Latest news with #skindamage
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'I hide tanning jabs in my room and use sunbeds four times a week - I cry after every session but still go back because it's the only thing that makes me feel confident'
A teenage sunbed addict says her mum was forced to beg local salons to stop serving her after finding tanning injections hidden in a pickle jar in her bedroom. Megan Blain, 19, admits she cries with guilt after every session but still visits salons up to four times a week, saying she feels anxious and 'not herself' if her skin tone lightens even slightly. The aspiring stewardess, from Murton, County Durham, says her obsession began at 16 after she was bullied at school and has since spiralled into a full-blown dependency on sunbeds, supplements and banned injections to keep her skin as dark as possible. Despite visible signs of damage, including new moles and premature lines on her face, Megan says she has continued regardless. She has even turned down job offers because she didn't feel 'dark enough'. Her mum Elisha, meanwhile, has been left so worried she contacted salons across the region in a bid to cut off her daughter's supply. She told MailOnline: 'I won't have anyone suggest that what I'm suffering isn't an addiction - it is and it's ruining my life. I don't want anyone else to go through what is happening to me. I know that I'm being self-destructive by going on the sunbeds day after day but I just can't stop. 'What really scares me is that I can see sunbed use rising among younger people and that all comes down to TikTok. There has been a rise in influencers who have a dark tan all year round and that look is becoming fashionable again. 'People have known for years the damage that sunbeds can do but I'm seeing girls of 15 going into sunbed shops because they want to look like the people they see online.' Megan says her habit began by secretly using her mum's sunbed in the garage, carefully topping up the electricity meter each time so she wouldn't be caught. 'I knew Mam would be furious if she knew what I was doing so I was very careful,' she said. 'I hoped that she'd think I was still using fake tan, but one day she saw me getting changed and saw the tan lines and realised what I had been doing.' Things escalated when Elisha discovered syringes hidden in a pickle jar while preparing a cheeseboard - and immediately began contacting local beauticians to warn them not to sell her daughter tanning injections. Megan said: 'She messaged loads of salons to tell them not to sell me the injections but I have to admit that I've carried on taking them. I feel bad going behind her back because I know she's so worried about me and I feel bad for causing that anxiety - but I just can't stop.' Now, she says the damage is already starting to show. 'There are moles that have appeared over the past two years that weren't there before and at 19 I have lines in my forehead that shouldn't be there,' she said. 'The signs of skin damage are there and they're obvious - but I still go back. 'If I try not to go on the beds, I feel depressed and anxious. And yet when I do go on them I cry after every session. I think it's through guilt because I know that what I'm doing is causing so much damage.' As well as using injections, Megan has experimented with tanning supplements - including beta-carotene tablets and even grated carrots in the hope they would darken her complexion. She says the obsession has taken over every part of her life. 'I was offered a job working on fairground rides but I didn't feel tanned enough to face so many people,' she said. 'I couldn't even go to my prom because my date said I looked too dark and he didn't want to take me any more.' Megan has reduced her sunbed usage to four times a week and is now using her platform on TikTok to warn 'the younger generation' about the dangers of sunbed addiction Megan says she has twice booked appointments with her GP but was too anxious to attend. 'There's no escaping it - on my street alone there are three sunbed shops, so the reminders are always there,' she said. 'I've made appointments with the doctor twice but couldn't go through with them. I was so anxious about what they would say that I couldn't leave the house.' She is currently studying travel and tourism at Sunderland College and dreams of becoming an air stewardess - but says her main goal is to leave the sunbeds behind for good. 'I want to experience the real world, that's my absolute goal,' she said. 'If one person reads my story and decides not to use a sunbed, I'll feel like I've achieved something.'
The Independent
11-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Viral TikTok suncream trend sparks medical warning
A doctor has issued a warning against the TikTok trend known as " sunscreen contouring", dismissing it as "nonsense." The trend encourages users to apply sunscreen to certain parts of their face while leaving other areas exposed, aiming to create a contoured look from a tan. Dr Amir Khan said that a tan is skin damage, stressing that there is no such thing as a safe tan. He cautioned that while a contour might be temporary, the risks of premature skin ageing and skin cancer are long-term and not worth taking. Watch the video in full above.
The Independent
11-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Warning issued over viral TikTok suncream trend
A doctor has warned people against participating in a TikTok trend called ' sunscreen contouring,' calling it 'nonsense.' The trend encourages users to put sunscreen on some parts of their face while leaving other areas exposed, aiming to create a contoured look from a tan. 'A tan is skin damage, there's no such thing as a safe tan,' Doctor Amir Khan told Lorraine on Friday (11 July). 'A contour might last for a few days, but premature skin ageing, skin cancer, that goes on for a lot longer. You don't want to risk that,' he added.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
There's A Serious Reason Why You Should Be Extra Careful If You Have The Window Seat On A Plane, And I Truly Never Would've Guessed This
Earlier this year, TikTok user FindingFiona uploaded a travel video that got serious attention, garnering more than 2 million views and 1,000 comments. In the post, she emphasized the importance of wearing sunscreen on flights, citing reports of people incurring more sun damage when they're at higher altitudes. 'Even though you're inside the aircraft, because of the high altitudes, you're actually experiencing stronger UV radiation, especially if you're in the window seat,' she says in the video. According to dermatologists, the TikToker's claim is partially correct — but it's also a little wrong. 'The good news is that the true risk from one flight, or somebody who flies occasionally, is probably low,' said Dr. Elizabeth Jones, an assistant professor of dermatology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. But Jones noted that for flight crew members and pilots, the risk is higher. 'People who are flying occupationally, they're going to be exposed much more to ultraviolet light given — especially if they're in the cockpit — the size of the windshield,' and given all the time they spend at a higher altitude, she said. Jones pointed to a 2015 study that found pilots and cabin crew have roughly twice the incidence of melanoma, a less common but more serious form of skin cancer, when compared to the general population. So, there is a connection between flying and sun damage. Below, dermatologists explain what you should know about your sun damage risk when you're at cruising altitude. Airplane windows block out most UVB rays, but not all UVA rays. 'Airplane windows effectively block out most of the UVB rays,' Jones said, referring to the rays that can cause sunburn and skin cancer. So even if you're sitting in the window seat, you likely won't end up with sunburn after a flight. But that doesn't mean other damage can't occur. This is also true for non-airplane windows, said Dr. Jennifer Holman, a dermatologist with U.S. Dermatology Partners Tyler in Texas. 'Most typical windows in a house or a car are going to filter out ... like 97%, 98% of the UVB radiation, which is typically the wavelength that people think of that causes sunburns,' she said. While windows block these rays, they don't block all rays. According to Jones, airplane windows don't fully keep out UVA rays, which can 'cause premature aging, wrinkles and ultimately can contribute to skin cancer as well.' (Jones did note, however, that 'some of the older windows block out about 50% of UVA rays' and 'some of the newer models are more effective at even blocking out UVA.') Again, this goes beyond airplanes: Holman said most glass windows, including your car windows and the windows at your local coffee shop, also don't offer UVA protection. In general, 'most glass does not filter out UVA,' she noted. Wearing sunscreen on a plane can protect you from these harmful rays, which Holman said penetrate 'more deeply into the skin' and put you 'at risk for different types of skin cancer, including the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma.' So, who needs sunscreen on an airplane? The short answer: everyone. Sunscreen is important for folks to wear daily, whether or not you're taking a flight. 'As a dermatologist, of course, I'm encouraging all of my patients to wear their sunscreen as a daily habit every day, just for the exposures that we face and the free radicals that are out in the world from UV radiation,' Holman said. While it is important for everyone to wear sunscreen on a plane, Jones said certain people should take particular caution. 'Who should consider wearing sunscreen on a plane?' she said. 'Certainly, someone with a personal or family history of skin cancer may want to get that added protection by using a sunscreen.' Folks with fair skin who are more sensitive to the sun should consider that added protection, too. The same goes for people with medical conditions that make them susceptible to sun damage, and people who are on medication that increases sun sensitivity, Jones noted. Holman said that when shopping for sunscreen, you should find one that's labeled 'broad-spectrum,' meaning it protects against both UVA and UVB rays. This is always necessary, including on a plane when you aren't protected from that UVA light. Beyond sunscreen, Holman stressed that other protections are also helpful. 'The importance of physical protection, too ― wearing hats, sun protective clothing, sunglasses ― all those things continue to be important as we're protecting ourselves from ultraviolet exposure,' she said. This article originally appeared in HuffPost.
The Sun
19-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
I have permanent skin damage from using tanning nasal spray twice – it made me dizzy & nauseous too, says former Miss GB
THEY promise to give you a glowing, bronze complexion, but the new trend of nasal tanning sprays is packed with risks. So much so, former Miss GB Jen Atkins has issued a stark warning after using one of the sprays just twice left her extremely ill and with persisting hyperpigmentation on her face. 4 4 The 31-year-old, who won the Miss GB pageant in 2020, was offered a free nasal tanning spray in exchange for promotion through Instagram. But the unlicensed product came with a host of negative side effects and left her with permanent skin damage. Nasal tanning sprays contain a substance known as melanotan II which may stimulate melanin production when inhaled and transferred into the bloodstream. Most are not regulated by health authorities, meaning that the quality, safety and dosage of each product could vary, and some products may be contaminated or unsafe. As such, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is urging the public to avoid any tanning product that is 'inhaled or ingested'. It warns of side effects including nausea, vomiting, high blood pressure, and changes in mole shape and size. The sprays could also cause coughing, sneezing and nasal congestion due to irritation of the respiratory tract. Jen knows these nasty side effects all too personally - and it only took one use for her to suffer. 'I was naive and I just took the product,' the beauty queen, from Grimsby, revealed on This Morning. 'I used it twice. 'The first time, it made me feel so sick and dizzy. I was actually driving to work, so how incredibly dangerous was that? 'My face was bright red, itchy - it was just horrific. 'Silly me tried it again the next day and it was even worse. 'I thought I was going to throw up on the way to work. It was just awful.' Costing from £20 to £35, nasal tanning sprays are a hit with younger people and have become a social media phenomenon. However, the process is considered unsafe as melanotan II is illegal in the UK. Susanna Daniels, CEO of Melanoma Focus, said: 'We're becoming increasingly concerned about the use of both nasal tanning sprays and tanning injections and their potential links with melanoma skin cancer. 'These unregulated and illegal products not only pose serious health risks but also encourage harmful behaviours, particularly among young consumers. 'We urge the public to consider the long-term impacts on their health and avoid using these substances altogether.' 4
