'I'm so addicted to sunbeds I go on them four times a week - I can't stop'
A woman has shared her 'addiction' to sunbeds - as she confessed to going on them four times a week for 15 minutes each time. Megan Blain first became obsessed with getting a tan when she was just 14, when she first discovered fake tan - but then decided to start using sunbeds instead.
The 19-year-old said she wishes she'd never started using them and it's become a habit she can't stop. She does them so regularly, she no longer remembers what she looks like without a tan, and despite doing them four times a week, Megan also takes tanning injections five times a week to further boost her bronzed glow.
"At 14 years old I started using fake tan. I was really white. My mum got the sunbed out of the garage and I thought, you know what? I'll use the sunbed while she's at work," Megan told Truly, and said she prefers to lay at the bottom of the bed as "the lighting is stronger" so she can get more of a tan on her face.
She would calculate the exact amount of electric needed, and would go and top it up at the shop to ensure she kept her tan all year round. But despite being addicted, she said people will stare at her in the street because of how dark her tan is. "Loads of heads would turn in the street," she explained. "People look me up and down and laugh at it."
However she knows how bad it is for her, and confessed sometimes she cries after a sunbed session. "I know the damage I'm doing to my skin, but I feel like I'm too far gone. I've got moles all over. I didn't know if the moles were cancerous," she said.
For Megan, it's now more of a compulsion than something to enhance her looks, as she said she doesn't "even like doing them anymore" and wished she'd never started. "If I could speak to my 14-year-old self today, I'd say, don't change for anyone. You are who you are, you don't need to fit in with a crowd, just be yourself," she explained.
Many viewers shared their thoughts on Megan's addiction, with many hoping she gets the help she needs. One person commented: "She seems like such a lovely character and I really wish her all the best for her journey to get away from the addiction."
While a second penned: "It's really hard to watch because you can feel her inner fights between fearing the health consequences and not being able to stop her addiction. Still it's so important that she speaks about it to raise more awareness for this topic."
According to NHS Inform, sunbeds work by blasting your skin with ultraviolet (UV) rays. The rays penetrate your skin and can cause the same or stronger reaction as exposure to the sun. "The reaction you have will depend on your skin type and can include sunburn or tanning. There's no safe or healthy way to get a tan through exposure to UV rays."
Using sunbeds can increase the risk of skin cancer. Exposure to UV rays is the number one cause of skin cancer in the UK. This includes melanoma which is the most dangerous type of skin cancer, and the NHS stated that using a sunbed just once before the age of 35 can significantly increase your risk of melanoma.
But if you do want to use one, the NHS recommends:
read all safety notices before using a sunbed
speak to the attendants on duty if you have any questions
always wear UV blocking eyewear
keep your skin moisturised before and after tanning sessions
check your skin regularly for any changes
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