Doctors Warn Sunburn Art Ages Skin and Increases Risk of Melanoma

Ever since sunscreen was invented, people have been experimenting with sunburn art, which is just a fancy word for the act of applying sun protection in various shapes and designs and then getting a nasty sunburn.

The end result leaves the model visible, and people are proudly showing theirs off on social media under the #SunburnArt hashtag. However, with the coming of summer, experts find themselves in the position of warning the fans of this practice about the increasing risks of getting skin cancer.

A quick search for the hashtag on any social network and photo-sharing platform will return images ranging from flowers and cartoon characters to geometrical shapes and the Batman logo. People who are for it and those against are both using the hashtag, sparking a lively debate on the controversial practice.

Dr. Barney Kenet, a dermatologist from New York, explained that the sunburn art is a perfect example for when medical advice comes head-to-head with popular culture. With people knowing that sunburn gives you freckles, ages the skin, and increased risk of melanoma, it’s surprising that so many people still choose to do it.

Kenet especially disproves of the sunburn artists who want to take it to the next level by getting a deeper burn that shows off the design in the skin even better. Skin cancer is not caused solely by harmful UV rays, but according to the Centers for Disease Control, it is the most common type of cancer in the United States.

Each year, one in 5 American adults is diagnosed with it. According to reports of the Skin Cancer Foundation, the risk of developing melanoma increases with 80 percent after five or more sunburns sustained while young. Same number of sunburns during any other time of life also doubles the chances for melanoma.

Vice president of the organization Deborah Sarnoff, M.D. warned the general public against any kind of sunburns, at all costs; besides being painful, it also poses a threat to your health and its consequences are dire.
Image Source: Viral Thread

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Tara Hamilton

Tara has graduated from the University of Oregon, with bachelors degree in Spanish Literature in 2010. She lived in Miami for one year and travelled extensively before settling down in El Paso.