I became addicted to tanning beds at 16, I take injections to boost it and now I’m covered in moles but can’t stop
A YOUNG girl reveals she can’t stop using sunbeds despite being told she looks like a dirty 2p coin.
Megan Blain, who is just 19, said she first became obsessed with looking tanned at 14, but now wishes she had never started.
Speaking to Truly, she said: “I wish I didn’t start now.
“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.
“I would calculate the exact amount of electric I’ve used and go top it up at the shop.”
Now, it has become a habit that Megan can’t knock and has left her going on sunbeds four times a week for 15 minutes each time.
But that’s not enough for Megan, she also takes tanning injections five times a week to boost her colour.
She revealed that her tan is so dark that she often gets laughed at on the street.
“Loads of heads would turn in the street,” she explained. “People look me up and down and laugh at it.”
Megan prefers to lie on the bottom of the sunbed as she claims the lighting is stronger so she can get more of a tan on her face.
She said her tanning addiction has been going on for so long she has no idea what she looks like without one.
And despite knowing the dangers she is putting her body through, she’s unable to stop.
She added: “Sometimes I’ll cry after the sunbed because 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.”
Megan says going on a sunbed is more of a compulsion, and that she doesn’t even like doing them anymore.
She also said she wished she had 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.
People were quick to share their thoughts in the comments, with many hoping Megan gets the help she needs.
One person wrote: “She seems like such a lovely character and I really wish her all the best for her journey to get away from the addiction.”
Another commented: “She is so lovely, I hope she gets help and avoids cancer.”
“That’s what proper burnt toast looks like,” penned a third.
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.
Meanwhile a fourth said: “Pale is beautiful though.”
“You’re going to wrinkle prematurely hun! Stick to sunless tanning lotion,” claimed a fifth
Someone else added: “She really looks sick.”
