A woman who ended up with ‘roasted’ skin after using sunbeds for decades has opened up about the detrimental impact they have had on her complexion.
Karrieann McDonnell, 54, from Ireland, took to Instagram to warn young women of the repercussions that come with having the perfect tan, telling her followers in a video: ‘Don’t let all this fabulousness fool you’, as she showed off her sun-kissed but ‘damaged’ complexion.
‘I spent many years on the sun beds ruining my skin’, the fitness influencer said, revealing that she now suffers from skin damage and has had to have 18 moles removed.
‘Its everywhere, its actually disgusting’, she told the camera, showing marks all over her body.
‘I cannot stress enough to please look after your skin, alright? Because it doesn’t come out of your skin until years later’, she added.
Sunbeds emit UV light, mimicking the effects of natural sunlight, to induce an artificial tan.
But they have long been linked to skin cancer, and are still being used by more than a quarter of adults, with many unaware of the risk, a study published last year revealed.
Experts at the charity Melanoma Focus said it is ‘crucial’ everyone understands the dangers involved.
A woman who says she used sunbeds for decades has warned about their dangers
Karrieann McDonnell, 54, says she has now been left suffering from skin damage
Sunbeds have long been linked to skin cancer
The charity’s poll of 2,000 Britons aged 16 to 65 found that 28 per cent use sunbeds – peaking at 43 per cent among those aged 18 to 25.
Some 62 per cent were aware that sunbed use can increase the risk of skin cancer, but a sizeable number – 38 per cent – did not know of the dangers.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that sunbeds are as dangerous as smoking.
But its not just sunbeds that damaged Karriann’s skin, with the influencer also recalling how she used to lie in the sun for hours on end to maintain her tan.
‘When I used to go on holidays, I used to lie out all day and my chest used to get roasted and the amount of people that used to pass comment on it, but I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong at all.’
Revealing that she ‘hated the sun’ as a child, Kariann’s love for sunbeds began when she got into fitness, saying that ‘everyone was brown and lovely. I had to follow suit’.
But ‘wisdom is wasted on the youth’, she said, admitting that her efforts to go darker were not worthwhile.
‘If I knew then what I know now, I would have held back’.
The fitness fanatic also explained how self-tanning lotions now used by countless of Brits ‘weren’t available to us back then, nor was the knowledge’, and praised ‘the young ladies of today’ who look after their ‘beautiful skin’.
The fitness influencer urged her followers to look after her skin, saying that she has had to get 18 moles removed
Several social media users have praised Karriann for sharing her story and for raising awareness
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that sunbeds are as dangerous as smoking
‘If I knew then what I know now, I would have held back’, Karriann told her followers
Social media users were quick to praise Karriann for discussing her struggles with sun damage, with one viewer commenting: ‘All credit to you for raising awareness. I’ve never been a [sunbed] user, I’ve always used fake tan, but great for the younger generation to hear what you’re saying’.
Another said: ‘Fair play to you for saying it as it is & educating people . So many of us think ‘it won’t happen to me’ , whether it’s on this subject or anything else’, while a third commented: ‘Omg I’m heartbroken for you my darling. You are brilliant for raising awareness. Not an easy thing to do’.
Karriann is not the only one regretting the use of sunbeds after suffering from horrific side effects.
Earlier this year, am influencer opened up about how she regretted using a tanning bed after she had her skin burnt off her face.
Natalia Armstrong, 23, from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was hospitalised and unable to sleep for days after going for her regular sunbed session to top her her golden glow.
The Yorkshire native revealed her mistake and issued a warning to others in a video shared to her TikTok back in January, and says she has since sworn off sunbeds, after doctors warned that she almost lost a finger from the hack.
The influencer, said she decided to lie on the sunbed the wrong way round on the advice of her friend, hoping it would achieve a better tan.
Natalia lay on the sunbed for 20 minutes and put her face where her feet would normally go.
The tanning veteran, who had been using sunbeds for two years before her terrifying accident, revealed this was the first time she has laid the wrong way.
Natalia Armstrong, 23, accidentally burnt the skin off her face after lying the wrong way round on a sunbed in the pursuit of a better tan
The Doncaster native had been using tanning beds for two years without any incidents but on the advice of a friend, laid down the wrong way in the hopes of a better tan
After taking her friend’s advice, Natalia was initially pleased with her results but later that night noticed her face was becoming red and over the next few days watched with horror as her skin grew tight and began to blister
The influencer also noticed her fingers had become swollen, and she had a burn under one of her rings on her right index finger that looked as if it was infected
After taking her friend’s advice, Natalia was initially pleased with her results but later that night noticed her face was becoming red and over the next few days watched with horror as her skin grew tight and began to blister.
The influencer also noticed her fingers had become swollen, and she had a burn under one of her rings on her right index finger that looked as if it was infected.
Four days later she went to Montagu Hospital in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, where doctors cut off four of her rings and gave her antibiotics for her finger and cream for her face.
They told her if she had waited much longer she may have lost her finger, but that her face would not scar from the damage.
Natalia took to her 144,000 TikTok followers to raise awareness after her horrifying experience and to discourage others from doing the same.
The video shows Natalia talking about her mistake saying ‘the moral of the story is, do not listen to f***ing anyone’s advice’.
Natalia, said: ‘I will never do that again. I think it’s actually put me off sunbeds for life.
‘One of my friends previously told me to try it. I just thought while I was down there I’ll give it a go because I had never heard anything bad.
‘I didn’t know facial tanners were a lot less strong than the tubes so I did it. I laid for the full 20 minutes that way.
‘I felt alright when I got off the sunbed, I didn’t even feel like I tanned. All of a sudden that night my face started to go red.
‘I can’t even explain it. You know when you smile and your face is tight and you feel like it’s cracking.
‘It tightened up then it blistered, then a really thick layer of skin started peeling off.
‘I couldn’t sleep honestly. It was itchy, I had pains in my finger when my ring was off. I could not sleep for days and I’m not even exaggerating. I got cold sores all over my lips, I burnt all my lips.
‘I’ve been going out with my friends and everyone’s looking at me and I just felt like, oh my god, curl me up into a ball right now.
‘I even had someone on the street pulling me up saying, “Excuse me, I’m sorry to ask but have you had a chemical peel? Your face looks amazing underneath”.’
‘I’m like, no I’ve burnt myself on the sunbeds.’
Now she is raising awareness for what happened on her TikTok page in the hopes that nobody else makes the same mistake.
Natalia said: ‘I do regret it, I’ll never do that on a sunbed again.