistant and mum to Poppi, 14, and Memphis-Cub, two.
'I went with her a couple of times, but I'd just burn, so I stopped going. She was the tanned one and she loved it.
"But after her diagnosis, she'd often say: 'Why did I do it?' She immediately stopped using them and regretted ever having gone on one.'
Five years after her diagnosis, the cancer returned to her lymph nodes – reaching stage three.
"Pregnant with her third child at the time, Tazmyn delivered her son 10 weeks prematurely in order to have further cancer treatment, almost losing him to a pulmonary haemorrhage.
Tragically, despite further surgery and medication, Tazmyn's cancer spread, progressing to stage four, and in March 2023 she passed away, leaving her children Dillyn-Angel, 14, Saylor-Doll, 11, and Boss, five, to grow up without their mother.
Still grieving, Jessica, from Northern Ireland, says she finds social media posts advocating sunbed use and tan-boosting products distressing.
'It makes me so sad and angry. They make it sound like having a sunbed is harmless, when it's not.
"As a family, we learned that the hardest way. Everything that Tazmyn went through began with sunbed use.
"I was devastated when we lost her. I still am. She wasn't just my sister, but my best friend.
'My daughter would never use a sunbed, as she knows what happened to her aunt, but her friends do – some are only 13.
"They are easily influenced by TikTok and Instagram.'
This high-intensity UVA radiation can lead to genetic changes and mutations over time, which can build up and increase the risk of skin cancer.
Susanna Daniels, CEO of Melanoma Focus
The charity Melanoma Focus recently revealed that almost a third of people aged 16 and over in the UK use sunbeds, and that figure rises to 52% among 18-21 year olds.
"More worryingly, only 47% of that age group understood that sunbeds increase their risk of skin cancer – and 20% even believed it could decrease the risk.
'These figures are really concerning,' says Susanna Daniels, CEO of Melanoma Focus.
'There is a swathe of misinformation on social media. Rather than being good for your health and increasing levels of vitamin D, as some influencers claim, most sunbeds mainly emit UVA radiation – which damages the DNA in skin cells – rather than UVB, which is required for vitamin D production.
'This high-intensity UVA radiation can lead to genetic changes and mutations over time, which can build up and increase the risk of skin cancer.
In 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified UV radiation from commercial tanning beds as a type 1 carcinogen – putting it in the same category as smoking and asbestos,' explains Susanna.
'As a charity, we are very concerned about this widespread misinformation circulating on social media.
"This has been on the rise in recent years and it may be leading people to make harmful choices.'
Despite hearing stories like Tazmyn's, Taylor says she has no plans to ditch her TikTok tan any time soon.
'I sometimes worry about the risk and I do check my moles, but I'm young and I put it to the back of my mind,' she confesses.
'People drink, smoke, vape or eat junk food. Lots of things we do are bad, but we do it anyway. For me, a tan is worth the risk.'
'If young people aren't making the right choices, we need to help them'
Meanwhile, Jessica has a very different message. 'I'd like to see sunbeds banned like they are in other countries such as Australia, or at least some restrictions so they are not promoted online,' she says.
'When you're young, you don't think about the risks, but if young people aren't making the right choices, we need to help them.'
'Skin cancer took my sister from me and robbed her children of their mother.
"My message to young women is: please stop using sunbeds, and ignore these influencers promoting them. Your life is worth more than a tan.'
Call the Melanoma helpline on 0808 801 0777, 1-2pm and 7-9pm Monday-Friday, 7-9pm on Sundays (Melanomafocus.org).
6
6
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Hospital worker arrested over assault of patient in Northampton
Hospital worker arrested over assault of patient in Northampton

BBC News

time3 hours ago

  • BBC News

Hospital worker arrested over assault of patient in Northampton

A member of staff at a psychiatric hospital has been arrested in connection with an alleged assault on a Police said a woman, from Northampton, was arrested on suspicion of assault and ill-treatment or wilful neglect following an incident on 29 June and has been released on bail. St Andrew's Healthcare in Northampton, which is used by the NHS, said it had suspended a number of staff and launched an investigation into the hospital said it was "taking urgent steps to reinforce high-quality care across all wards" after NHS England restricted new referrals to the hospital. A Northamptonshire Police spokesman said: "Detectives are investigating a report of an assault which is alleged to have taken place at St Andrew's Hospital, Northampton, on 29 June.""Due to the vulnerability of the victim in this case, officers conducting inquiries as part of this investigation have been in contact with the CQC and local safeguarding leads," they added. St Andrew's Healthcare is a charity that cares for people with complex mental health hospital cares for about 600 patients and employs more than 4,000 people across four locations. Restricted referrals The CQC said it had carried out an inspection of inpatient services at the hospital on 11 July. A spokesman for the regulator said: "As a result, CQC took action requiring [St Andrew's Healthcare] to make immediate, specific improvements around safety. "They are being monitored closely to make sure this happens, and a report containing the full findings from the inspection will be published on CQC's website when the usual quality assurance processes have been completed," they added. NHS England said St Andrew's Healthcare looked after patients with "very complex mental health needs from all over the UK". "The safety of patients is our first priority and commissioners working together with the CQC have restricted referrals to St Andrew's Northampton site," it England said it had "taken immediate action together with St Andrew's to ensure the charity keeps patients safe, meets contractual obligations, and prioritises a targeted programme of support which operates in line with CQC requirements". Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Resident doctors' strike undermines union movement, Wes Streeting says
Resident doctors' strike undermines union movement, Wes Streeting says

The Guardian

time3 hours ago

  • The Guardian

Resident doctors' strike undermines union movement, Wes Streeting says

A strike by resident doctors 'enormously undermines the entire trade union movement', Wes Streeting has argued, urging them not to join industrial action on Friday morning. In an article for the Guardian, the health secretary says the decision by the British Medical Association (BMA) to push for new strikes in England immediately after receiving a pay rise of 22% to cover 2023-24 and 2024-25 is unreasonable and unprecedented. Taking aim squarely at the leadership of the BMA, which represents the medics formerly known as junior doctors, Streeting condemns their demand for a fresh 29% rise over the next few years. He says that while there was 90% backing for the strike, it was on a turnout of just over 55% of members. Streeting says the move to strike after the offer of a 5.4% pay rise for 2025-26, was rushed into and is 'bitterly disappointing' amid efforts to improve NHS services. 'There was a deal here to be done,' he writes. 'Instead, the BMA leadership's decision to not even consider postponing these strikes will place an enormous burden on their colleagues, and hit the recovery we can all see our health service is making. 'Not only that, it enormously undermines the entire trade union movement. No trade union in British history has seen its members receive a such a steep pay rise only to immediately respond with strikes – even when a majority of their members didn't even vote to strike. This action is unprecedented, and it is unreasonable.' The BMA argues that resident doctors have seen their pay fall by a much greater amount in real terms since 2008-09 than the rest of the population. 'Doctors are not worth less than they were 17 years ago, when austerity policies began driving wages down. We're simply asking for that value to be restored,' it said. Streeting says resident doctors have privately contacted him to express their dismay at the decision to strike, saying they 'feel the BMA's leaders are out of lockstep with not just patients but most resident doctors themselves'. The health secretary urges doctors to defy their union and not join in the strike, which runs until 7am next Wednesday. 'I am urging resident doctors to not follow the BMA leadership, who I do not believe are representing the best interests of their members, any further down this path as strikes begin on Friday at 7am,' he writes. The public have been urged to keep coming forward for NHS care during the strike, and NHS England has urged hospital chief executives to keep routine operations and appointments and only reschedule if there is a risk to patient safety. A Department of Health and Social Care blog noted that the NHS was 'taking a different approach' after learning lessons from previous strikes, and would avoid cancelling planned appointments for illnesses such as cancer because this posed 'a risk to patients too'. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion On Wednesday, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges urged the BMA to suspend its guidance to resident doctors that they do not have to share their intentions to strike with their employers – as is their entitlement under employment law – to enable hospitals to better plan. It is understood that in previous strikes, healthcare leaders filled rota gaps of unknown size by overstaffing and cancelling procedures, with the result that there was insufficient work for some highly paid consultants. Fewer resident doctors are expected to go on strike on Friday than in the previous round of industrial action that started in 2023 after the BMA achieved a smaller mandate in the strike ballot. Of 48,000 members, 55% voted, of whom 90% supported industrial action – representing less than half of members – compared with a turnout of 71.25% in 2023, of whom 43,440 (or 98.37%) voted to go on strike. The numbers of striking doctors is expected to vary between hospitals and trusts, with anticipated staff rota gaps filled locally by consultants, agency doctors and other NHS staff. Hospital leaders will monitor demand and if they are overwhelmed with patients they will have contingency plans in place, for example cancelling some appointments to prioritise urgent and emergency care, calling in extra bank or agency staff, or requesting derogations – where resident doctors are called in to work – with the BMA. The Health Service Journal (HSJ) reported that the NHS England chief, Sir Jim Mackey, had told trust leaders to crack down on resident doctors' ability to earn money during the strike by working locum shifts.

This unnecessary doctors' strike will hurt patients, the NHS and doctors themselves. Pull back: don't do it
This unnecessary doctors' strike will hurt patients, the NHS and doctors themselves. Pull back: don't do it

The Guardian

time3 hours ago

  • The Guardian

This unnecessary doctors' strike will hurt patients, the NHS and doctors themselves. Pull back: don't do it

Over the past 15 years, NHS staff have had a torrid time: they have been overstretched, buffeted by constant chaos and a chronic lack of investment. This government inherited a situation in which too many staff were burnt out, demoralised and simply done in. It's why one of my first acts as health and social care secretary was to get round the table, end the last resident doctor strikes and provide above inflation pay rises for all NHS staff, including a 22.3% rise for resident doctors (plus another 5.4% this year) – the biggest pay hike across the whole public sector. Since then, I've worked closely with NHS staff to deliver record investment and much-needed reforms to the NHS. From getting waiting lists down to hiring 2,000 more GPs, from bringing in new tech and equipment to making staff's lives easier, to starting the shift from sickness to prevention – we are making real progress. When the prime minister launched our 10-year health plan earlier this month, NHS staff celebrated it. I knew from the hundreds of staff that were part of our engagement process – from doctors to nurses, health visitors to consultants, porters to midwives – that they were hungry for change. But their optimism, energy and ambition showed just how much we will be able to achieve if we work together, and the exciting future we can build. That is why the decision by the British Medical Association's resident doctors committee to rush into completely unnecessary strikes is so bitterly disappointing. Not only have we started turning the NHS around, we did it hand-in-hand. The government proposed a range of measures to massively improve the working conditions doctors face – from tackling the costs of mandatory exams, to dealing with exhausting rotations that involve doctors pinging from hospital to hospital, to tackling bottlenecks by bringing in more specialist training places. There was a deal here to be done. Instead, the BMA leadership's decision to not even consider postponing these strikes will place an enormous burden on their colleagues, and hit the recovery we can all see our health service is making. Not only that, it enormously undermines the entire trade union movement. No trade union in British history has seen its members receive such a steep pay rise only to immediately respond with strikes – even when a majority of their members didn't even vote to strike. This action is unprecedented, and it is unreasonable. My focus now is on doing everything to minimise harm to patients. This government is doing all it can to minimise the impact on patients from this strike, including trying to keep as much scheduled care as we can on track, as well as urgent and emergency care. The BMA leadership would rather we just cancel those appointments because they don't recognise that someone with cancer, for example, who has a scheduled operation could end up in a far worse place if surgery is postponed. It is not for them to determine whether they think the bar for patient pain is high enough. This government will prioritise patients and do everything we can to protect them. All the same, these actions won't just cause disruption, anxiety and patient harm. They are likely to cost a huge amount of money, which the NHS simply can't afford. Instead of working with us on their conditions to put money back into the pockets of resident doctors, the BMA committee put their fingers in their ears and rushed out to strike. I know from the many resident doctors who have reached out to me, and those I've met since I became health and social care secretary, that they feel the BMA's leaders are out of step not just with patients, but most resident doctors themselves. It is hardly surprising a majority of resident doctors did not vote for this strike. So I am urging resident doctors to not follow the BMA leadership, who I do not believe are representing the best interests of their members, any further down this path as strikes begin on Friday at 7am. Wes Streeting is secretary of state for health and social care

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store