Sunburn 'tattoos' are the latest craze - but have people lost their minds?
Yes, people are deliberately getting sunburnt!
By Frances Sheen
June 13 2019
A new world craze of giving yourself a sunburn tattoo has been slammed by doctors as "dangerous and irresponsible" amid fears over skin cancer.
A sunburn tattoo is when someone applies a shape or design to their skin, goes out in the sun, and waits for it to burn.
When their skin is red and inflamed, the design that was ‘blocked’ will appear on the skin as a whiter patch - or a skin tattoo.
Now, posting your #sunburntattoo or #sunburnart has become a hashtag trend on Instagram leaving doctors aghast and wondering why people would willingly increase their risks of cancer.
Dermatologist Dr Sharon Wong told Metro.co.uk this new sunburn tattoo trend is ‘incredibly dangeous and irresponsible.’
‘Intense UV exposure that results in sunburn causes significant DNA damage to the skin with very serious and potentially life-threatening consequences,’ she warned.
‘Getting sunburn just once every two years is enough to triple your chances of developing melanoma (cancerous moles) in the future.
‘It is therefore not only dangerous, but highly irresponsible for anyone to be promoting sunburn tattoos as a fashionable trend.
‘Sunburn is dangerous and there is no such thing as a safe tan.’
The Cancer Council says that two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the time they are 70.
