Experts have issued an urgent warning after social media users began adopting a dangerous recent tanning “hack.”
A string of videos shows tanning’s trend involves pouring beer over your skin, with some claiming it offers “one of the best tan ever” while being reasonably priced.
But experts have described the dubious so-called “hack” as downright dangerous, The Sun reports.
Not only does it make you sticky and a magnet for pesky bugs, it also puts you liable to heatstroke, sun poisoning and deadly skin cancer.
“I can barely consider this insanity exists. That is an especially dangerous so-called ‘trend’ with potentially very serious consequences,” Kathryn Clifford, co-founder of skin cancer awareness charity Skcin, told the British publication.
“Tan-seekers of all types are at serious risk of developing all kinds of skin cancer and burning of the skin is strongly linked to the event of melanoma – probably the most serious life-threatening type of the disease.”
“Moreover, skin cancer is disproportionately high in young adults and certainly one of the most important killing cancers within the 15 to 34 age group – the identical age group that uses this social platform greater than every other.”
Australia has the very best rate of skin cancer on the planet with two-in-three Australians expected to be diagnosed of their lifetimes and almost 2000 Australians dying of skin cancer annually.
“Overexposure to UV radiation causes 95 per cent of melanomas, making it almost entirely preventable,” Chair of the Cancer Council National Skin Committee, Professor Anne Cust, told news.com.au.
“We urge people to not proactively seek a suntan.”
Other sun protection experts shared the identical concerns concerning the “unthinkable lengths” people go to attain a tan.
Stefano Pietrini warned using beer as a tanning aid could lead on to sun poisoning.
“Using beer to tan, especially without SPF, significantly raises the chance of sunburn, heatstroke and, with continued use, premature aging,” he told the outlet.
“Without SPF, it only takes 10 minutes within the sun to begin burning. Over time, this poses the chance of skin cancer, with 70 per cent of cases brought on by sun damage.”
‘Insanity’
Pietrini said people probably think beer is perhaps a very good tan-enhancer because hops, a key ingredient, supposedly increases the production of melanin – a substance that makes our skin darker.
But this doesn’t make it suitable for sunbathing.
“Any method used to speed up tanning actually does more harm than good and can lead to everlasting skin damage,” he added.
“Remember, regardless of how appealing a tan could appear this summer, nothing is definitely worth the irreversible damage created through this trend.”
While British experts called for this type of content, largely found on TikTok, to be banned – the platform has already began making strides on this area in Australia.
TikTok actively banned videos encouraging tanning last 12 months after Melanoma Institute Australia raised concern concerning the “sunburnt tanlines” hashtag on the platform having greater than 200 million views.
These videos consisting largely of teenagers and young adults showing off their sunburn.
TikTok also launched its “Tanning. It’s Cooked” campaign – which has been live since December 1 – which prompts a warning message for users when search terms like “beach”, “sunburn”, and “summer sun” are typed in.
Anyone in search of content about tanning with be fed a message that reads: “Australia is #1 on the planet for skin cancer. Discover more about how you can protect yourself from melanoma.”
“We hope that we will avoid wasting lives,” general manager of TikTok in Australia and Latest Zealand, Lee Hunter, said.
“And we hope that individuals can really start to alter the message around the risks of tanning.”