A 54-YEAR-OLD woman has bravely opened up on the brutal reality of using sunbeds for decades.
Karrieann, from Ireland, claims that she loves her year-round tan – however she describes her “roasted” skin as “disgusting”.
And she admits that her years spent on sunbeds has “ruined” her skin.
The personal trainer has had 18 moles removed and expects that is just the start.
The content creator took to social media to show off her skin after using sunbeds, leaving many open-mouthed.
Posting online, Karrieann wore a red co-ord gym set, revealing her tanned but “damaged” skin.
She said: “Ladies, don’t let all this fabulousness fool you, ok?”
She then added: “I get a lot of comments about my tan – I am tanned all year round, everywhere, I love my tan, I spent many years on the sunbeds ruining my skin.”
Sunbeds have long been linked to skin cancer and have even been banned in countries such as Brazil and Australia.
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.
Sharing her expertise, Carol Cooper, Sun Doctor, said: ”Let’s be clear about sunbeds. It’s not just ‘some’ experts that say they’re bad for your skin. It’s almost all of them.
”Actually, anyone who’s ever used a sunbed is at least 20% more likely to develop malignant melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”From Glow to Glare: The Sunbed Debate” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6353814963112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]”UV rays damage the DNA in skin cells, so they’re more likely to mutate into cancer.
“You don’t even have to burn for it to happen.”
Not only does Karrieann rely on sunbeds, but she also added: “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.”
As a result of excessive sunbed usage and hours of sunbathing, Karrieann showed off the damage it has done to her skin.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D110251%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]She shared: “Only years later, I now have all this skin damage, it’s everywhere.
“It’s actually disgusting, I have it on my hands, age spots and on my arm.”
Karrieann revealed that she “hated the sun” as a child and stressed that her love of sunbeds began when she got into fitness, after she noticed that “everyone was brown”.
As a result, she “followed suit”, but claimed that she wishes she could “go back in time and talk to myself again.”
[quote credit=”Karrieann “]I now have all this skin damage, it’s everywhere. It’s actually disgusting[/quote]The fitness fan recognised that whilst many people think the marks on her skin are freckles, they are in fact damage from hours of laying on sunbeds.
Subsequently, the woman, who described her natural skin colour as “white white” and almost “purple white”, begged: “I cannot stress enough, please look after your skin, because any of the damage done doesn’t come out of your skin until years later.”
Social media users react
The TikTok clip, which was posted under the username @kar72774, has clearly left many open-mouthed, as it has quickly racked up 81,800 views.
Social media users were gobsmacked at Karrieann’s skin and many eagerly flocked to the comments to praise her for raising awareness of the dangers of sunbeds.
[quote credit=”TikTok user “]Huge respect for you for raising awareness about the dangers of chasing a tan[/quote]One person said: “Thanks for sharing. Sunbeds are being overused now.”
Another added: “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. Btw you’re beautiful.”
A third commented: “Huge respect for you for raising awareness about the dangers of chasing a tan.”
Meanwhile, someone else penned: “Thanks for sharing, it hurts me to see all these young girls on TikTok videoing their sunbed sessions and I worry for them.
“They are not seeing the dangers of it. Sunbeds should be banned.”
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