Sunburn Twattoos

With the arrival of that glorious sunshine that comes hand in hand with the humidity and sweat patches of Summer, we're also starting to see more and more of that pink glow that comes with it. Even though it's only early on in the season even I haven't been able to avoid the hell on earth that is sunburn this year.

I have however discovered that some people, morons as I would describe them, are deliberately burning themselves in order to get what are being called 'Sunburn Tattoos'.

People have been using all manor of ways to achieve this newest craze in 'body art' ranging from tactfully placed suncream to plasters placed in geometric patterns to block out the suns rays.

Don't get me wrong, some of these patterns are gorgeous and this is obviously something that people are doing because they aren't quite ready to commit to getting an actual tattoo. But is this really worth risking your health over?

I've always been one to love a good sun tan and those tan lines getting lighter and lighter are what push you to stay out in the sun that little bit longer to give your skin that extra sizzle time. But I have always made sure that I wear plenty of suncream, (the above photo being the one time I packed oil instead of suncream) as the health risks that come along with spending all the time in the sun are terrifying.

According to the Evening Standards article on the subject, the Skin Cancer Foundation have released this statement on 'Sunburn Art':

"The Skin Cancer Foundation strongly advises the public to avoid sunburns at all costs. A sunburn is not only painful – it’s dangerous, and comes with consequences. Sunburns cause DNA damage to the skin, accelerate skin ageing, and increase your lifetime skin cancer risk. In fact, sustaining five or more sunburns in youth increases lifetime melanoma risk by 80%."

A vast number of us see having a tan as making us look more attractive or giving us more confidence. But a lot of the time, we do forget the dangers of the sun and the negative effects that it does have on us. Even with suncream on it's still possible to get horrible horrible sunburn, So make sure that you whack on that high factor before leaving and dont be stupid enough to deliberately burn for the sake of some Instagram fad.